Do you know the difference between emotions and feelings? The difference is powerful.

LOVEBLOCKER: EMOTIONAL REACTION (Emotions vs. Feelings)

Do you know the difference between EMOTIONS and FEELINGS? Learn how to exercise your personal power and change your everyday life! Emotions are physical. Feelings are mental. We can change how we think about things and transform our outcomes from the emotion.

Have you ever had an emotional reaction hangover? It’s not fun. When we respond in an ugly way to an emotional situation, it leaves us feeling ashamed, unconnected, and drained of energy. Emotions are a necessary and unstoppable occurrence. What we don’t realize is that we can create a space between an emotion that comes up and the feelings that follow it. To do this, we need to create a mental image of ourselves hitting a pause button. We are all on a spectrum of how well we manage the feelings that follow an emotion. Many factors affect this management. On our worst day the emotion leads directly to a feeling, and we exercise little control over the outcome. For instance, we aren’t exercising our control if the emotion of hurt creeps in, and we verbally lash out at someone we love in an instant. On a good day, we are able create a space between the emotion and the feeling. In this instance, we are mentally able to hit a momentary pause button between the emotion and feeling. While the pause button is on, we make a choice to respond in a way that lifts us up to the highest level of response. We can choose what to feel about this emotion and save ourselves the lasting and damaging effect of the emotion. For instance, if you work two hours to create an incredible meal for your husband; he comes in from work, shovels it down and walks away not saying a word, a negative emotion may come up (hurt, anger, disappointment…). If we exercise our own personal power right there, we create a space between emotion and feeling. We use our awareness to hit the mental pause button. Within that space, we reframe our thinking towards grace and act from our highest self. My lowest self would say you’re an ungrateful jerk. My highest self might say, he must have had a long, tiring day and have so much on his mind. What can I do for him? We have a lot of options in that space if we raise our awareness to it.

How can we improve our own personal power and gain control over how to feel?

·       BE  AWARE that we have that power

·       Recognize the emotion as it creeps in

·       Hit the PAUSE button (condition yourself to do this through practice)

·       Ask yourself, “How would my highest-self feel about this?”

·       Choose the feeling that follows and act from it

It is only through practicing awareness that we take back our feelings and give ourselves the power to avoid suffering. What follows uncontrolled feelings is always suffering. When you hear yourself saying, I can’t help the way I feel, know that it is not a TRUTH. You do have the personal power to choose how you feel.

Too often we hand over our personal power. We just mindlessly allow an outcome rather than intentionally directing the feeling to a space that gives our own self peace and love. Essentially, we create our own misery. We hand over our own control to emotions. We can’t gain perfection in this endeavor but we can increase our awareness, create more opportunities for the space, exercise choice, ignite our highest self, and decrease our own suffering.

The only way to make change is to put something into practice immediately! Take the opportunities that arise TODAY and be aware of that space. Emotions will creep up. Someone will cut you off; something will go unacknowledged; someone may even grossly take advantage of you. Observe today. Recognize, and therefore, create the SPACE. Give that person the benefit of the doubt from your highest self and choose your feeling. Do this today. If we practice this intentionally, it will become part of our subconscious and will take less effort. When we accomplish this, everyone wins!!

Keep in mind; you must exercise self-care so you have the energy to expand the space. When  I’m tired, the space is so tiny it’s almost non-existent! Self-care is always the precursor to tapping into our highest self.

Formula for decreased suffering.

Emotion--- SPACE---- Highest self activated---- Feeling =  Personal Power!

When we allow emotions to take over our personal power, we suffer (as do all those in our path).

Let’s empower each other. SHARE and LIKE to empower one another and break through the LOVEBLOCKER! When we let our emotions rule our feelings, we surely are blocking the flow of love between ourselves and those around us.

Do you have any stories to share? Please share in the comments below!

Consider your pause button activated,

Richenda (Cindy)