It’s a ladder

Emotions are part of life, we experience them at all times, whether we are conscious or not. Of course, therefore, some are more marked than others. You can wake up on a Monday morning, after a weekend of great fun, and feel the thrill of laziness invade you. It is up to you immediately to decide whether to allow it to take control or not. The rest of your day may depend on your decision at that time. Perhaps you decided to get up, already at the last minute, considering the responsibility you have to fulfill your duties and when you got to the bathroom, someone from the house had it busy, because he arrived before you. You can get angry and start fighting, claiming the other to move forward, because you are late, getting the other person to answer you in some bad way and start your day with drudgery and discussion. Or you can develop patience and wait, since it was you who got up at the last minute, and for that, you are responsible now. And so, as the day goes by, we are facing different emotions that we must manage. The action that we have in front of each one of them, will consequently bring a result.

I was recently reading about something known as “The Ladder of Emotions.” This ladder shows us exactly the process of what we live in each situation. It begins with “what happens” in my environment, that is, the experience that is developing at that moment. Continue with “what I think” in that moment, as I interpret what is happening. Immediately, accompanied by the thought, comes “what I feel”, the emotion that will invade me, which arises from that thought that came to my mind. What I feel will depend on “what I do” and finally I will obtain a result according to my action.

I would like you to see yourself facing every situation in life. Because you already understood that every action you take before it, will bring pleasant or not pleasant consequences for your life. It is important to visualize many times how much an emotion can dominate us. Perhaps you can think of a moment of anger with someone, where you lose control and an argument breaks out that can cause injury. But I also want to invite you to think as a positive emotion, which you do not take control of, it can also have a negative effect. Likewise, you can find yourself in a situation of fear, because you are trying to dare to do something new and fear, which is a strong emotion, can stop you and bring frustration for a result that is not the one you wanted.

It is my wish that you take control of everything so that you obtain the correct result, not only visualizing the situation that is happening, but also understanding how this will bring maturity to your emotional life and change your life. The answer is in your thinking. We saw it on the emotions ladder. The first thing that comes, after the situation, is a thought in relation to it (this is what you interpret from the situation). If you can take control of that thought, you will have control of the next thing, which is the emotion. Hence comes the expression: “think twice.” The first thought can come very abruptly and bring an outburst of inappropriate emotions, but when you take a deep breath and decide that you are in control, then the situation will be tamed with intelligence and maturity.

I want to give you a word that I have been meditating on recently: ⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one more thing to finish. Concentrate on all that is true, all that is honorable, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is beautiful, and all that is admirable. Think of excellent and praiseworthy things. Philippians 4: 8. When what I am looking to think is aligned with this word, the fruit will be good, productive, and honorable, worthy of admiration and recognition. I want to close by telling you that we are what we think, it is what you think that will finally be exposed in any life situation. So changing your way of thinking will change your life. Don’t let a situation take control of you. You were made to conquer and rule over everything and you have the mind of Christ. I don’t know about you, but I see you winning. Grace and peace over your life today.