The young business owner is getting ready to step onto the stage at the industry conference to introduce his company.  His tension and anxiety levels begin to rise.  He can feel his throat dry out as he gulps a drink of water.  They call his name.  He takes a deep breath and casually walks up to the microphone to use the allotted two minutes to talk about his company and products to the audience of potential buyers.

What is it about anxiety, stress, nervousness and similar emotions that sometimes prevent us from doing the things we need to do?  In the example above, the man needed to overcome those emotions in an attempt to show confidence in his company and his products.  In life, though, sometimes we are not “put on the spot” and can “get away” with not overcoming those emotions.

Take for example, the same man who has so much anxiety about the upcoming day filled with meetings, some of which are with angry customers who purchased his company’s products.  He knows the customers are going to demand that he refund their money.   As such, he dreads going to work.

He feels a little sick to his stomach, his shoulders are tense, and a slight head ache seems to be materializing.   The man did not sleep the night before in anticipation of the upcoming day.

Another person is feeling a little stressed knowing that at the end of the week they may not have the money necessary to pay the rent.  Others worry about their health or the health of a loved one, while awaiting test results.

Everyone has a set of things that can cause stress, worry, anxiety, and other negative emotions in their life.  For some, other people’s “worry” is “nothing” but for the person caught up in it, the worry can feel like a huge event.

Right now, we ask that you take an “emotional inventory” of how you currently feel, both mentally and physically.  Are your shoulders relaxed, are you fists clenched, are your leg muscles tense?  Are you thinking about the future, which may not go the way you would like for it to go?

Now, look for something positive.  Are you wearing a smile?  Do you feel light and energetic?  Are you excited for some upcoming event?

When you take an “emotional inventory” you are looking for how you currently feel.  Sometimes you do not even realize that your shoulders are contracting and tense which may be causing your head aches.  Other times you may not realize the excitement that you have buried deep inside of you for the day, an event, or even your life!

Now, let’s consider the negative “inventory items” that you discover.  Maybe you feel stress, worry, bitterness, anger, etc.   When you catch yourself feeling that way – stop.  Stop and take an inventory of your thoughts.  What are you thinking about?  Maybe it’s the upcoming meeting, maybe it’s thoughts about money.  Find the “trigger” that is causing the emotional stress.

Now, here’s the easy part – change your thought!  Simply, change your thought.  It’s as simple as that.  Your thoughts cause your emotions, and those emotions can cause bodily aches and pains.  When you have a “negative” emotion, you can rid yourself of it, by changing your thoughts.

Let’s suppose you take an emotional inventory and you realize that you have bitterness and anger.  You stop to analyze your current thoughts and realize you are thinking about what Aunt Mabel said last week at the dinner table.  Well, there it is.  Think about something else that gives you energy and makes you feel light, and the bitterness and anger will go away!

However, there is a tendency to feel that you “deserve” to feel the way you do, because Aunt Mabel really said some “mean” things about you.  The reality is – IT DOES NOT MATTER!   If Aunt Mabel really said things about you, which you interpret to be mean, it is about Aunt Mabel, not about you.  Do you like being bitter and angry?  Well, if not, change your thought and put it behind you, never to be thought about again.

If you kind of like being bitter and angry you may need to work on taming your ego.  Your ego will attempt to convince you that you have every right to feel hurt by Aunt Mabel.  It is up to you to say, “I do not want to be a bitter and angry person, so I am not going to think about what Aunt Mabel said.”   Further, when you see her again, you need to forget about the past and start fresh.  You might just find that maybe Aunt Mabel did not at all intend to hurt you.

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Life is about letting go.  Letting go of our undesired emotions, begins with letting go of the core thoughts causing those emotions.  Today, every time you notice a change in the hour, stop for a minute and take an emotional inventory.  Then change your thoughts so the next time you take an inventory, you have all positive emotions.

Written Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 7:36 – 7:57 AM MT