This is an essay I wrote for psychology. The question was how can one control his/her actions?
The human mind is one of extreme complexity. It is truly a work of art. We as people are subject to all of its actions but it is not something that is uncontrollable. The human mind was given one very exquisite quality; awareness. This awareness gives the mind power and control over itself. One phrase I like to use is the more knowledge you gain the more control you have. I believe if you can understand yourself, all of your complexities, you can begin to have total control over your actions even when you don't think you do.
We all have power over our actions to an extent. We can stop ourselves from acting based on anger for example. Anger is a weakness all humanity shares but it can be controlled through knowledge. We know the outcome of the actions bred by anger is usually adverse so we use that knowledge to control ourselves and not act. I believe this same principle can be used for all emotions. Jealousy, fear, greed, pain. These can all be controlled through knowledge.
Now knowledge is the most useful and fundamentally sound way to control one's actions but sometimes the human mind can be overwhelmed by emotion and act irrationally due to that emotion. This is when the mind must be absolutely aware. One must be able to know what he is feeling and know what quality he possesses to overcome that adverse emotion. We all are full of different qualities and weaknesses. One must be able to understand his strengths and identify his weaknesses for each strength can overcome each weakness. For example, if you are very irritated and feel an overwhelming need to act based on that irritation you can apply the quality of patience to overcome that irritation. Knowledge of consequences is power and it can be used in almost any situation to stop one's self from acting. But knowledge of one's strengths and weaknesses is the only way to stop all of one's actions.
With all of this said, emotions are absolutely necessary in one's life. I'm not saying that we should fear our emotions. We should embrace them. But we should also be aware of what they can do. Know yourself and what you are capable of. Once this is done you will have complete awareness. You will be able to control all of your actions.
The human mind is one of extreme complexity. It is truly a work of art. We as people are subject to all of its actions but it is not something that is uncontrollable. The human mind was given one very exquisite quality; awareness. This awareness gives the mind power and control over itself. One phrase I like to use is the more knowledge you gain the more control you have. I believe if you can understand yourself, all of your complexities, you can begin to have total control over your actions even when you don't think you do.
We all have power over our actions to an extent. We can stop ourselves from acting based on anger for example. Anger is a weakness all humanity shares but it can be controlled through knowledge. We know the outcome of the actions bred by anger is usually adverse so we use that knowledge to control ourselves and not act. I believe this same principle can be used for all emotions. Jealousy, fear, greed, pain. These can all be controlled through knowledge.
Now knowledge is the most useful and fundamentally sound way to control one's actions but sometimes the human mind can be overwhelmed by emotion and act irrationally due to that emotion. This is when the mind must be absolutely aware. One must be able to know what he is feeling and know what quality he possesses to overcome that adverse emotion. We all are full of different qualities and weaknesses. One must be able to understand his strengths and identify his weaknesses for each strength can overcome each weakness. For example, if you are very irritated and feel an overwhelming need to act based on that irritation you can apply the quality of patience to overcome that irritation. Knowledge of consequences is power and it can be used in almost any situation to stop one's self from acting. But knowledge of one's strengths and weaknesses is the only way to stop all of one's actions.
With all of this said, emotions are absolutely necessary in one's life. I'm not saying that we should fear our emotions. We should embrace them. But we should also be aware of what they can do. Know yourself and what you are capable of. Once this is done you will have complete awareness. You will be able to control all of your actions.
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