What to do when you feel stuck in one emotional state
Constantly striving towards achieving goals is what makes everyday life meaningful to many of us. Although chances of achieving one or another goal may not seem too thin, what matters is how our emotions play with it. They set the mood for the whole day and often decide our success. Hope, joy, and determination can be easy to work with. However, other unpleasant emotions are inevitable, so understanding them and learning not to linger in them is crucial
When we are trapped in one emotional state, we often wait for external changes. While better external conditions may help with getting unstuck, the biggest change can be achieved by exploring your inner world. Many psychologists agree that change often evokes unpleasant emotions, but it is a prerequisite for removing yourself from a depressed mood and opening up to more opportunities. We suggest trying the following ways to experience movement from one emotional state to another.
.Sit with yourself alone
Dedicate a part of your day to stay with yourself in peace. Get used to doing it every day - it will give you a moment to concentrate on your inner voice and understand your true intentions and the obstacles more clearly. Focus on what you feel at the particular moment and what you would like to change.
.Explore deeper emotions
While being alone and trying to figure out which emotion is the hardest to work with, notice what emotion may be hiding behind it. Is it possible that shame and the desire to do everything perfectly lie behind anger and frustration of improper work? Write down what exactly is causing the unpleasant emotion.
.Make it clear
You may have already made a list of emotions that make you feel uncomfortable. Make sure you implement everything that worries you and repeat the first two steps until you feel sufficiently explored your deeper emotions. Making it clear what seems worrying to you at the moment is the first solid step towards change.
.Handle one emotion at a time
Choose one of the most common emotions and focus on tackling it first. For example, you experience anxiety about not being able to complete all the assigned work on time. Try to think about what can and should be changed for all tasks to be done within a certain time frame. Write a plan in small steps. Such a course of action should not only help you to reduce discomfort, but also point out the precise changes that focus on the current problem.
.Check-in
Return to the list the next time you are ready and have time to reflect in peace. Frequent work with yourself and identification of the problem helps to resolve it faster.
.Celebrate your success
Over time it will become easier to recognize, experience and release the emotion you are experiencing. However, even unpleasant emotions have a purpose - usually it is a good starting point for the changes to start. . Evaluate your ability to cope with emotions and don't be afraid to devote part of your time only to yourself.
EXERCISES
# 1 // Discover your purpose
Your purpose and mission in life can be more than just a job, universal milestone goals, or daily responsibilities. Your mission is exactly what makes you feel alive and determined - do you feel best when you help others understand themselves? Maybe you love animals endlessly and take care of them in your spare time? Or maybe you can go huge distances by cycling? By doing what you feel is your strength, you will place yourself in the right shoes and feel more pleasant emotions.
# 2 // Better ideas // How to quickly get out of a rut
Joey Schweitzer shares his thoughts on what helps him to get out of a stuck unpleasant emotional state. The content creator invites you to pay attention to the practical side and just “start doing something” without thinking about white noise. Take a look at the tips in this video (in English).
# 3 // Start with small changes
Small changes in the external environment encourage creativity and allow you to organize your thoughts more clearly. Small steps like moving the room around, joining a new company of friends, some routine changes, or just visiting a new, unexplored forest trail will encourage you to look for new alternatives and not go back to the same old approach. Help yourself see something new in your daily life.
# 4 // Three tips to help you get unstuck
According to Ron Friedman, trying to maintain high productivity leads to getting in a closed circle - getting stuck in one emotional state. Trying to solve certain problems with the old methods is often ineffective, so it is necessary to take a step back and try to change it to maintain a good quality of work. Follow the tips in this Harvard Business Review article.
# 5 // Don't be afraid to make mistakes
Often getting stuck in one state is caused by our fear of failure. The fear that one small mistake may take away our job from us, forces us to freeze and make no decision at all. Try not to minimize the rate of failures, but to reduce the cost of them. If the mistakes throughout the process are minor and are not costly, after some of them you will finally be able to make a decision that will cover the lost costs and bring better results. You can read more about it here.