Are Your Emotions on Autopilot?

Photo by Chris Primmer Photography

What if we've been doing it wrong all along?

The alarm goes off, we wake up and we hope for the best. We rush along to work, where we run into a traffic jam. At work, our printer isn't co-operating. At the gym, we forget our headphones. Back at home, our kids won't eat their dinner. We go to bed that night thinking "what an awful day" and hope for the best again tomorrow.

Life appears to be happening to us, and we react accordingly. When things are going good, we feel good, when things are going bad, we feel bad.

But what if I told you we had a choice to feel good regardless of the circumstances in our life?

Sure, it may be easier said than done, but the moment we recognize that our emotions are a choice we make each minute of our lives, the sooner we can begin to take responsibility for our experiences and choose happiness and joy.

Watch this quick video for more on the topic, and then we'll discuss a few tips for taking your emotions off of autopilot:

Tips for Taking Your Emotions Off of Autopilot:

• Realize Your Power of Perception & Choice
  • There are many things in our lives we cannot control, but our perception isn't one of them. Take responsibility of your perception, stop playing victim to your circumstances, and choose happiness as often as possible.
  • If you believe you cannot control your emotions or reactions, then you are absolutely correct. If you believe you can choose happiness in the worst of times, you are absolutely correct as well.
• Understand Your Emotions, Don't Run From Them
  • Yes we can all choose to be content in any circumstance, but it's also very important to understand that your emotions are very powerful teachers. Emotions are simply messengers, delivering feelings to us indicating how in (or out) of alignment we are with our authentic desires. Negative emotions tell us we are out of alignment with something we believe in, and positive emotions validate we are on the right path. If we take the time to analyze these emotions, rather than acting on them, we will often find little treasures of wisdom that we can use to improve our relationships, our understanding, and our lives in general.
  • Anger and sadness are healthy emotions, it's totally normal to feel these things, but it is not healthy to dwell in them. Recognize your negative emotion, analyze what it really means, express it in a healthy way, and release it. 
• The Attitude of Gratitude
  • Nothing will change your life more than adopting an attitude of gratitude. Be grateful for the good, the bad and the ugly in your life, and accept that they all serve your in some way, if you will allow it to. Be grateful for the little things like running water, a green light, or the miracle that is your healthy body. Celebrate the little victories that pop up in your day. Living in a constant state of gratitude will tune you into all the positives in your life, and will make the inconveniences much more bearable. Even on your worst days, take the time to list the things that are going right. If you're ever stumped and can't think of a single thing going right in your life, be sure to check your pulse (duh!).
  • Gratitude puts you on a frequency with the beauty in life. It opens your eyes to the wonderful reality all around you. Stop and smell the flowers, be present, and be appreciative. I'm sure there are many things in your life today that you only dreamt of but a few years ago. Remember that, and if you're ever feeling down, get grateful.

I hope you'll take the time to try these concepts out in your own life, as I have found them transformative in every aspect of my own life.

I challenge you all to open your mind to the possibilities of your life. Think about what life could be like if you took responsibility for your life and emotions. What could life become if you didn't allow your mood to be dictated by external events beyond your control?

As Easter weekend winds down, I want us all to experience our very own emotional resurrection. Let's bring a new found vest into our lives, and live it with less boundaries and more believe in it's potential.

We are the only thinkers in our minds, and the only one who can turn things around for ourselves. 

The only healing that can take place is self-healing. And you're just the person you need to transform your life.

Sending you love, light and emotional resurrection,
​-L.K.