Emotions are a conscious experience. They help us identify our responses and trigger our actions to events and circumstances. Emotions allow us to find an infinite pool of social information, which allows us to communicate our needs to others and realize the needs of others. They give us the ability to experience the ups and downs of life and can help us create, maintain, and navigate our relationships with others, and to connect with God/Higher Power/Spirit. Emotions help us survive. They have the ability to trigger our body’s fight-or-flight response. 

It is common for people to try to avoid their emotions or to push them aside. Not processing them can lead to many negative effects both physically and emotionally. 

Below are some potential consequences of suppressing your feelings:  

• Inability to develop healthy relationships
• Behaviors that are angry, aggressive, or explosive
• Sadness, anxiousness, or agitation
• Poor communication
• Pessimistic perspective on life
• Low self-esteem, guilt, low self-worth, or shame
• Experiencing unexplained fears or phobias

In order to cultivate a long-lasting life of psychological and emotional well-being, you absolutely need to learn to embrace your emotions. I have many friends who don't "interface" through emotions, but through thoughts. If this is you, I encourage you to consider your emotions - and the emotions of others - as data points to support your processing of a situation or outcome. 

Below are 7 reasons why your emotions matter.  

• Safety: Your feelings matter because they keep you safe. Your body is wired to have a fight-or-flight response. If your emotions are telling you that you are in a threatening situation, you need to listen to them to survive.
  
  
• Inspiration: Your emotions can inspire you. If you feel happy, you will continue to act the same way to feel good about yourself and your life. If you feel sad or angry, you will be able to change your pace, direction, or actions to move toward the things you want
  
  
• Decision Making: Your emotions will help you make decisions. If you feel unease about an upcoming business transaction, you will do more research and push to uncover red flags. Your feelings could actually have you cancel the transaction and help you avoid a long-lasting mistake. If you are a "head" person, consider your emotions as data points along with the other information you have.
  
  
• Self-Reflection: Your emotions make you look inwards. Self-reflection is hard but is necessary. Are you satisfied with who you are? Do you want to become a better person? Your emotions will help you learn about yourself and who you want to become, and will ultimately help ground you in your experience of God/Higher Power/Spirit.
  
  
• Connection with Others: Your emotions allow you to connect with others. You can begin to understand another person and build long-lasting relationships. This spills over into your ability to connect with art, beauty, nature, and God.
  
  
• Problem Solve: Your emotions give you the ability to problem-solve. They alert you to different sensations and ideas around you and allow you to develop new ideas and try new paths.
  
  
• Success: Your emotions can create a pathway to success. Every emotion has a meaning. They can help you sprint ahead when everyone else is hesitant or they can stop you while everyone else is charging ahead. Emotions can help you achieve success in your personal and professional life. 

When we learn to listen to our emotions, we are essentially allowing ourselves to become the best version of ourselves that we can be. Rather than running from your feelings or sweeping them under the rug, learn to embrace them fully. 

Embracing emotions does not come easy, especially with regard to negative ones. It will take time, effort, and dedication. Even if you don't lead with emotions, understanding and managing them within yourself and others will help you go far professionally, and deepen your personal relationships and experience of this life, and will ground and connect you to all things that transcend this experience.

Your emotions help pave the way for character building creating the life you want. They help you become successful, help with problems solving, build connections with others, foster engagement in self-reflection, help with decision making, provide inspiration, and give options for safety.

Would you like to take some next steps to increase your emotional maturity and regulate/manage your emotions? Click here to learn about fiLLLed - a program for spiritual and emotional growth.