5 Habits of Emotionally Stable People
Some people are surprisingly serene in any situation, while others are characterized by feeling incapable of facing their emotions. The latter are constantly overwhelmed and wonder whether they are prepared to respond to the events that they are presented with.
Achieving emotional stability doesn’t have to be difficult; all we need to do is make small internal changes that will help us accept and control our emotions in the most effective way. Below are 5 habits of emotionally stable people that show us how we can manage our emotions.
1. Instead of reacting, they respond.
Emotionally stable people stop for a moment to think and control the whirlwind of emotions that has unfolded within them. In this way, they are able to disconnect and gain perspective on the situation, which allows for an appropriate response that is less intense than the impulse of the initial emotional reaction.
You should always keep a cold head, a warm heart, and a long hand, Confucius once said. When we react on the spot, our emotions control us and our impulses burst. W e aren’t ourselves if we act in this moment.
If you feel bad after confronting a person or a situation, it means that you have reacted to your emotions, which is radically different from responding to them. Responding to your emotions will make you feel like you worked through the situation with integrity and respect.
2. They honor the realness of their emotions.
Imagine that you are facing divorce or separation, that you’ve been fired from your job, or that someone close to you has left, never to return. How would you feel? Naturally, you would feel very sad, nervous, or afraid in the face of uncertainty. Why fight against these feelings?
People who are emotionally stable don’t fight their emotions, but rather keep them by their side and listen to them. In other words, they understand that how they feel forms a part of what is happening and each emotion fulfills a purpose. For this reason, they let their thoughts flow and investigate their emotions.
By managing their inner world this way, they don’t feel trapped by their emotions and they don’t run from the future or the past. If one does not accept one’s emotions, they can take on a negative meaning and this negative meaning can stay forever be attached to those memories.
3. They look inwards and sincerely empathize with their authentic self.
Stable people do something that most human beings don’t take seriously: they reflect on what really makes them feel good and how they can create a steady flow of little pleasures.
Making a huge list of everything that makes us feel good is a great act of self-love. But it doesn’t help if you make the list but never put it into practice, so we must carry out at least one of these actions every day. Practicing self love gives us great power; it means we don’t need to rely on external factors — people or things — to feel good.
4. They move to clear their minds.
When we feel sad, stressed, or anxious, we can’t get out of our heads or away from the rush of feelings that comes down upon us. One way to reconnect with ourselves is through movement.
Moving around and being active helps us gain more perspective, stimulates our nerves, and makes us feel alive. Although it’s probably not something that we’re not used to doing and it might make us feel weird, dancing to our favorite music is a great way to take care of our emotional well-being.
5. They practice gratitude every day.
Being grateful is tremendously beneficial for our emotional stability, since it teaches us to find something positive or learn something in every situation.
To cultivate gratitude, we can try to sharing three things we are grateful for every day with the people around us. This just involves bringing to mind the positive aspects of each day so that we realize there are things that truly make us feel good.
Taking care of our emotional wellbeing makes us feel really good and helps us make the most of our lives. When we feel emotionally stable, we can focus on our dreams, live up to our expectations, and feel connected with ourselves. In this way, we will be a lot more productive and make more and better decisions, which will result in better psychological and physical health.
Main image courtesy of natalia_maroz
