Emotional Outlets: Let it Out and Let it Go

There are days when we find ourselves stuck in our emotions. We may feel the need to bottle them up in order to deal with our circumstances. And this only makes things worse. There are many of us who will try to keep these emotions inside of us for an extended period of time, only to let it explode out of us like a volatile wave. We may allow these emotions to stay with us for the entire day, allowing it to become a miserable one. My friends, time is a very precious commodity. The time we spend in this life and with our loved ones is time we can’t get back. It's OK to feel stressed, anxious, sad, and angry. The most important thing we can do is to let it out and then let it go. In order to do that we need to find a healthy way to outlet these emotions.

Label the way you are feeling right now. Are you anxious or frustrated? If so, why do you feel this way? Is it your internal dialog? Or is it something external from yourself? Or both? It’s important to know where these emotions come from. Self-reflect on this.

For instance, “I am embarrassed because I made a mistake and I feel as though others will see me as stupid.” Following your reflection, reason with yourself. “I am human and am bound to make mistakes. This is not unique to me; everyone does this. And this does not make me stupid.”

After reflecting and reasoning, use your outlet. For example, if you love music you could sing, play or listen to a song that conveys your feelings. Or you may enjoy other activities such as exercising, writing, painting or baking as your outlets. Personally, I enjoy singing at the top of my lungs to my favorite songs and do archery. The wonderful thing about outlets is that they are different and unique to each person. One person might enjoy boxing whereas someone more mechanically minded might enjoy fixing things.

And if you are thinking right now, "I'm not talented enough for these forms of outlets," then guess what; you don't need to be! Emotional outlets are a tool to help you cope with anything going on in your life. You don't have to be a professional artist to paint for your outlet.

They are personal in every way. They are personal in form, time and space. The time that you are alone in a space doing your form of outlet, is specifically for you. It's to relieve all that negativity going on in your mind and to heal.

As weird as it may sound, when I am in a public place where I can’t express my emotions fully, I will schedule a time later in the day to do it. Strangely, knowing that I will be able to use my emotional outlet soon aids me to endure my situation better than I would have otherwise. I’m not bottling my emotions but rather setting them up for a greater outlet session in order to provide greater relief. And after my outlet session, I feel as though I’m no longer stuck in that same emotion unless I allow my mind to travel down the negativity rabbit hole.

Due to this, It’s important to note that freeing ourselves from these negative emotions can and will take practice. It won’t be something that we master overnight. When we have these feelings, we need to remember to stop, reflect, reason and use our outlet. It may be awhile before we even remember to take these steps. However, by continuing this practice we can gain more control over our thoughts and feelings, allowing us to move on with our day in a better way.