Have you ever felt like your life is a boat drifting on the open sea, easily capsized by every wave of emotion? Sometimes, we are so busy reacting to how we feel that we forget we have a choice in how we face it.
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After the rain, just a sliver of light
This morning, I woke up after a night of heavy rain. The wind had been howling since the previous afternoon, leaving the streets carpeted in fallen leaves. The sky wasn’t sunny or bright like usual; there was only a sliver of light piercing through the thick clouds. Yet, strangely enough, that little bit was all it took for my heart to feel light.
It wasn’t a grand joy or an explosion of happiness. It was just a feeling: Ah, a new day is here. And that was enough. After a long, gloomy stretch, sometimes we don’t need anything more than things returning to normal. Even a little below normal is fine, as long as it isn’t as heavy as yesterday.
That moment made me think more about my own emotions—about how they come, go, and silently control us every day.
When emotions are “at the wheel”
I observe myself, the people around me, and even strangers. I’ve realized one thing clearly: most of us are living under the total shadow of our emotions. Ideally, everyone wants to control their mood, but the reality is usually the opposite. Emotions are the ones controlling us.
There are mornings when you wake up with a long to-do list, wanting to have a productive day. But then your emotions speak up: “I’m sad today.” And just like that, everything stalls; you can’t get anything done. On the flip side, there are days when your energy is high, and you work like a hero, feeling like you can carry the world. But that inspiration rarely lasts; a few days later, your mood takes a nosedive.
If we want to put it nicely, we say we “live by inspiration.” But to be blunt, it’s a lack of self-control. It’s waking up every day hoping for a “good” mood just so we can actually function. If emotions are up, we’re happy; if they’re down, we collapse. That cycle doesn’t just make us suffer—it affects everyone around us.
The silent contagion of negative “news”
In a professional environment, this is even more obvious. It only takes one person with a bad attitude—especially a manager—to shake an entire team. You open your chat app at 8:00 AM and see a blunt, irritable message. Before you’ve even started working, the atmosphere is heavy. Negative emotions spread from one person to ten, then twenty. One victim of emotion suddenly creates a dozen more.
I asked myself: Am I really going to let this keep happening? Is my life just a lottery drawing every morning? If I pull a “good mood” ticket, I’m happy; if I pull a “bad” one, the day is wasted? That makes life too impulsive, too childish, and too passive. If we are truly responsible for our lives, this is a problem we must solve. Because if we remain dependent on our emotions, we will never live the life we truly desire. Some people have let their emotions run the show not just for months, but for ten or twenty years straight.
When you’re tired: Distinguish between “Body” and “Mind”
In my experience, exhaustion comes in two types, and each needs a different remedy:
- Physical Exhaustion: True Rest
Resting isn’t lying down and scrolling through your phone—that’s “fake rest.” Your body is still, but your mind is racing, so you can’t recover. True rest means tuning out the outside world, letting emotions come and go without reacting or resisting. Sleep, sit still, or meditate. This is hard in a 5G era, but it is incredibly effective. - Emotional Exhaustion: Move Your Body
If you can’t rest completely, get active. Don’t fully believe in your sadness in that moment. Don’t believe that you have to be weak today. Get outside, go for a run, swim, walk in the sun, or break a sweat. The body is a biological entity, and movement is the most powerful way to recalibrate your emotional chemistry. There are times when you might feel hopeless, but after a good sweat, a light sense of exhilaration begins to rise. It really works.
Accept the sadness, but don’t give it the throne
Sometimes when we’re sad, we want to be alone. That’s not wrong, but be honest: does that isolation actually make you feel better, or is the sadness just being compressed? If it’s not working, seek out sunlight, greenery, and movement.
Sadness is a default part of life; we can’t lock it away forever. The wiser question is: How do I live in peace with it? How do I still have moments of joy even when I’m sad?
My answer is simple:
- If you rest, rest fully.
- If you can’t rest, move enough.
- Don’t rest halfway, don’t be sad halfway, and don’t live halfway.
You are the Master, not the Slave
Emotions are a part of us, but they are absolutely not our masters. I’m reminding you of this not to sound like an expert, but to remind us all that we always have a choice.
I wish you a day clear enough to keep your emotions from “leading” you too far astray. And if you feel tired today, remember: sometimes all it takes is standing up and letting the sweat run down. That alone is enough to start a change.
Which color did you “draw” for your mood today? Share your story below so we can motivate each other on this journey to self-mastery!
