Be Mindful of Your Excitatory Mode
What we do when we are happy can be as bad as what we do when we are sad
Overindulgence is a sin. Too much of everything is bad. Whether it be when you are sad or happy. The common notion for me used to be that wearing your heart on your sleeve in both cases can never go wrong. I used to think being happy and showing it to the core was the best foot forward. But that’s not true.
We make some of the biggest mistakes when we are happy too. Mistakes that in return, hit us hard and aggravate the anger or sadness we feel when we come back to our senses. No wonder it is said popularly to be mindful of one’s emotions. Not differentiating negative or positive ones. Just emotions.
Because emotions can derail us. positive emotions can make us do stupid things, likewise the negative ones.
We need to draw a line in our minds each time we are elated. To recognize the tendency of going overboard due to the feelings we are getting. We need to be mindful of our excitatory modes as well as the non-excitatory ones.
Positive emotions can make us do stupid things
Love is an example of positive emotion. It radiates through a person to reach millions of people at once. It is also a secluded type of emotion that can be shown to one person or a specific set of people at once. The kind we normally refer to as the erotic type of love. Using love as a tool to misbehave is ubiquitous in many relationships these days. In the name of love, people sacrifice themselves at the altar of someone else’s validation of them. In the name of love, people neglect their needs and pursuits for somebody else’s. When we think about this, it’s not true love. But a story for another day.
Love can make us do stupid things. We turn on the autopilot mode because now we have someone that cares for us deeply or that we care for. We become abrasive to our friends whom we formed a bond with, we become enslaved to the thoughts of what could make us commit further with the people we’ve found to love in our lives. That, my friend, is an example of how the excitatory mode of love can push you beyond your expectations. Which can land you in serious trouble in the nearest future.
Happiness makes us forget a lot of things
I believe it is a good omen when we are happy. The undertone of all our strive and achievements is to be happy. No doubt. But when we neglect this other insidious side of happiness, it can rear its ugly head and damage the good thing we have going for us.
Happiness, for example, can make us forget a lot of things. Ugly past, painful ordeals, lessons learned, fruits born, and whatnot. While it’s not particularly a bad thing to rid yourself of things with negative bearings, especially due to your new transcendence, it’s completely unwise. Why? Because the pain from the past is what reminds us to be careful. Lessons learned are what guide us to be better in the future. Ugly ordeals or situations are what make us wary for next time. This does not translate to tiptoeing around for a hiccup, but more like fighting through to make sure you sustain that happy mode for as long as possible. After all, that is the goal.
Our deep care for things can sway us
Care is another great aspect of good emotions. When we care, we attend. When we attend, we invest. Now, investing in something heavily can sway us. We would rather apportion the right amount of time and energy to people and things accordingly rather than just do them because of the social rules. This stretches our authenticity further by allowing us to be ourselves. It is through being ourselves, that we can regain our strength and preserve our energy from time to time to be truly there for people or things in our lives than deserve them. It is not a matter of just saying ‘I care’ and diving head first into something so shallow. Because you’ll burn.
Excitatory modes can make us commit to unnecessary things
Being mindful of excitatory modes prevents us from making costly mistakes. Such as making a promise or a decision when we are excited. There are some modes of excitement (and usually too), that are very short-lived. So when a phase of excitement comes, you need to be guarded about what you conceive in your heart and what you say with your mouth. Because this short-lived euphoria is what makes us forget as I pointed out about happiness. Except that happiness is more prolonged usually than being excited. Hold your tongue, don’t make decisions you have not carefully thought out, and don’t make promises you have no way of fulfilling. Their repercussions when ignored are paramount to your emotional health. As much as it seems unbelievable. Please best believe.
You want to trust and accept yourself by knowing that you stick to your words. Through knowing that you're aware of your emotions and can manage your emotions and what comes from them.
This is not a matter of not being yourself when several emotions flash through your heart and body. This is a matter of being aware of what might result from those emotions if you do not carefully exercise them the way they ought to be exercised. As previously stated in one of my articles here, emotions are tricky. You think you must obey them to feel like you are truly living or being authentic, whereas sometimes, they’re just a figment of our imagination. If I want to do stupid things for instance and have no basis for it, it’s easy to draw one of these mentioned ‘positive’ emotions above as my underlying reason. But who are we kidding? Because at the end of the day, we are liable to deal with our grave mistakes no matter what is to be blamed. So, why don’t you tread cautiously even as you bask in the beauty of those marvelous positive emotions? And thank yourself for it with hands on your chest confirming how truly mindful and undeterred you are despite whatever comes.
Don’t let your emotions get the better part of you.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
