Think about how you feel

In order to be a force for good in the world, you have to be able to translate your emotions into rational thought. It isn't easy and that is why Humanists spend so much time learning how to think critically.

We humans have a problem. And that is, in order to solve our problems well, we have to think. The problem is that we usually don’t think well because we aren’t just thinking beings, we are also feeling beings.  We don’t just think rational thoughts, we also feel our sometimes rather irrational emotions.

Despite the difficulties, Humanists strive to integrate our emotions with our critical thinking so that our problem solving with do justice to both our emotions and our ability to think clearly and critically.  Let me break this down for you on how this works.

Critical thinking helps us solve our problems. However, compassion helps us improve our interpersonal relationships. Being ethical infuses our lives with meaning and purpose.  The thing is, in order to be compassionate, you have to think about being compassionate. In order to be ethical, you have to think about being ethical. To ensure your problem-solving is guided by your good emotions, you have to think.

The desire to be good is the easy part. Thinking well is the hard part, which is why, we Humanists spend so much time focusing on learning to think well. Because it is only when we think well that we can properly harness our emotions.

What do you struggle with the most when it comes to controlling or harnessing your emotions?