Emotions: Dangerous or powerful?

Feelings are meant to be felt

“Don’t let the highs get too high or the lows get too low” – It’s a common piece of advice given to athletes. 

And I routinely ignored it.

It’s true that emotions can be dangerous.  They’re hard to understand and not always an accurate reflection of reality.  But if something is dangerous, then it is also powerful.

I know  my emotions can be wild, but I like experiencing the full power of my anger, joy, frustration, and delight because they make me better.

Here are two things I’ve learned to do to harness their power for good:

1) Always respond.  Never react. 

Take the time to feel the emotion right to the end.  It might be an hour, it might be a month.  You can’t rush this step

2) Speak on behalf of your emotions, never from them. 

Words are powerful.  You can always add to what you have said, but you can never take something back.