6 Ways to Control Your Emotions

#1 Avoid the situation. You know that some situations make you feel bad. For instance, you get angry if you're late or other people make you wait. Avoid such situations, by changing your own lifestyle. For instance, leave your house 10 minutes earlier then you usually do it, then nothing will irritate you while you're on you way. And if you have some person who drives you crazy, then just try to avoid bumping into that person.

#2 Shift your focus. Your bad mood may be caused by the reason, that you watch the progress of other people, who are better at something, than you are. Of course, it makes you feel envy. Avoid this emotion by shifting your focus to people who are not better then you are. Or instead of it you can focus on what you're doing, instead of watching others.

#3 Change your mood. The mood of every person can be changed easily, if they start doing something different. For instance, if you're in a bad mood and watch uninteresting TV program, your mood will only deepen. Change your mood by going for a walk. And if you can change your mood, then you can switch the emotions. Well, next time when you're anxious about anything that is going to happen, switch your mood to being anxious about what has already happened and gone much better than expected.

#4 Look into future. Emotions block our ability to think rationally, they make us feel like future doesn't exist, that's why we act so stupid and often regret about the things we do. Next time when you feel that your emotions start prevailing, ask yourself questions about your own future. For instance, “What will happen, if I do it?”.

#5 Be rational. Emotions became the key to survival of humanity, when so many predators were around us. For instance, being rational when you see an attacking lion will hardly help you, but listening to your emotion to run is what will save your life. However, modern world mostly requires rational thinking in order to solve the problems, while emotions make harm. Staying rational isn't very hard at all. Do this by forcing yourself to remember three names of students you went to school with or just running through an alphabet in your head.

#6 Change your physiology. Emotions influence on our body and without these changes they can't live. For instance, anger pushes heart rate up, thus increasing blood pressure. At the same time it requires fast breathing, otherwise it's impossible to initiate the physiological changes. You can control your emotions by controlling your physiology, and for this you have to stop breathing for five seconds, then start breathing slowly, and even more slowly. While you do it, imagine that you're relaxed. You will feel that your emotion goes away and you stay calm and concentrated.