Everything I Needed to Know About Feelings I Learned From A Toddler

 Earlier in my career, I used to travel every single week.

I’d even get up at crazy early hours so I could be on the first flight out whenever I could (the first flights out tend to run on time).

When faced with flight delays after a long day, all I could think was how I’d love to be crying my frustration out until I was exhausted and fell asleep like the toddlers on my flights got to. But I couldn’t do that without being judged by all the adults nearby and possibly even getting escorted off the plane.

So I did what adults do. I felt like a prisoner to my feelings, unable to change them and then hid them just as I had been taught to do since I was a toddler myself. 

What I didn’t know then and toddlers know instinctively, is that our feelings get the best of us when we fail to acknowledge them by denying their existence, hiding them, stuffing them down or numbing ourselves with food, alcohol, drugs, games, work or other addictions. 

Turns out we don’t have to be prisoners to our feelings. Once we are present in our bodies and acknowledge our feelings, they tend to dissipate and we can relax.

Are your feelings still holding you prisoner?