How to Control My Emotions and Thoughts

You may ask yourself, “how can I control my emotions and thoughts?” But at its core, this question requires you to remain within your head. It is only when you “but out” that your emotions change and your Interpretation of events alter. 

Once I was driving through a narrow road heading away from Barry, a sea side town in my home country of Wales. I stopped the car as I noticed an oncoming vehicle. However, the driver in front decided to abruptly force his way through. 

That driver was unreasonable. The oncoming vehicle slowed down to adjust for this moron. However, that moron decided to shout at the other driver for “blocking the road.” 

In all fairness, I’ve never seen such conviction. The driver was red in the face, barking like a bull dog and braced as though he was going to throw a punch. 

But then he noticed something... 

Behind the driver he was screaming at, was a police car. He immediately stopped and for the first time, evaluated that he was in the wrong.

Pattern Interrupt 

A pattern interrupt is when an unexpected factor suddenly shows its face. The above example shows the police showing up during Mr.Road Rage’s temper tantrum. 

Many of us have that friend who can make us laugh when we’re feeling down. Sometimes we can be mad at our partner but then he or she makes us laugh, however stubborn we’re being. 

But a pattern interrupt doesn’t need a second party. In his bestselling book Awaken the Giant Within, Tony Robins describes an example of depressed man getting out of bed and shouting “YIPPEE MY FEET DON’T STINK TODAY!” 

Paradigm Shift

One of my favourite authors is Stephen R. Covey. His best selling books The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Peopleand The 8th Habit have been invaluable to my business ventures.

Covey believes that one of the best ways to change someone’s behaviours is to change their background. This could be the location that they’re in. We’d all choose a gorgeous house by the beach over a dirty, rotting flat with no natural lighting. 

For me, it was a change of position. My mood, productivity and interpretation of the world all changed when I became self-employed. I still lived in the same house, had the same friends and I had slightly lower income. However, I felt uplifted and free. 

People’s attitude change for better or worse when they are in charge of people. Being promoted to a management position is another paradigm shift.