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Onkur Sen

"The way to be is to do." Confucius

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Rational cleansing: a method to move past emotional obstacles

Aug 21, 2011

It happens to all of us. We get angry, we feel sad, we seem to be neglected, the world seems to be aligned directly against us. Naturally, we feel down.

But how do we lift ourselves back up?

That’s what I’ll talk about today, and I’d like to (humbly) label my solution as rational cleansing. The reason for this is two-fold: rational, because It requires you to maintain an objective hold on your circumstances despite how torrential the emotions inside you are, and cleansing, because it allows you to emerge with a clear mind, devoid of obstacles.

First, calm down. It’s very easy to let the emotions get the better of you, but more often than not, it will result in actions which you will later regret. Take a couple of breaths, and relax. Panicking won’t help you.

Second, forget the past. What’s done is done. Your focus should only be on the future, the part of time that you can change.

Third, consider the options. What can you do now to improve the situation you’re in? Can you make amends (even if partially)?

Lastly, act on the best option. This may be the most feasible one, the one that pleases the most people, or the one that still allows you to fix the problem you had before. If there is nothing you can do to remedy the situation (or, in a more extreme case, if it’s better that you don’t act), then walk away. Any persistent action might come across as interference.

That’s it. I don’t mean to sound arrogant or come off as a preacher, but this method has worked wonders for me ever since I was a little kid and my father instilled a truth in me that I still carry: “Anger solves nothing.” It is from that statement that I have derived my philosophy on rationally dealing with situations and not letting my emotions getting in the way of my decision-making. I hope it may be useful to you as well.

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