Instead of feeding it, feed on it

September 27, 2015 2:15 PM

Gruber’s research on positive
psychology found that attempting to suppress negative emotions, rather than
accepting and appreciating them, paradoxically can backfire and increase
feelings of distress.

She writes that one idea which is overdue for retirement
is that sadness is bad and happiness is good. Because negative emotions can be
a beautiful thing. They aid our survival with cues about threats. They help us
focus and persist in times of adversity.

I’m reminded of a interview I heard with a
famous comic book artist, who talked about how creativity helped him heal the
trauma he experienced as an abandoned child. Dean put it eloquently: I was in
the darkness, but then I realized I could wrap it around myself and use it as
my cape. Hence, his successful career in writing stories about superheroes.

It’s a somber reminder that each of us must acknowledge that the shadow selfdoesexist, and that we ought to ask ourselves, how can we keep
from feeding it to where it becomes out of control?

Simple. Instead of feeding
it, feed on it. Make it part of your diet. Treat the shadow self as an energy
source. Channel it into creating inspiring art or fostering social change or
running charity triathlons. That’s the encouraging part about negative emotion.
It doesn’t care what you do with it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How mindfully do you ride the ebbs and tides of your rich emotional life?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “19 Way to be the One Person Everybody Remembers at the Conference,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com