“We are injured and hurt emotionally, not so much by other people or what they say and don’t say, but by our own attitude and our own response.”
—Maxwell Maltz
In spite of the fact that half of North Americans are overweight and that losing weight is often the number one thing you can do to improve your health, your energy and your longevity, this article is not about physical pounds.
It’s about weight of another kind—emotional pounds. You might be tempted to say that you don’t have any. Perhaps you consider yourself emotionally healthy. And you may be right. But I’ve seen people who I consider to be in excellent emotional shape become lighter before my eyes (they actually appear to have lost weight) as they let go of feelings they have repressed.
The word emotion is from the Latin, exmovēre—to move. To me, it means energy in motion. Unfortunately, our culture and our beliefs often cause us to stop the flow of our emotions. Our feelings are blocked in our bodies and this inhibits us from being our best. When this happens, our feelings are no longer in motion—they’re dead weight. This saps our energy and spoils our clarity.
Certainly there are times when particular emotions are inappropriate to display. The ability to master our emotions is often a measure of maturity and one of the things that makes us a civilized society. But if we constantly stuff our feelings and don’t express them, they become at best unnecessary baggage—extra weight dragging us down. At worst, they become bottled up energy that can explode in catastrophic ways.
Men especially seem to have a hard time expressing their emotions. They often fear that a display of emotion will cause them to be viewed as weak. This just isn’t true. By expressing how we truly feel and releasing the pent-up (and sometimes not-so-pent-up) feelings, we free ourselves to be more of who we truly are—we become more powerful.
And it’s a learned skill. We get better at it the more we do it—especially when we take responsibility for those feelings instead of blaming something or somebody else for them. This is where we truly become empowered.
The information age in which we live often disparages our emotions. Bertrand Russell wrote, “We know too much and feel too little. At least we feel too little of those creative emotions from which a good life springs.” Many scientists believe that humans are the only species on the planet who have emotions. And yet, our intellect often discounts and discourages this important part of our humanity.
We all need a safe place to express our feelings—the ones that feel good and the ones that don’t. An understanding loved one, trusted friends or even a professional. The important thing is to do it—and do it regularly. In doing so, we allow ourselves to experience more of our power, to see things more clearly (not filtered through blocked emotions) and to be more present.
I encourage you to get in touch with those feelings (usually the not-so-pleasant ones) which you have left unexpressed. Trust me, you have them. It’s not easy at first, but if you do, you will feel lighter. It will be as if you have shed physical pounds from your body.
Best Life Insight: When you are clear, what you want in your life shows up. And the quality and quantity of what shows up is in direct proportion to your degree of clarity.
Recommended Reading
The Achievement Code
The Three-C Formula for Getting What you Truly Want
Without the Three C’s of Clarity, Concentration and Consistency, achieving your goals will always be hit and miss.
The Achievement Code shows you how to live with more purpose, passion and prosperity.
