Posts Tagged ‘fear’

“Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.” – Dorothy Thompson

Many people equate emotional well-being to happiness. Many people think that in order to achieve emotional well-being all must be right in your world. All of the stars must align in a constellation spelling contentment. People tend to associate emotional well-being to positive emotions or emotions that make you feel good.

I personally have a different definition of emotional well-being. I believe emotional well-being is coming to terms with any emotion you are feeling at a given time. Let’s look at the phrase “emotional well-being” I like to think of the phrase as three separate words “emotion,” “well,” and “being.”

According to Dictionary.com, the word “emotion” means:

1. any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.

According to Dictionary.com, the word “well” means:

1. in good health; sound in body and mind
2. proper, fitting, or gratifying

According to Dictionary.com, the word “being” means:

1. the fact of existing; existence
2. conscious, mortal existence; life

Combining the definitions of these three words, emotional well being is the state of consciously experiencing and accepting the existence of your feelings (joy, sorrow, fear, hate and love) at any given moment. Emotional well being involves much more than just the good or positive that emotions have to offer. Emotional well-being involves maturely managing your emotions. So my working definition of emotional well being is to rest comfortable in whatever you are feeling at the moment.

“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of the future.” – Fulton Oursler