The truth of the matter: feelings or fact

Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash.

Not too long ago, I noticed a recurring theme in my speech. While I’m not suggesting the following phrases aren’t valid, they gave me pause: “I don’t feel like it,” and “I’m not in the mood.” But here’s the problem: both are based on emotion vs. truth. And the truth is:…[read more]

Outside of the box

[Image credit: satit_srihin]

One of my male friends explained to me that guys are better able to compartmentalize their feelings than women are. Apparently they possess the ability to stuff emotions into imaginary boxes and either ignore, or remove them at will. Females, on the other hand, are equipped with a million wires carrying—non-stop—every thought and feeling they’ve ever had. With all I’m currently dealing with, I figured I’d try the box thing. Yes, I know I’m a girl. But if I don’t “shut down,” I end up dwelling on circumstances I cannot change, oftentimes worrying needlessly or jumping to wrong conclusions. Or just thinking too much. Living “outside of the box” allows me to better focus on what I do have control over without getting my wires crossed. And when I need to examine my feelings, I simply repack the appropriate box afterwards. Someday I hope to purge a box or two. But until then, this is my new normal.

How do you keep feelings from becoming distractions?