Why It’s Important to Embrace Our Negative Emotions

“Tough emotions are a part of our contract with life.” Susan David.

This quote rang through my ears these past couple weeks as I continued to think how I wish that I could not feel the disappointment or failure in my life. Just like many of people in the world, I do not feel comfortable with experiencing negative emotions. I hate the idea that somehow when I experience something unpleasant or wrong that it should be my goal to push negative emotions aside because they are “bad” emotions. I don’t like to feel sad, mad, grossed out, or embarrassed. It’s painful to feel this way because I have to admit that I may not be in the best place in my life or even in the best mindset for myself. I was challenged to rethink of what it means to embrace failure in order to live a more meaningful life. I thought of how if I could get rid of my negative emotions, I would not be able to communicate my needs to others, or obtain personal growth, and live life to the fullest. If I only want to live with my positive emotions, I would be only living a half-life and would still feel a negative emotion anyways, the fear of experiencing negative emotions.

Negative emotions are important for us to feel, because they give us a reason to live, improve upon ourselves, experience growth, and find a meaningful purpose in life. Without negative emotions we would only be living a half-life. And that is not a life worth living. Without negative emotions, we would not be able to define what makes us who we are and to communicate with one another or fuel connection. Just as positive feelings can give us meaning and define who we are, negative emotions tend to do the same thing. When we learn what makes us feel sad, angry or down we learn how these feelings can teach us to growth and improve our own life. By denying this part of us, we don’t connect or learn to work through issues. But, I think it goes a bit further than that.

Instead of looking at our emotions as negative or positive experiences, we can see them as tools related to growth and connectivity. Each emotion that we experience tells us something about ourselves and how we function in this world. By embracing all of our emotions we can learn how to utilize them to help us rather than hinder us. Just as a thermometer tells us the temperature, our emotions help us know what we are experiencing. Go out there experience all emotions you feel positive or negative and learn how each one can help you in your journey in life!