In My Feelings: Why You Can't Let Your Emotions Control You

Get Over Overthinking & Overreacting 

I can be so terrible at this. Our emotions have this super heavy power to make us overthink any situation and then overreact. The worst part is that most of the time it's about a situation that we've completely made up in our head. You have one thought (i.e. that someone has an issue with you), and then use everything that person says or does to justify why you think that about them. It's not only draining (because who has time to come up with Tyler Perry's latest plot line in our mind), but it can also create awkward situations in real life that only started with an assumption in your mind.

Overthinking and overreacting can really cause us to push people away that actually care about us, because we've tried to convince ourselves that they're being shady. One of the ways to overcome your emotions in this case is to address it head-on and trust the answer without trying to make it fit into what you've already come up with. I know this one is hard but it can also be refreshing once you make it a lifestyle.

Slow Your Roll On Decisions

There aren't too many things that are worse than making a bad decision because of how we feel in the moment. Ugh. But being in our feelings can make us do it. It can be something as simple as eating way too much ice cream because you had an amazing day or something as drastic as sleeping with an ex who you finally got away from after a toxic relationship. Look, nobody can judge because we've all let our emotions get the best of us when it comes to making decisions in the moment. So I think it's safe to say the remedy would be to not make a decision in that moment. Like, what's the rush?

I remember when I was looking for a car and someone told me to not give in to the pressure of car salesmen who wanted me to drive off with a new car that day. The person told me I should wait, think it over for a few days, and then make a sound and smart decision. Well, I didn't listen and bought a car that day, and it didn't take long for me to regret it. I feel like this can apply to any situation and can help make us feel better and at peace about the decision.

Point Out Your Triggers

Yes, we're women. But not everything causes us to just react and go crazy. There's usually something that will trigger our emotions and make us want to be petty and have an unhealthy reaction. Even though we might know subconsciously what our triggers are, like having those thoughts, "I hate when they do that," that's not necessarily being intentional about overcoming our emotions in the situation.I think the initial thing is to not only realize how you feel about it but figure out why.

If it's something serious, don't hesitate to try therapy (we could probably all use a weekly session). But once you realize why whatever it is gets under your skin, you might not be so bothered or even shocked when it happens. And you can get on with living your best life, boo.

Focus On The Good

There are a lot of things going on in life that can have our emotions on 100; especially if it's something we didn't see coming. But there are also several positive aspects you can choose to focus on that can help you get control of your emotions. It's no secret that what you put your attention to can get magnified and seem like it's a bigger deal than it really is. So why not make sure it's something positive instead of something negative that can seemingly eat us up inside?

Focusing on the good things in life not only makes you feel better and refreshed about what you have going on, but it lets your emotions know that you're the one in charge.

Get Ahead Of The Game

When those negative emotions come and make you want to react, you literally have to shut it down. At first, you might not even recognize that your emotions are controlling you, but anytime something negative enters your mind, just go with the opposite; even if you have to say the positive out loud. Emotions will try to get you to think you're by yourself and focus on the negative parts of your life and overlook the good. Either way, they have a dangerous power of not letting us live our best life.

Don't feel crazy if you have to tell your emotions, "We're not doing this today y'all," and be intentional about just being positive and having control over your feelings, not the other way around. Just trust that once you do reach this threshold, you'll look up and be living your best life without question.