There has been a great amount of emphasis in social and formal education in the previous few decades that focus on ‘listening to yourself’ and expressing our emotions. This is fantastic, as it is such a crucial element of living. There is a catch, however, as we have been groomed and are grooming our younger generations to depend upon our emotions to dictate our days, decisions and actions. This is problematic in a couple of ways, and also beneficial. If you feel morally uncomfortable with a situation, or something makes you feel incredibly gratified – it is reasonable to follow these feelings. However, we often hear of people ‘waiting for motivation’ or an excuse, “I’m just not feeling it”. Life cannot wait for our emotional moods to swing into alignment at the perfect moment. As any teenager (and child and adult) can attest, emotions are highly variable, unpredictable and often baseless in real fact. So, whilst it is important to engage in your emotional life, it is also equally important to be able to override and analyse your own emotions with logic and decision so that you can participate and master your goals and important elements of your life. Many things in life that are beyond the simple, momentary and fleeting ‘pleasures’ that are usually physical and temporary. When we start getting into the category of ‘gratification’, rather than ‘pleasure’, we encounter a place where hard work, endurance and total engagement come into play to bring a more supreme sense of satisfaction despite (and perhaps, because of, the adversity and hard work that has led to it). To explain this in another way – you often appreciate something that you buy after saving up for it for a considerable amount of time, rather than instantaneously receiving it soon after you desire it. In summary, perhaps it is time to start overriding some emotions today that aren’t serving you in a way that improves your life. Feeling lazy and wanting to stay in bed? Override – get up and do what you told yourself that you would do when you woke up. Exercise, make a healthy breakfast, meditate and write in your journal. Your gratification and pride in yourself will easily override the momentary pleasure of sleeping in, I promise.
LLUMI Australia 