I interviewed Joe who used the Self Mastery course to overcome his anger and anxiety reactions. He’s started to be aware that some of his emotional reactions are completely gone. At other times he finds it enjoyable to experience emotions that used to be unpleasant. He’s still working towards emotional mastery but is well on his way. In this interview he shares how the course has changed his anger reactions in traffic, relationships with his wife and kids and experiences at work.
After the interview I share some insights on why I think Joe’s approach is successful. He’s not approaching his emotional change with a sense of urgency. Rather he’s consistently addressing what’s going on in his belief system 10 and 15 minutes at a time. The fact that he’s working through things without being in a hurry means that it has a much larger strategic importance to him than just something you need to do in a hurry. When we are trying to change things in a hurry it’s usually because there is a fear driving our urgency. When you are trying to change an emotional state like anger or anxiety, and fear is driving you to do it, you are really only adding fuel to the fire.
An urgent approach is what you use when fear is driving your solution path. And you’ll probably give up working on the change when your emotions cycle again. A consistent approach is what you do when change is important enough to work at it long term.
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PS. Joe is a lawyer by trade. If a lawyer can make embrace love, forgiveness, and happiness, then there’s hope for everyone. Either that… or we just got the whole lawyer stereotype completely wrong.