Life as we know it is a series of experiences, some good, some not so good. When the “good” happens, we rejoice, treasure the memories, and repeatedly relive their glorious delight. Unfortunately, when the “bad” happens, which it so often does, instead of treasuring the experience for what it is, a lesson meant to fuel our development and growth, many of us choose to beat ourselves up for our “perceived” shortcomings.
By beating ourselves up, we cultivate two highly charged, and possibly negative—depending on your perception and reaction—emotions: shame and guilt, both of which in their extremes are a burdensome load to carry. Shame and guilt are the 2 feelings that humans dread the most!
Since our reaction to all manners of stimuli determines our feelings towards it, to manage shame and guilt, we need to exercise control over our emotional and physical reactions to all circumstances. As Wayne Dyer puts it, emotional control, and therefore the ability to manage and overcome guilt and shame, is a personal choice: “you can choose to see everything as either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.”
The aim of this guide is to help you understand how you perceive and react to “seemingly bad or negative” situations or circumstances (which is where shame and guilt develop), and to tweak your reactions so that you curtail the development of shame and guilt as burdensome emotions.
Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.