Accepting our emotions is the key to living more serenely. But our daily lives move too fast, and we haven’t learned how to manage our emotions. That’s why we tend to push them away, to repress them. So much so that they end up overflowing and ruining our daily lives. Why don’t we stop for a moment? Here are 3 tips to help you deal with your emotions.

1 – Accepting our emotions: understanding that we’re not perfect

Why do we find it hard to accept our emotions? Because we’re not perfect. And that’s inconceivable for many of us. “What, I’m not perfect? So I suck, is that it?!”

Yes, we’re not perfect. No, we don’t suck. We’re human.

Why does our tendency towards perfectionism prevent us from accepting our emotions?

A perfectionist has an unrealistic vision of what his or her emotional life should be: it should resemble a straight line. Indeed, a perfectionist wants a happy life where negative emotions have no place.

This is unrealistic!

Life is a cycle. Joy and suffering follow one another. Things don’t always go well, and things don’t always go badly.

Just as life is changeable, so are emotions. So one day we may feel good, and the next we may feel sad, angry… that’s life! Nothing’s perfect!

2 – Give yourself the right to be human

“To feel good, you have to accept feeling bad”.

Let’s give ourselves the right to be human and to feel both pleasant and unpleasant emotions.

Accepting our emotions means being able to see ourselves simply as human beings, with all our good and bad.

The next time we feel anger, sadness, jealousy or guilt, let’s smile, because it means we’re human and lucky to be alive.

This outpouring of gratitude can also considerably boost our good mood. Two birds with one stone!

3 – Finding the right balance to cope better with your emotions

What should we do when an emotion arises? Should we express it freely as it happens to us, or should we contain it?

What’s the difference between giving free rein to our emotions and repressing them?

Accepting your emotions doesn’t mean giving them free rein. In fact, this can be a source of conflict when we’re in the company of others. Imagine giving free rein to our anger, jealousy or sadness when we’re with friends, at work… it could be dangerous for our relationships, couldn’t it?

Accepting our emotions doesn’t mean repressing them either. In other words, while it’s not wise to let our emotions run too wild when we’re in public, we’re encouraged to do so when we’re alone.

In fact, accepting our emotions means finding the right balance. It means acknowledging our emotions, but acting in accordance with our values. Indeed, we can be angry, but act with kindness.

Find out more about managing your emotions

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover Emotional shock: 3 things to do to manage it well
Discover Living in peace with others: 8 keys to harmonious relationships

I recommend this inspiring book on the subject:

Radical Acceptance: Awakening the Love That Heals Fear and Shame by Tara Brach

His reflections on human nature are spot-on and really touched my heart.
A wonderfully uplifting book that took me through a process of self-examination and forgiveness. I will read this book again and again.
I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself.