Our emotions have a huge amount of power over our choices and actions – and we can either become a master or a slave to them.
When you’re a slave to your emotions, they can motivate you to do things that are really negative and destructive. For example, feeling angry while in a heated argument and then retaliating with insults or aggression.
And when you’re a master of your emotions, they can motivate you to do things that are really positive and constructive. For example, feeling inspired by someone and then using that as fuel to do something creative, such as write, paint, or make music.
One central concept in emotional intelligence is finding a balance between our rational and thinking mind vs. our impulsive and feeling mind. When we learn how to use both of these appropriately, then we have mastered our emotions, and not become enslaved to them.
Here are 5 warning signs that you are becoming a slave to your emotions. If you find that these apply to you, then it may be time to make a change in the way you approach your emotions.
You react without thinking
One of the biggest signs that you’re a slave to your emotions is if you find yourself reacting to a lot of the situations in your life without thinking at all.
In psychology, there is a term known as amygdala hijack which refers to the phenomenon when the emotional parts of our brain have completely taken over the thinking parts of our brain.
This is when you are so overwhelmed with emotions that you aren’t even capable of being reasonable.
Have you ever seen two people really arguing with one another at the top of their lungs and flailing their arms? And their voices begin to change dramatically – as if it is someone else speaking?
That’s just one example of people becoming completely hijacked by their emotions – it can really bring out the worst side of you when it happens – and it’s an ugly sight to behold.
It feels right in the moment, but wrong afterwards
When you’re caught up in the moment, your instincts feel right even when they are wrong.
It always feels like a good idea at the time to snap back at someone, or insult them, or punch them in the face, but that short high is often followed by a long comedown.
When we have emotional outbursts, we tend to regret them soon after. We feel really crappy for what we did, and we wish we could go back in time to take it back. But we can’t.
Extreme levels of regret is often a sign that your emotions are running the show in a certain area of your life. You don’t have good control over them, thus you are frequently acting in ways that let yourself down.
Author and Credits: Steven Handel