Once there lived an old man who kept all different kinds of animals. But his grandson was particularly intrigued by two tigers that lived together in one cage. The tigers had different temperaments; one was calm and self-controlled whilst the other was unpredictable, aggressive, violent, and vicious.
“Do they ever fight, Grandfather?” asked the young boy.
“Occasionally, yes they do,” admitted the old man.
“And which one wins?”
“Well, that depends on which one I feed the most.”
Being able to control your emotions depends in part on how much you ‘feed’ a particular emotion; on how much we focus on what we are afraid of, enraged by, or depressed about. But it’s more than that. Good ‘emotional intelligence’ requires we understand our own moods, recognizing when and why we are upset and having very real strategies in place to be able to influence the way that we feel.
So if you ever find yourself tossed around helplessly on a hysterical tumultuous sea of emotion and want some ways to at least adjust your sails, the better to steer your own course toward calmer waters.
