Strategy 3

On page 76, the book states: “How we respond to our own powerful emotions affects our capacity to hear and respond to those of others, making us more or less available for relationships with people who express similar emotions. It is useful to think of emotions as teachers to be learned from, rather than as devils to be suppressed.”

In today’s world the phrase “cooler heads prevail” has become a phrase that some people live by. However, if you read this excerpt from strategy 3, it is not necessarily keeping your emotions in check that is the key as much as it is experiencing them and learning from them. Suppressing one’s own emotions and/or not even acknowledging them can lead to serious negative side effects like the inability to effectively process his or her own emotions in a time of crisis. After reading this passage I realized I needed to better process my own emotions and use them as learning tools rather than ignore them or suppress them or pretend like they don’t exist. By utilizing them as teachers, I will become a better functioning member of society as I will be able to use my emotions effectively.