How Negative Emotions Can Drag You Down And Steal Your Chances Of Success

Every person wants to be happy and successful, or at least I've never met anyone who wished to be unhappy. Most of us, however, deal with negative emotions throughout our lives that zap our energy and make it difficult to lead happy and productive lives. We might consider whether such emotions are characteristic to us only. Perhaps we might wonder if they are actually foreign to human nature.

There are many negative emotions, but the most common are probably jealousy, fear, and especially anger. You can direct your anger inwardly when you keep it inside instead of expressing it out loud. In contrast, if you choose to lash out against other people, then you are directing your anger outwardly. These two forms can be destructive in different ways. Both of these types of anger, along with other negative emotions, can sap your energy and even lead to psychosomatic illnesses.

Anyone who has suffered from the physical effects of stress knows how the mind can affect the body. Negative emotions can weaken your body and make it more susceptible to disease, and outbursts of anger can affect your cardiovascular system and bring about a nervous breakdown. The significance of the psychological effects of sickness cannot be underestimated.

The incredible thing is that negative emotions can usually be traced to a single origin: your willingness and ability to blame other persons for the problems in your life.

The next time you become angry, try this simple exercise. Say out loud, "I am responsible." This simple act of accepting responsibility makes it extremely difficult or even impossible to feel angry and blame other people. When you make a habit to accept responsibility, you will eliminate negative emotion and feel empowered to actually do something about your problems and challenges.

Of course, accepting responsibility and refusing to blame other people requires an enormous amount of self-discipline, so you must work on this a little bit each day until you master your own tendencies.

What if something happens to you that is truly outside your sphere of control, like a natural disaster? Well, you may not be responsible for that particular event, but you are responsible for your own actions and responses to the event. In the end, you can only control your own words and actions, but this is usually enough to make a tremendously positive difference in your life.