There are two types of people in this world. Those that act on emotional impulses, and those that are able to rationalize their emotions.

“Think with your head, not your heart”. This is something my mother instilled in me at a very young age. What does this mean, though? It’s true that denying yourself of all emotion that spring up is nearly impossible because what we feel is usually beyond our control. How those feelings affect us, though, is completely within our power.

But why should you avoid making decisions based on your feelings? Let’s first define a “feeling”. A feeling is an emotional state or reaction, usually temporary. We can feel a whirlwind of things, from eagerness, love, ashamed, hurt, satisfied, betrayed, and infinitely more. All of which can cause us to think irrationally.

Now, I’m not saying it’s necessary to avoid your feelings to have a stable and successful life. We need our emotions to have any sense of value in this life. What I am saying though, is it’ll be much harder to have this stability without becoming the master of your emotions. To do so, this takes a level of emotional intelligence.

We all have different personalities, wants, needs and ways of expressing ourselves. In order to navigate through these things, it takes a sort of dexterity. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize your emotions, understand what they’re trying to tell you, and realize how they affect you. By doing so, you can control the impact these thoughts and feelings have on you.

Learning how to master your emotions is not easy, and I don’t think anyone is perfect at it, but it definitely can be done to some degree.