Emotional Control

Being a Humanist is all about taking personal responsibility for your life and for your happiness. A big part of this is learning how to control your emotions. It isn’t that being emotional is a bad thing. It is just that not all emotions are good and it is usually prudent to think about what you really want to accomplish before deciding to act on any given emotion. This applies to both good and bad emotions but it is especially important for the negative ones..

The first thing you need to know when trying to get your emotions under control is that all emotions are temporary. They come and go like waves. So, even if you are angry or sad, you aren’t likely to stay that way for long. Paradoxically you don’t actually control your emotions by controlling them. You simply need to recognize their transience.

The next thing you need to know is that just because you are feeling something doesn’t mean you need to act on that feeling. Learn to relax and not take your negative emotions seriously and you will feel better immediately. When making plans based on how you are feeling it is usually best to be objective about what you really want to see happen and what the potential consequences of your actions will be. That way you will be making your decisions based on reason and that will improve your chances of having a positive outcome.

Just remember, while you can’t always control your emotions, you can control how you respond to them. Do not let your emotions control you.  And yes, many Humanists do practice meditation as a way to help them control their emotions.