Are you the master of your emotions, or are your emotions the master of you?

You’ve felt it before. Overwhelming anxiety at the thought of doing something new. Or anger feeling out of control because you or someone you love was unfairly treated. These things are normal. Everyone gets a little overwhelmed sometimes. This becomes a problem, though, when the negative emotions sweep in and gain control.

Thankfully, there’s a way to get past this quickly and easily. You’ll find success in these six steps, proven to help people master their emotions.

Figure it Out

What emotion are you feeling right now? In order to address your emotions, you have to know what you’re dealing with. Take a moment to reflect on how you feel. Don’t be afraid to dig deep. The emotion you think you’re feeling might be masking something else entirely.

Accept

Take stock of the feeling. There’s nothing wrong with having emotions, even negative ones. They all serve a purpose. Emotions are part of being human, and they all have something to teach you.

Question

Of course, your emotions can’t teach you anything if you don’t start asking questions. Why do you have this emotion right now? Questions are great things because they interrupt the emotion itself, keeping it from taking over completely. Even better? They teach you something you might not know about yourself otherwise.

Remember

When was the last time you felt this emotion? Think about how you got through it before. This serves two purposes. First, you’re reminding yourself the feeling won’t last, so there’s no need to get lost in it. Second, you recognize that in controlling the emotion successfully at least once before, you can do so again.

Look Forward

Don’t stop with the past and present, but also look to the future. You’re not just going to manage this emotion this time around, but each time it comes up. Need some help? Try visualizing yourself handling the emotion in a positive way.

Get Moving

So where will you go from here? It’s time to turn your thoughts into actions. What did you visualize in the last step to help change things? It’s time to do it. After all, plans without action aren’t worth a whole lot.

By working through each of these six steps, you’ll find your emotions aren’t in the driver’s seat, you are. Revel in the feeling of knowing you’re in control, no matter what you feel!