WHY THIS BOOK
Many books discuss emotions and how they affect your life, but they rarely provide a comprehensive view of what emotions are, where they come from, what is their role, or how they affect your life.
Emotions are among the trickiest things to deal with and, unfortunately, too often you and I will fall prey to their mystical power.
We find ourselves unable to break their spell. Because they affect every aspect of our lives and determine the quality of it, our inability to understand how emotions work can prevent us from designing our ideal life and from fulfilling our potential.
By the end of this book, you will know how emotions work and, more importantly, you will be better equipped to deal with them.
If you struggle to deal with negative emotions, or want to learn how emotions work and how you can use them as a tool for your personal growth, this book is for you.
INTRODUCTION
The mind in its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven.
-J MILTON, POET
We all experience a wild range of emotions throughout our lives. I had to admit, while writing this book, I experienced highs and lows myself. At first, I was filled with excitement and thrilled at the idea of providing people with a guide to help them understand their emotions. I imagined how readers' lives would improve as they learned to control their emotions. My motivation was high and I couldn't help but imagine how great the book would be.
Or so I thought.
After the initial excitement, the time came to sit down to write the actual book, and that's when the excitement wore off pretty quickly.
Ideas that looked great in my mind suddenly felt dull. My writing seemed boring, and I felt as though I had nothing substantive or valuable to contribute.
The son of Iorus
Sitting at my desk and writing became more challenging each day. I started losing confidence. Who was I to write a book about emotions if I couldn't even master my own
emotions? How ironic! I considered giving up. There are already plenty of books on the topic, so why add one more?
At the same time, I realized this book was a perfect opportunity to work on my own emotional issues. And who
We all have highs and lows, don't we? The key is what we do with our lows. Are we using our emotions to grow? Are we learning something from them? Or are we beating ourselves up over them?
So, let's talk about your emotions now. Let me start by asking you this:
How do you feel right now?
Knowing how you feel is the first step toward taking control of your emotions. You may have spent so much time internalizing you've lost touch with your emotions. Perhaps you answered as follows: "I feel this book could be useful," or "I really feel I could learn something from this book." However, none of these answers reflect how you feel. You don't 'feel like this,' or 'feel like that,' you simply 'feel.' You don't 'feel like' this book could be useful, you 'think' this book could be useful, and that generates an emotion which makes you 'feel'
excited about reading it. Feelings manifest as physical sensations in your body, not as an idea in your mind. Perhaps, the reason the word 'feel' is so often overused or misused is because we don't want to talk about our emotions. So, how do you feel now?
Why is it important to talk about emotions?
How you feel determines the quality of your life. Your emotions can make your life miserable or truly magical. That's why they are among the most important things to focus on. Your emotions color all your experiences. When you feel good, everything seems, feels, or tastes better. You also think better thoughts. Your energy levels are higher and possibilities seem limitless. Conversely, when you feel depressed, everything seems dull. You have little energy and you
become unmotivated. You feel stuck in a place (mentally and physically) you don't want to be, and the future looks gloomy.
Your emotions can also act as a powerful guide. They can tell you something is wrong and allow you to make changes in your life. As such, they may be among the most powerful personal growth tools you have.
Sadly, neither your teachers nor your parents taught you how emotions work or how to control them. I find it ironic that just about anything comes with a how-to manual, while your mind doesn't.
You've never received an instruction manual to teach you how your mind works and how to use it to better manage your emotions, have you? I haven't. In fact, until now, I doubt one even existed.
What you'll learn in this book
This book is the how-to manual your parents should have given you at birth. It's the instruction manual you should have received at school. In it, I'll share everything you need to know about emotions so you can overcome your fears and limitations and become the type of person you really want to be.
You'll learn what emotions are, how they are formed, and how you can use them for your personal growth. You'll also learn how to deal with negative emotions and condition your mind to create more positive emotions.
It is my sincere hope and expectation that, by the end of this book, you will have a clear understanding of what emotions are and will have all the tools you need to start taking control of them.
More specifically, this book will help you:
Understand what emotions are and how they impact your life identify negative emotions that control your life and learn to overcome them
Change your story to take better control over your life and create a more compelling future, and
Reprogram your mind to experience more positive emotions.
Here is a more detailed summary of what you'll learn in this book: In Part I, we'll discuss what emotions are. You'll learn why you are wired to focus on negativity and what you can do to counter this effect. You'll also discover how your beliefs impinge upon your emotions. Finally, you'll learn how negative emotions work and why they are so tricky.
In Part II, we'll go over the things that directly impact your emotions. You'll understand the roles your body, your thoughts, your words, or your sleep, play in your life and how you can use them to change your emotions.
In Part III, you'll learn how emotions are formed. You'll also learn how to condition your mind to experience, more positive emotions.
And finally, in Part IV, we'll discuss how to use your emotions as a tool for personal growth. You'll learn why you experience emotions such as fear or depression and how they work. You'll then discover how to use them to grow.
Let's get started.