I. What Emotions Are1. How your survival mechanism affects your emotions2. What Is the Ego3. The Nature of EmotionsII. What Impacts Your Emotions4. The impact of sleep on your mood5. Using your body to influence your emotions6. Using your thoughts to influence your emotions7. Using your words to influence your emotions8. How your breathing affects your emotions9. How your environment affects your emotions10. How music affects your emotionsIII. How to change your emotions11. How emotions are formed12. Changing your interpretation13. Letting go of your emotions14. Conditioning your mind to experience more positive emotions15. Changing your emotions by changing your behavior16. Changing your emotions by changing your environmentWhy This BookIntroductionHow to use this book17.Short-term and long-term solutions to deal with negativeemotionsIV. How to use your emotions to grow18. How emotions can guide you in the right direction19. Recording your emotions20. Not being good enough21. Being defensive22. Stress and worry23. Caring what people think of you24. Resentment25. Jealousy26. Depression27. Fear/Discomfort28. Procrastination29. Lack of motivation
Example 3: If youve been resenting a particular friend for weeks because of something he said or did, changing your behavior might be having an honest talk with him and share your feelings. This will allow you to clear the air, clarify any misunderstandings, and avoid building up resentment. Oftentimes, we misinterpret events, or see things that arent there. Example 4: Sometimes, you feel sad, angry, or even depressed, and cant do anything about it. In this instance, the best you can do is to avoid focusing on your feelings, and just let them be. Your job here is to do what you have to do and live your life until these emotions fade. Dont forget to practice letting go of negative emotions as they arise. As you learn to detach yourself from the negative emotions, it will help prevent them from growing and becoming more entrenched.
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Action step Using the workbook, lets do an exercise using an example from your life, (Section III. How to change your emotions 5. Changing your emotions by changing your behaviors ). Remember the last time you experience a negative emotion that lasted more than a couple of days. Now, think of what you did specifically to overcome this negative emotion (if anything). Then, ask yourself, How could I have changed my behavior to influence my emotions positively? 16
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CHANGING YOUR EMOTIONS BY CHANGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT You cannot always control your emotions. Certain events, such as a breakup, the loss of a loved one, or a severe disease, can trigger negative emotions. However, you do have control over some events. Do you have daily life situations that affect your peace of mind? What if you could do something about them? Sometimes, to reduce negative emotions you simply need to avoid putting yourself in the situations generating them in the first place. Perhaps, you watch too much TV, which makes you miserable. Or maybe, seeing your friends (seemingly) happy on Facebook makes you feel like a failure. Why not spend less time in such situations?
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Real life example: Facebook was making me unhappy and I felt like a failure. People in my field were killing it and my friends looked so happy (or so I thought). Not to mention the fact I was wasting hours of my time mindlessly scrolling through my newsfeed. To overcome this drain on my emotional bank, I drastically reduced the time I spent on Facebook. Ever since making the decision, Ive been feeling better. This example shows you that small changes can enhance your wellbeing. If you look at the things you do daily, youll find activities or behaviors that dont support your happiness. Just removing one or two of these activities, or changing some of your behaviors, may noticeably improve your mood. You may already know what you should do, but its also possible youre unaware of the cost of some of your behaviors on your wellbeing.
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