Negative Emotions And The Frying Pan Of Life
Sizzle.
Can you hear something cooking on that pan?
Step out onto the street and ask 100 different people what their main purpose in life is and they will probably give you an answer relating to the idea of happiness.
Of course happiness is a fantastic thing, but really how do you manage to get it? How do you go about living your life in a way that guarantees your happiness?
Not many people really know. A lot of people have come up with systems and books on the subject, but when it really comes down to it everyones experience is completely different. All we know is that like any other emotion in the book, when it's there it's there.
Every single time we go through a negative emotion we find ourselves trying to get back to being "happy" as quickly as possible. But are we really happy? Are we actually moving forward with our life in a positive direction or are we just ignoring what's actually there? I would say the latter is probably more true.
There's significant danger in this type of behavior because if you create a false ladder of ascension, you will always come across life's wondrous way of ripping the rug out from beneath you at the most inconvenient time. When that happens, you will try to take a step back on the ladder rung below only to find that it isn't there.
When you fall off a ladder, you land really hard.
Bam. Flat on your back.
We've all been there. So here's the part about how you can change all of this.
It's time to bring in the "frying pan analogy." Essentially, the frying pan of life is those hard and dark moments in your life that scare you a little. The goal here: get close to them. Get close enough to those moments that you can experience the thoughts, emotions, and feelings surrounding them but stay far enough away so you don't get completely overwhelmed by them and take yourself out of the game.
If you do this, you will heal yourself.
Chaos and a little craziness...those are good things. You want that energy flowing through you, and if you can harness it and create art with it, whatever that art may be, the possibilities are endless.
It's not only the light that can create amazing things, but the darkness as well. You can bring out the darker colors of your life onto the canvas and mix them with the bright light. When you have access to both, you can begin to paint a picture that no one has ever seen before. You can create something beautiful.
I would venture to say it's possible.
Maybe happiness shouldn't be the goal. Maybe growth should be the goal. If we focused on growing every single day, we could see ourselves moving in all sorts of directions. We would expand and shrink in places and be almost like an amoeba. If we lived that way, there would be no shortage of direction in our life.
So how about you try it out? It could change your entire life.
Can you hear something cooking on that pan?
Step out onto the street and ask 100 different people what their main purpose in life is and they will probably give you an answer relating to the idea of happiness.
Of course happiness is a fantastic thing, but really how do you manage to get it? How do you go about living your life in a way that guarantees your happiness?
Not many people really know. A lot of people have come up with systems and books on the subject, but when it really comes down to it everyones experience is completely different. All we know is that like any other emotion in the book, when it's there it's there.
Every single time we go through a negative emotion we find ourselves trying to get back to being "happy" as quickly as possible. But are we really happy? Are we actually moving forward with our life in a positive direction or are we just ignoring what's actually there? I would say the latter is probably more true.
There's significant danger in this type of behavior because if you create a false ladder of ascension, you will always come across life's wondrous way of ripping the rug out from beneath you at the most inconvenient time. When that happens, you will try to take a step back on the ladder rung below only to find that it isn't there.
When you fall off a ladder, you land really hard.
Bam. Flat on your back.
We've all been there. So here's the part about how you can change all of this.
It's time to bring in the "frying pan analogy." Essentially, the frying pan of life is those hard and dark moments in your life that scare you a little. The goal here: get close to them. Get close enough to those moments that you can experience the thoughts, emotions, and feelings surrounding them but stay far enough away so you don't get completely overwhelmed by them and take yourself out of the game.
If you do this, you will heal yourself.
Chaos and a little craziness...those are good things. You want that energy flowing through you, and if you can harness it and create art with it, whatever that art may be, the possibilities are endless.
It's not only the light that can create amazing things, but the darkness as well. You can bring out the darker colors of your life onto the canvas and mix them with the bright light. When you have access to both, you can begin to paint a picture that no one has ever seen before. You can create something beautiful.
I would venture to say it's possible.
Maybe happiness shouldn't be the goal. Maybe growth should be the goal. If we focused on growing every single day, we could see ourselves moving in all sorts of directions. We would expand and shrink in places and be almost like an amoeba. If we lived that way, there would be no shortage of direction in our life.
So how about you try it out? It could change your entire life.
About the Author:
Evan Sanders is a fearless adventurer, professional life coach and writer. He is on a mission to incite the hearts and minds of those around him and help them live their best lives. Read more of his work at The Better Man Projects and throw yourself into these Sylvia Plath Quotes for some more inspiration and motivation.