Today I will be master of my emotions.
Week 1 (6/6/2024)
Mastering ourselves and our feelings! Man.. I want this to be true since I see the benefits and consequences of controlling or being controlled by our emotions. The way Mandino describes how we are happy one day and sad the next is so real. I found this scroll to be eye-opening in the midst of having family over and dealing with new circumstances I have not had before. With all that said, I am noticing more regularly the instances where I am not succeeding in this area. It’s good to see how I have reacted to moments and look back. I think the next step is to catch myself in the moment, and then to avoid it from the start.
Week 2 (6/13/2024)
Something stood out to me as we made it into the second week of this scroll: the descriptive explanation of how the trees and plants are at the mercy of the weather around them, but we human beings are able to create our own weather. That is a wild and interesting idea. In the context of this book, the driving force is to become the greatest salesman in the world. That is the purpose with which the scrolls are read. I think that is the premise to any of these: you need to know what your purpose is in order to maintain your focus, be in control of yourself, and master your emotions. When you fundamentally know what you are setting out to do (what your aim is), you have that purpose to remind you when you need to keep going and overcome the external forces that trigger certain emotions. I think we are reading this to become the greatest advocates in the world for whatever it is we do.
Week 3 (6/20/2024)
I like the ways we can pick ourselves back up when we have fallen over and ground ourselves when we are flying high. The other aspect of this scroll is recognizing the lack of emotional mastery in others. I struggled with this, this past week. I had someone in my life that was swinging wildly from one end to the other- towards me specifically. I ironically was not mastering my emotions and thinking through this scroll’s lens when bombarded with a heated exchange. I have a lot to learn and continue to apply. Like I mentioned previously, it’s one thing to look back and recognize the patterns, it’s another to spot it while it’s happening, and it’s the ultimate thing to have this so locked in you see the swings coming.
Week 4 (last 9 days)
I will be master of my emotions. Well.. easier said than done at times. It is quite interesting how these scrolls reveal that in areas of my life I have not lived by these tenets. This was probably one of the most revealing challenging. We live in an age where humans are bombarded by a lot of outside influences: from social environments (literally there being more of us than ever before), toxins, and a level of connectedness/ instant gratification that can make it more challenging to remain centered and poised. This final week has helped me recognize how much more I can do to be mindful of my emotions and how much I allow them to influence my decisions, words, and choices. Whether we are up or down, we must remind ourselves that this will change and swing to the other end of the spectrum sooner or later. With that said, we can have peace of mind knowing this simple truth that feelings come and go, and we can choose to be driven by them or choose to drive them.
