Emotional Guidance

Emotional Guidance

The purpose of emotions is to guide us toward self-actualization and away from danger.

Almost 90 years ago, an incorrect hypothesis about the purpose of emotions was accepted as truth. Now the truth, that emotional guidance is the purpose of emotions provides new insights that help us understand how to interpret our emotions and thrive more.

Emotions are not validation that our perspective is the best perspective we can hold. They only tell us whether we are moving in the direction we really want to go or not.

If the emotion feels good, your perspectives is taking you in the right direction.

If it feels bad, your perspective is leading you away from what you really want.

If the emotion you feel in response to a thought feels better than the emotion you felt in response to the prior thought (even if it still feels bad) is a course correction toward your goals.

If the emotion you feel in response to a thought feels worse than the emotion you felt in response to the prior thought (even if it still feels good), it’s telling you that you’re not as on-target as you were with the prior thought.

For details on how to use emotional guidance in conjunction with metacognitive processes to thrive more and prevent or recover from a multitude of problems, take one of our courses or pick up any of Jeanine Joy’s Smart Way (TM) books.