It’s sometimes easier to shove the tough emotions away, pretend they are not there and hope they go away. A little ostrich in the sand vibes. If this sounds like you then I hear you and I feel you. This was my go-to. My way of offloading hurt was to suppress and deny what I was going through as it was easier than turning and facing the hurt. 

This was an ingrained pattern from childhood that played itself out and I was so blissfully unaware of how it was impacting me. The people pleaser, no boundaries, yes man person I became aligned so well with suppressing how I really felt. 

I know most of us can relate to this. We weren’t taught how to navigate our emotions when we were growing up. Emotions were seen as good or bad. Don’t be angry it’s bad, don’t cry it’s bad, don’t be sad put a smile on that face and my all-time favourite is if you are going to cry for nothing, I will give you something to cry about. 

So, we enter the adult realm not allowing ourselves to feel what we are feeling because it is bad. Today as you sit here and read this, I would like to encourage you to turn and face those “bad” emotions, those emotions you were taught to suppress and push away.

Is it uncomfortable? Hell yes. The greatest lesson I ever learned was in yoga. Some poses were tough and all I wanted to do was pull out of them. The saying “find comfort in the discomfort” rings true for me every time I find myself wanting to pull away from tough emotions. 

What if I told you emotions were data? How do you feel when I say this? There are no good or bad emotions they were merely there to give us information about what is happening in the world around us. 

And what if I told you learning to regulate your emotions will improve your well-being, relationships, and effectiveness in your life? Just by being able to pause and look at those emotions. Help you step off the spinning merry-go-round of reaction and try to show up with better intentions. All through being able to regulate your emotions.