ENTRY 234
Theme: Regulation of the Emotional Self
"Anger is valid, but yelling is not.
Jealousy is valid, but judgment is not.
Pain is valid, but self-sabotage is not.
Missing them is valid, but going back is not.
Separate emotions from behavior."
Loving this. I agree we shouldn't allow our feelings to make decisions for us, we should communicate with one another instead of yelling, it's okay to want what someone has but not okay to be spiteful because of it, we shouldn't use stress as an excuse to fall backwards, and we should never return to someone that hurt us...
Interestingly enough, I find that many times, we do these things anyway as it's a part of the human experience. Haven't we all? We make mistakes, and yes, sometimes our emotions get the best of us. While it is true that we don't wanna turn setbacks into habits, we also don't wanna hold ourselves to an impossible standard. That impossible standard is the expectation for any human being to function without flaw. The trick is to prevent or cope constructively because perfection is a myth.
The ultimate goal should be to be a better person, "competing with no one other than who you used to be yesterday," as the saying goes. We all gotta work on ourselves.
The pic I included does have childish illustrations but I do highly recommend things like writing, reaching out, researching, exercising, taking a break, and making art when attempting to regulate the emotional self. More thoughts later.
