Success is a serious business. It is not the play ground of the immature. It is the wrestle ground of the sound and stable. If success is our goal, then we must get to the point of maturity. One of the most important areas necessary for long and durable success is our emotions. Without emotional stability, there can’t be lasting success.
The subject of emotions has always stirred different philosophies and ideologies. The broad spectrum of emotion shall left to the classrooms where professors will handle that. But I shall take a little pain to show the need for emotional stability if we want to succeed in our life endeavours.
Firstly, it is important to realise that emotion and feeling are used inter changeably. Literally, emotion is defined as a moving of the mind or soul; hence, any agitation of mind or excitement of sensibility. In a philosophical sense, it is seen an internal motion or agitation of the mind which passes away without desire; when desire follows, the motion or agitation is called a passion. Emotion therefore can be seen as a strong feeling that is capable of moving one to a cause of action.
The above definition obviously does not take into account the morality of the movement or arousal. It becomes important to get to a point where one doesn’t just move because he or she has an arousal but responds to the feeling because it is the right thing to do and at the right time to do it. This is what I call emotional stability- the ability to control our responses to the numerous feelings that demand our attention and actions.
To explain emotional stability, I shall take an acrostic for the word Emotion. This will enable us to understand the importance of emotional stability and why it’s vital we control our responses.
The first letter E stands for Empathy. Empathy is according to Microsoft Encarta is the ability to identify with and understand somebody else’s feelings or difficulties. If emotional stability is our goal then we need to understand and put others into consideration. When the feelings arise furiously, empathy demands that we consider the effect of our response to others. That is the beginning of emotional stability. There is therefore no how one can mature if he or she does not put others into consideration in his or her endeavours, speech and actions.
The second letter M stands for Memory. Memory according to Microsoft Encarta is the ability to retain knowledge, that is the ability of the mind or organism to retain learned information and knowledge of past events and experiences and to retrieve that information and knowledge. Inability to retain and retrieve information when needed could affect our stability. A good memory is very important if we are going to build good and great relationships that will position us for success. For instance, if your friend offends you and you don’t take cognizance of the fact that this same person has been of great help to you in the past, you could deal with him furiously and thereby possibly destroy a much needed relationship. Memory helps us to keep our response in check and therefore a vital part of emotional stability.
The third letter O stands for Optimism. Microsoft Encarta also defines optimism as the tendency to expect the best: the tendency to believe, expect, or hope that things will turn out well. It is also defined as the attitude of someone who feels positive or confident. Optimism is hope in the midst of hopelessness and victory in the face of defeat. No one can be stable who does have an optimistic view of life. This is because several things will try to destabilize you by making you pessimistic and such an attitude breeds defeat and failure. An emotional stable person is one who is incorrigibly optimistic.
The fourth letter T stands for Temperate. Temperate means without extremes. It means to be mild and restrained. One of the most difficult things to do is to attain balance. It is easier to tilt either to the right or to the left than to stay in the middle. To be temperate is to be able to attain equilibrium and that is one of the marks of the emotionally stable. It is important to attain to this balanced state of mind as it will enable us to exercise proper caution in all our endeavours and gradually rise to success.
The fifth letter I stands for Introspection. Microsoft Encarta also defines introspection as self-examination: the detailed mental examination of your own feelings, thoughts and motives. An unexamined life indeed is not worth living. It is important to carry out self-examination periodically to know how far your live has fared. God gave us the capacity to think over our thoughts, feelings and motives and that power makes us humans. If we don’t use this capacity we will be on the same level with beasts. Incidentally, no one can carry out introspection for you, you must do it yourself. This will enable us to attain maturity as we don’t just do anything because it feels good but because it’s worth it after proper examination of our feelings, thoughts and motives.
The sixth letter O stands for Objectivity. Objectivity is the ability to view things objectively: that is the ability to perceive or describe something without being influenced by personal emotions or prejudices. Stable people don’t basically look at things subjectively. This is because prejudice is never a good method of assessment. It is important therefore to not allow our feelings and prejudices to affect our decisions. This will enable us be successful in all our endeavours.
The seventh letter N stands for Nurture. We are products of two things: nature and nurture. Nature is all the traits and qualities we received from birth. Nurture on the other hand is all the input we receive after birth. What we nurture ourselves with will determine who we become. Our emotional stability will be dependent on what we feed our minds and spirits with. If we feed ourselves with emotional junks we will become junks but if we take time to nourish our minds with right books and materials, we will turn out great and stable.
This is not really an exhaustive work but it is important to pick these points and allow their vitality to sink inside your hearts and minds. This will inevitably prepare you for a victorious life no matter the situations you find yourself in.
Acrostic for Emotion
E - Empathy
M -Memory
O -Optimism
T -Temperate
I -Introspection
O - Objectivity
N -Nurture
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