The World’s Moving Faster Than Our Nervous Systems Can Handle

Nothing Outside of You Is Creating That Emotion

One of the quickest ways for us to change our mood as quickly as possible is to realize that nothing on the outside is creating an emotion within us.

We have created a set of emotions that we’ve become addicted to. And then we look for outside representations to give us the trigger point to have the permission to feel that emotion again.

This means certain people will be hooked on feeling angry or feeling like a victim, or feeling like the world is against them in some way or another, and then they’ll look for reasons out there, and then apply that emotion to that reason, and blame the reason.

And as I’ve started to play this game with myself, I’ve begun to realize that every time I start to feel a little bit down or negative, it’s actually not the circumstance out there.

It’s actually me looking for a circumstance to give me the opportunity to feel that way.

The Emotion Is What’s Looking for a Hook

This process really releases the responsibility for myself to want to continue having that emotion where I realize that actually the emotion itself is what is looking to find a hook into reality.

That sort of realization allows you to process your emotions at such a pace because you’re able to identify the problem right then and there.

And the second thing you can do is you can actually name the emotion so that you can actually call the emotion.

Meet Marty the Martyr

For myself, I’ve got Marty the Martyr. He loves to feel like a victim, and he looks for reasons to make me feel like a victim, feel betrayed.

And then starts to project things and create stories to give me the permission to feel betrayed. But actually, I don’t need to have that emotion.

So by discussing it with Marty the Martyr, I’m able to disassociate with that emotion, give it a personality, and then speak to the emotion and allow the emotion to have its space and to be heard, and then it dissipates.

It’s been the most phenomenal thing.

A Drive and a Discovery

I recently drove to Sun City from Johannesburg. It’s about a two-hour drive.

And I did this the whole way for different sets of emotions that I’ve had around certain situations, realizing that the situation had nothing to do with it. Rather, it was me looking to project it.

It’s a phenomenal discovery of the release of the pressure and tension that we put on ourselves. This kind of emotional processing is closely related to navigating the phases of transformation, where understanding our emotional journey is key to adapting and thriving.

Start the conversation with your own Marty today, and give yourself the freedom to feel something new.

Note: This blog post is an adaptation of the transcript from the video below.