爱思英语编者按：我们都希望获得幸福，但是幸福从不会自己走向我们。既然山不过，那我们就过去。我们要自己寻找，自己走向人生的幸福。

How to Let Your Emotions Guide You to Happiness

For some, we find ourselves in certain situations where our emotions take over. Many people believe that nothing that can be done about it. Often, they just let their emotions run its course, leaving it at that. But there is more to your emotions than just feelings that need to be released. An emotion is an instinctive response to your circumstance and an illustration of your feelings. They are indicative of your desires and thoughts so if you are able to read them, then you can unlock much about yourself.

Depending on various circumstances, emotional responses can contrast from positive to negative. Obviously feelings of joy, happiness and the like don’t need to be sorted out because we love those feelings and understand them completely. On the other hand, negative emotions, such as anger, hate and jealous, are a different story.

When you are able to determine the cause of your negative feelings, you can address any issues and begin on your path to happiness.

The Cause

Whenever you feel or express a negative emotion try to identify the cause. Ask yourself, where is this coming from or why do I feel this way. Examine the thoughts that went through your head right before and while you experienced the emotion.

Remember that your emotion is a response, so if you’re feeling badly something is wrong. This reaction is the emotional equivalent of physically removing yourself from a hurtful situation. For instance, if you were to grab piping hot food out of the toaster oven, you’re initial instinct would be to let go to reduce further harm. Your emotions are doing the same thing. They are telling you that something isn’t right and needs to be fixed in order to be happy again.

Usually when negative emotions are displayed they are a result of you doing something or being in a situation that is not compatible with your true self. It can also be in response to fear that you may soon be in such a situation if you continue.

What To Do

Since you are more familiar with the source of your adverse reaction, we’ll continue with how to address it. And what do you do when you receive this feedback.

If you are having adverse feelings such as envy or jealousy after hearing about someone else’s success, consider your desires. You are probably not working towards your goals and therefore have not achieved them. This would result in such an emotion. Don’t just let it eat you up, do something about it, take action. Develop a plan to meet your goals and implement it.

Perhaps your feelings are a bit different, especially during different circumstances. When you are not sure of what to do simply visualize a specific action you’re considering and notice how your feelings change. If you have a few ideas, practice the visualization technique with each action and go with the one that feels the best.

Get the Goal

Your emotions are an incredible tool for determining how able or committed you are to completing your goal. If you want to uncover your true feelings behind your desires, examine your emotions. Visualize your goal and think about everything it would take to get you to it. Observe how it feels.

Maybe you want a new job, the sooner the better right? But what is your overall feeling about everything you’ll have to do to get a job? Consider how you really feel. Think about the searching, the interviewing and the overall time spent. If you feel negative emotions about any part of the process, you probably won’t follow through.

When your thoughts or feelings about your goal result in discomfort, you are likely hindering your progress. You need to address these emotions before you are able to continue on successfully. Once you’re able to rid your mind and body of harmful thoughts and feelings you’ll be on the road to happiness.

Having negative emotions is not completely a bad thing, we just need to be able to read them otherwise they can become destructive. Think of them as signs on your road to happiness. They let us know if we are on the right path and if we should continue down a specific road. Once you are able to effectively understand your emotions you’ll be able to live a happier life.