Alright, let’s cut the crap. You’ve probably heard it a million times: “Embrace your emotions.” Yeah, it sounds like the kind of fluffy advice you’d get from a self-help book you found at a garage sale. But here’s the kicker—it’s true. And not in a “let’s all hold hands and sing Kumbaya” kind of way, but in a raw, unfiltered, brutally honest way that can actually change your life.
The Bullsh*t of Avoidance
Let’s start with the obvious: most of us suck at dealing with our emotions. We’d rather binge-watch another season of some mindless TV show, scroll endlessly on social media, or chug a bottle of wine than actually sit with our feelings. Because, let’s be real, sitting with your emotions feels like sitting in a pile of crap. It’s uncomfortable, it stinks, and you’d do anything to get away from it.
But here’s the deal: avoiding your emotions is like shoving all your dirty laundry into the closet and pretending it’s clean. Sooner or later, that closet’s gonna burst open, and you’ll be buried under a mountain of smelly socks and regret.
The Power of Sitting in the Sh*t
When you avoid your emotions, you’re basically telling yourself that your feelings don’t matter. You’re denying a fundamental part of your human experience. And guess what? Those emotions aren’t going anywhere. They’re like that annoying song that gets stuck in your head—you can try to ignore it, but it’s still gonna be there, humming away in the background.
Sitting with your emotions means facing them head-on. It means acknowledging that you’re pissed off, heartbroken, anxious, or whatever else is brewing inside you. And here’s the thing: when you actually sit with your emotions, something magical happens. They start to lose their power over you. You realize that you’re not gonna die from feeling sad or angry. You’re just feeling. And that’s okay.
The Growth Comes from the Struggle
We live in a world that worships comfort. We’ve got instant gratification at our fingertips, and we’re allergic to anything that makes us feel uncomfortable. But here’s the truth bomb: growth doesn’t come from comfort. It comes from struggle. It comes from sitting with your emotions and dealing with the messy, ugly, painful parts of yourself.
When you sit with your emotions, you learn more about yourself. You understand your triggers, your fears, and your desires. You become more self-aware, and self-awareness is the first step to self-improvement. It’s like peeling back the layers of an onion. Yeah, you might cry a little, but in the end, you get to the core of who you are.
The Real Badass Move
So, how do you sit with your emotions without losing your mind? Start small. When you’re feeling something intense, take a few deep breaths and just sit with it. Don’t try to analyze it or fix it. Just feel it. It’s gonna suck at first, but like anything else, it gets easier with practice.
Meditation can help, too. Yeah, I know, sitting still and doing nothing sounds like torture. But meditation isn’t about clearing your mind. It’s about observing your thoughts and emotions without judgment. It’s about learning to sit with yourself, warts and all.
And if you’re really struggling, talk to someone. A therapist, a friend, a random stranger on the internet—whoever. Sometimes, just voicing your emotions can make them feel less overwhelming.
The Bottom Line
Life is messy. Emotions are messy. But avoiding the mess doesn’t make it go away. It just makes it fester and grow until you can’t ignore it anymore. So, the next time you’re feeling like crap, don’t reach for the remote or the wine bottle. Sit with your emotions. Feel them. Embrace the discomfort. Because that’s where the real growth happens. And in the end, that’s what makes life worth living.
So, go ahead. Sit with your sh*t. It might just be the best thing you ever do.