If you can’t control your emotions, your emotions will control you.
- MindHackers
- Aug 20, 2025
- 1 min read
We talk a lot about emotional regulation — but what is it, really?
Blocking out our feelings? Smashing through each day like an armoured tank? Pretending everything’s fine when it’s not? Telling everyone they’re doing great when there are clearly problems?
No.
Emotional regulation isn’t about being a smiling robot or feeling happy all the time. It’s not about avoiding conflict, lowering expectations, or never having a bad day.
It’s about being able to feel everything fully, anger, sadness, joy, fear, and still choose how to respond in line with your values and goals.
It’s about not letting feelings hijack your decisions. About staying in control of your actions, even when you can’t control the emotions themselves.
Because the truth is: you can’t stop feelings from coming. Trying to ignore or deny them only makes them stronger.
The only real choice we ever have is how we react.
Later this week, I’ll share how to meet your emotions head-on, and begin to understand them.
Because our actions are our only belongings. Our actions are the ground on which we stand.
And when we finally understand how our mind, emotions and nervous system work,
Our actions become our own.
Not the fear-driven, ego led destructive reactions of our evolutionary programming.