Emotion as Self-Discipline

Emotion is the double-edged sword of humanity. It can be the ultimate form of motivation to carry out the impossible, and it can be the relentless force that drives us to our own destruction. If we never felt anything, we would have no compulsion to strive, attain or change anything. At the same time, many of us would love to find the deactivation switch to the emotional control panel and short it out for the sake of having a little peace of mind.

The real issue at hand isn’t whether or not emotion itself is bad, but if how it is perceived and dealt with is faulty. Emotion, much like an other object or idea, is completely benign on its own. It’s how we apply or make use of it that determines whether it is constructive or destructive. Much like a hammer, it has no real attribute in itself. It’s how we use it that determines if it becomes a good or bad tool … like building a house over smashing something in.

The idea of treating emotion as a motivational tool is not a new one, but yet it is a concept that is very difficult for the majority of people to put to use. Once our feelings are brought to the surface, we react (usually rashly) and place our butts in the proverbial sling. And when those erratic feelings die down, allowing us to look at the wreckage we caused in haste, we revert to being Homer Simpson. “DOH!”

So how do we put a rein on this powerful tool that seems to yield more pain than potential? In a word, channeling. Energy doesn’t do any good if it is wasted or allowed to disperse in all directions without a focal point. After all, how useful is electricity without a cable to direct it to a device?

For example, let’s take a very strong (and often negatively perceived) emotion … anger. Say an employee finds they have been demoted or fired unjustly because a new boss comes in that finds them a threat. The employee is seething with rage and would like nothing better than to wrap his twitching hands around his adversary’s neck and squeeze until their beady little eyes pop out of their sockets. Now, if the employee acts on this impulse, he will find himself in jail for life. Or, if he decides to go out and get stinking drunk, he runs the risk of doing something really stupid (such as drunk driving, picking a fight with a once prizefighter or getting alcohol poisoning which costs a fortune in hospital bills).

But what about the person who takes that anger and channels it towards doing something to better their situation – like starting their own business so they never have to find themselves in this kind of situation again? And what if that enterprise becomes so successful, they end up putting their old nemesis out of business? There is a funny statement about how one can end up “doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.” But that sounds a lot better than doing the wrong thing for what seems to be a perfectly good reason at the moment and end up paying for it dearly.

Using emotions to motivate doesn’t just stop at anger – it can also be used for grief, panic, confusion, joy or anything else. Positive emotions can be just as distracting as negative ones. How many times have we seen people let jobs, opportunities and friendships deteriorate because they fell in love and spent all of their time dwelling on it instead of maintaining or doing more with what they have?

The problem with emotions, whether they are positive or negative, is that they can become overpowering … wiping out all other thoughts and consideration from a person’s mind. When this happens, things are left undone, actions are carried out in hasty or careless ways and life falls to chaos. Channeling the emotions towards those areas that require a little more care is an excellent way to bring the balance back.

No matter what the circumstances, one should always take into consideration what they are or are not doing when experiencing strong emotions. One must check in with the mind on occasion to make sure the auto-pilot hasn’t run away with them. And if you can channel that energy towards doing that project you are putting off, to act on an idea that will only make your life, then you have mastered the art of motivation.