💡 Life Tip - Let Negative Emotions Serve Their Purpose (Issue #47)

They can guide you in a better direction

Frustration. Irritation. Sadness. Anger.

There’s a reason we experience negative emotions. Otherwise, they wouldn’t exist, right? They are valuable tools.

• They wake us up to the reality of a situation.

• They educate us about the impact of behavior.

• They motivate us to escape them.

• They drive us to change our lives.

Unfortunately, those negative emotions won’t help you if you do nothing but wallow in them. If you give up and feel helpless, you can’t transform that moment into a pivotal turning point in your life.

Thinking back on my life, I remember several critical turning points ignited by negative emotions.

• Deep sadness finally forced me to end a toxic relationship and move on. That life change created an amazing 33-year relationship with my wonderful wife.

• Embarrassment and anger triggered a series of events that pushed me to return to college and get my degree. I even went on and earned my Ph.D.

• Frustration with my declining health made me start exercising. That moment changed my life forever, and I haven’t stopped exercising in over 13 years (lost 40 lbs and feel fantastic now).

• Anger and irritation with how I was treated at work persuaded me to quit and start a business. I never returned to having a job, and I’ve never been happier!

When everything is going well, you don’t see a need to make changes in your life. I know I always feel too busy to pursue some new idea when my life is just fine as it is. I keep telling myself, “Oh, I’ll start on that next week,” but I never do.

However, when something bad happens, and I feel terrible, it lights a fire underneath me. Heck, I even launched a new business overnight to escape a miserable job.

Negative emotions can fuel positive life changes if you take advantage of that moment.

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Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I currently live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane.

Photo by Elyas Pasban on Unsplash