Emotions have been given to us by God.  He knew what he was doing when he created us to feel.  That being said, our emotions can be why we succeed or why we fail.  Think about when you were a child and your parents told you to clean your room but you didn’t feel like it.  So, you try to get away with not doing your chores until your mom or dad find out that you didn’t do it.  So, because you allowed your emotions to control you, your chores did not get done and you get in trouble.  There is a consequence when you allow your emotions to dictate you.  We need to be aware when our emotions are a problem and keep us from success.   Fast forward to now.  Now, you are an adult.  You do not have your parents telling you to get stuff done.  So, who is getting you to move and do your work?  YOU!  Because you are your own boss with your work and  health, you are the one who has to think about your emotions and how it can affect you in a negative way.  Here is an example.  You wake up and you start your day with a bad attitude.  This emotion is you telling yourself that life stinks and you do not want to get up.  You can either reverse that thought and get up or stay in bed and start your day off late.  If you choose to get up with a negative attitude, most likely you will continue being like this for most of your day.  You allow how you feel to say how your day will go.

Exercising is one of the things that many people talk themselves out of.  Why?  We live in a fast paced world and people are busy.  So, exercising feels like it”s another thing to fit into an already busy schedule.  That being said, it is important to get in some kind of physical activity every day.  This can include playing with your kids outside, going on a bike ride or going on a walk.  Besides being busy, the other reason why people talk themselves out of exercising is because of their emotions.  They don’t “feel” like it.  It’s just so easy to sit and watch TV instead.  They are too tired.  Think about these negative thoughts you are telling yourself.   Think back to when I said you were a child and your parents told you to clean your room.  Because you did not clean your room like you were told, the consequence is that your room is still a mess and your parents most likely punished you for not listening. You did not clean your room because you did not “feel” like it.  You were not in the mood.  Exercise is the same way.  Many times you may not feel like it and guess what happens when you don’t?  Your body stays in the health state that it’s in and you are more tired.  Your body is still a mess.   You get nowhere!  Again, think about your emotion at that time.  You let your emotions take over and this has caused you not be successful.  You are your own boss!  Nobody else can tell you to get up and move.  You have to catch your thoughts and turn them into a positive.

Food is another whole issue when it comes to our emotions.  I do eat my emotions and I still have to be careful daily with this.  I like to eat when I an happy, sad, depressed, and agitated.  This is something that I have to take to God.  I know that these emotions are not bad because God gave them to me but I use food as my comfort instead of him.  If I have joy, I should be going to him with praise.  If I have sadness, I should be going to him to lift it up in prayer.  If I am depressed, I should be going to him to give me the peace and love I need.  So, because I let my emotions take me to food, there is a physical consequence that comes with that.  I have a choice and nobody else here on earth can make these choices for me.  I have to be aware of how I “feel” and make the better choice.

Last thought about emotions.  I think that many people do not realize how their emotions can be the factor.  Talking ourselves out of doing something good just because we don’t “feel” like it is something to work on.  If you want to improve your health, think about how you let your emotions keep you from becoming a healthy you.  Paul in the Bible says to examine yourself.   I know he is talking more about your spiritual walk but I believe you should examine other areas of your life too.   I say, ask yourself some serious questions about why you are struggling to become healthy.  Examine your thoughts.  It’s a start.