How to Overcome Negative Emotions and Use Them To Create Change

What is the definition of dark clouds? According to the Webster Dictionary,

Nimbostratus clouds are dark, gray clouds that seem to fade into falling rain or snow. They are so thick that they often blot out the sunlight.

So what does it mean to have this dark cloud hover over our heads, following us around, and, as the definition states, it “blots out the sun”? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go through my day with this doom and gloom attitude. It’s much too dark for me, and I know for you as well.

Consider how that dark cloud affects us, infiltrating our work, relationships, and feelings about ourselves. It can become an obstacle to being our best selves, and if we continually ruminate about it often, that can turn into a downward spiral. The good news is that we’re aware of them, and that can become a tipping point to change our mindset. 

Awareness, It Begins There:

Let’s celebrate those clouds! They will often nudge us that something is vying for our attention; our inner voice tells us to PAUSE and investigate. Moreover, we can’t change what we’re not aware of; with this in mind, we can choose to bring the challenge to the table and view it from all angles, creating different perspectives, bringing more choices. How often do we take time to look and talk about our challenges in that context; we usually do this in our heads and hope for the best. But there is something magical about doing it this way–we can figure out the problem by carving out this time for exploration, and the possibilities begin to expand! This technique is paramount if we want to be problem solvers and take ourselves to the next level of mastery across the board!

Another Perspective:

Anticipate the clouds, so when they come, you can also address the challenge on hand by having a backup plan of working out, singing, journaling, praying, engage in your favorite hobby, etc. The main thing is to have a deliberate strategy that you can go to change your frame of mind.

In closing, I’m not saying that we can’t feel gloomy emotions/clouds, that is part of being human, and we need those negative emotions to create change–what I am advocating is that we need the shadows in our lives to appreciate when the sun comes out. We can be confident that the sun will always follow the clouds!

May the sunshine smile down on you today!!