How I Stopped Letting My Emotions Hijack My Life

There was a time when I really believed I couldn’t control my emotions.

They’d show up seemingly out of nowhere and hijack my focus, my mood, how I showed up in my life.

Especially the negative ones ones like fear, shame, guilt and sadness. 

I’d hyperfocus on something that someone said, or something I did last week… Or worry about an imagined future event.

Until I learned something that shifted everything for me:

If you’re someone who feels it all and sometimes gets stuck in emotional waves…

Let me show you how to navigate it with more clarity and calm.

My emotions weren’t the problem. It was my thoughts.

Once I understood that my thoughts were molding my emotional experience, I stopped being so helpless about it.

I started paying attention to where my mind was going on autopilot—and gently, intentionally, shifting it.

Now, let me be super clear: I don’t believe in pretending everything’s fine when it’s not.

But I do (now) believe in choosing where to place my mind’s focus.

I can feel the hard things… and still choose to anchor on the good that’s right here, too.
 

Here’s what I do now when I feel myself spiraling:

  1. I pause and notice it. That’s the first win.

  2. I celebrate that I noticed. Even a quick “yay go me!” or a booty shake.

  3. I gently shift my focus. I ask myself: What is still good in this moment? What’s working right now, even if it’s small?

Every time I do that, I take a bit of my power back.

Not by denying my emotions, but by acknowledging what they are – just a signal.

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The Moment I Realized I Had a Choice