Your Daily Brush: Emotions Count for a Lot!
What matters at the end of the day and at the end of our lives is in the realm of emotions. But we can use our intellect to generate positive emotions not only for ourselves but for others.
Dear Friends,
In the continuing education courses I teach dentists and dental hygienists about topics such as working with fearful and anxious patients and psychologically informed communication, I find myself repeating this in my classes:
People are more emotional than we realize.
Therefore we have to attend to people’s emotions and cannot just speak to their intellect. This is not a put down of any one in any way. The fact is that we as humans are influenced by our emotions quite a lot. More than we may realize.
Think about your own life. I invite you to mentally travel forward in time and envision your last day of life in this human form; and from that perspective look back upon the course of your life.
What will have mattered the most? Who will have mattered the most?
Putting the shoe on the other foot so to speak, think about a loved one who is no longer with you. I’m quite sure that when you think of this person, you are seeing them through the lens of your feelings rather than the lens of your thoughts. And if you do view them through the lens of your thoughts, your positive thoughts about them will inevitably give rise to positive emotions within you.
Rx: You have a super power that is always at your command - namely you can use your intellect to guide your words and actions so you can make other people feel seen, heard and understood. You can make them laugh. You can make them feel reassured if they are worried or lost. You can offer them support and make them feel less alone in the world. You can make them feel loved by acts of caring.
As the saying goes, don’t just sit still and curse the darkness. Light a candle instead. Better yet, light a candle in someone’s life and you just might be surprised at the smile that you uncover from within their darkness.
Go forth and be the light! Go forth and be love!
