I have been working a lot with emotions lately and it brought to mind the Disney movie “Inside Out”. The movie is about five emotions, all competing for control and balance in the mind of Riley.
The emotions are Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. They all try to regulate Riley with the right emotion, felt, and expressed at the right time.
Riley is a happy, hockey-loving 11-year-old Midwestern girl, but when she and her parents move to San Fransisco, her world turns upside-down. Riley’s emotions try to guide her through this difficult, life-changing event, but the stress of the move brings Sadness to the forefront.
When Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind, the only emotions left in “Headquarters” are Anger, Fear and Disgust. And these three bring chaos.
Emotions are powerful and often create confusion and conflict within ourselves. They are part of the human condition. Most of our experiences in life can be recalled by the feelings we attach to them. Emotions create powerful reactions and memories that need to be processed, understood and resolved or embraced.
The weight of unresolved feelings or emotions has the ability to cripple us from moving forward, feeling afraid of many aspects of our lives. It is something we all experience.
The things that worry us can master us and create a bit of chaos… or a lot of chaos! We need to give ourselves permission to sit with our feelings, work through them and create new, more positive ones to move forward.
Feelings are something you have; not something you are. The most important decision you make is to become familiar with your emotions and choose the ones that move you to where you want to be.
“Its not about managing your emotions. It’s about managing your reaction to your emotions.”
-Yung Pueblo
