Emotions are a pretty big part of everyone's lives. Some (if not all) of the biggest events of our lives are filled with so many different emotions or one that overpowers the rest. If you know me personally you know just how emotional of a person I am. I don't really consider that a bad thing, but it can definitely be a frustrating sometimes. I wanted to take today's post to talk about how we can turn our emotions, whether or not they are good or bad, into something more productive and helpful to yourself and sometimes even to the world. 

I am sure if you are a regular reader of my page you are going to know exactly what example I am going to give first. If you guessed working out you would be correct! It may sound incredibly cliché but working out is a great way to deal with stress and get out some of the extra energy you may be feeling from it. Recently I heard some bad news about someone in my life. I called my Mom on the drive home from work and she said it was a good thing I was headed to the gym. I could work out some of that stress. It is a pretty great way to focus your attention and time on something else for a while. I am not going to lie, sometimes it is a relieving feeling having an emotion to drive me through a plank or swinging a kettlebell with an angry focus (but in a safe way of course). If you have some pent up emotions about something go ahead and head to the gym, go for a walk, or do something active at home. It doesn't have to be a full body workout or anything, but getting up and moving should help you deal with that stress. Just get those endorphins flowing! 

Another great way to deal with emotions is in the completely opposite way. Sometimes when I am particularly stressed at work or worked up about something personal in my life I take some time to just reflect. I personally don't really meditate too much but that is great for this! What I typically do is just sit back or lay down, close my eyes, breathe deeply and calmly, and just think about life and whatever may be bothering me. This is a great thing to do for good emotions too. Sit there and count your blessings just like Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney suggest in White Christmas. You can sit there with your eyes closed and a big smile on your face as you reflect on those great feelings. We feel all kinds of emotions for a reason. They make us human. Take time to embrace them and appreciate them. Emotions mean we are living after all do they not?

My final example for dealing with our emotions and frustrations is the biggest one for me. I am a big fan of using them to do something creative with our lives. I channel so many of my emotions within this page. If I wasn't a highly emotional person I would not be able to keep writing for this page every week. I can think of so many examples of rough days or bad news received in my past that lead to very specific posts. There are probably just as many posts written from happy days as well. I want to encourage you to find something creative to channel your emotions into. Maybe it is painting. Maybe it is journaling (I hear bullet journaling is great and I am fully planning on starting that up myself). Maybe you like to sketch or make up some crazy dance moves. It can be anything! Find a hobby or interest that you can use to release some of the feelings of the events of your life. A fellow blogger has done just that and I want to take a second to shoutout his work. Jason Mackey has a blog dedicated to poetry and putting a positive spin on it. He writes mainly haikus and sometimes tankas and always has some additional text with them along with a picture. Sometimes it is a positive message, sometimes it is a symbolic message through fiction, and other times it is just a fun short fiction story. I highly recommend you check out his work! You can find it here. He also has a Twitter where he shares some of his poetry too. You can follow him here. Whether it is writing, poetry, drawing, or so many other things, using your emotions in a creative way certainly is a great way to handle them.

Do not be afraid or ashamed because you are a highly emotional person. I cried a lot when I was a kid. Ask my parents, I am sure it was incredibly annoying sometimes. I can specifically recall when I was about 5 or 6 crying at a wedding and then every time I heard the song they had their first dance to on the radio I would cry all over again. What 5 year old cries at a wedding? It didn't take much to make me cry... I will be honest it still doesn't. I cry from happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, you name an emotion, it probably makes me cry. It is just part of life to feel happy, sad, and everything in between. Do your best to find a healthy way to deal with that. I promise you will thank yourself for it!