Do Your Feelings Rule?

Do your feelings control you and determine your mood, attitude and outlook? Do you have trouble shutting them down or changing their direction towards how you want to feel?

This is a huge issue with many of us. Being unable to change negative feelings turns good days and moods into bad and fosters discouragement. Wouldn’t it be great if you could learn skills to stop that negative freight train of feelings? Great news! You can.

We can actually learn over time to choose our feelings rather than be controlled by them. This may be quite unbelievable to many of you, as it was for me, but I know it is true because I’ve learned to do it. Being able to choose, at least most of the time, has made an incredible difference in my life.

There aren’t 3 easy steps to freedom or any of that non-sense. I get so tired of those who mislead the public with the lie of “easy steps” to sell books. Rant, rant… We both know that anything really worth while is never easy. You are breaking long established habits that may have a stronghold in your mind, so it will be a difficult but worthy battle.

Here are the core steps I believe you can use to reverse your feelings over time if you are diligent and patient. You may wish to add steps that fit you best.

Foundational Work:
1. Clearly identify the feeling or emotion.
2. Pray to God to help you and show you how to renew your mind and defeat the negative feeling.
3. Learn the truth about the way you feel. Examples of truths are; feelings aren’t rational, nobody can make you feel the way you do without you allowing them to and so forth.
4. Read the Bible and praise God. He is the master of making awesome changes in us.

When a negative feeling appears in your mind, do this (you may need to do these steps over and over and over-that’s is just part of it):
1. Tell the feeling boldly to stop. That you have taken charge of your mind, feelings, and emotions and will remain their master. Do it out loud if possible.
2. Lead your feelings to a neutral place for several seconds by doing something mindless; singing a favorite song, reciting something from memory, even a nursery rhyme.
3. Then lead your thoughts towards a subject you desire and new feelings will follow.

You don’t have to believe your feelings are rational. They have been programmed into you over your lifetime, and they do not necessarily reflect the deep truth.

Experience the freedom of choosing your feelings. You will be bridging the gap to exceptional.