📣Podcast version of this Memo
I need to recognize my emotional states because they define how I interpret reality at that point. The reality can be the same in two given moments, but my reaction to it can be tremendously different. I want to learn to not take the way I currently feel as the only truth and realize that this truth is malleable to my inner emotions.
Let’s say an event X happens that can potentially make me feel distraught. When I am in a cheerful state of mind, I will most likely find a positive interpretation of X: give people the benefit of the doubt, employ empathy and recognize the role of chance. When I am gloomy, it will be very easy to blame the people, feel my ego challenged and take things very personally. Feeling these things is natural, yet I want to recognize the impact of my inner emotions rather than just X on my interpretation of X.
Sometimes, it’s too hard to control the negativity. In these moments, I tell myself:
I recognize that my perception is negatively clouded right now. I am allowing myself to feel what I feel. Yet, I will withhold any decisions till my emotional state changes, because I might think and feel very differently then.