What do you do when guilt, shame, embarrassment, anger, or resentment show up?
My default used to be: run away. As far and fast as possible.
I’d distract myself with anything—
📱 Scrolling social media
📋 Jumping into the next task
💨 Pretending it didn’t matter
But here’s the truth I couldn’t escape: myself.
The more I resisted those emotions, the more they lingered.
They replayed in my head like a bad movie I couldn’t turn off.
Would it have ended differently if I’d acted differently?
My former coach used to remind me:
“What you resist persists.” (Ouch. And true.)
So I decided to try something different.
Here’s what the process looks like now, with a bit more awareness and intention:
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Notice the emotion arise
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Think “Ugh, this sucks,” and want to run
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Catch myself in the spiral
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Accept that I still want to flee (hi, human here 🙋🏻♀️)
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Get curious: What is this emotion trying to tell me?
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Stay with it—as long as I can
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Move on, even if the emotion lingers. And most often than not, it lets go of me.
And when I do that? Two things shift:
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I’m not afraid of my “negative” emotions anymore. I know they’ll pass.
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I understand myself—and others—so much better, with way less judgment.
Because feeling it isn’t the problem.
It’s information.
A signal.
An invitation to make the next best choice.
💭 What hard feelings have you been avoiding lately—and what might it be trying to tell you? I’d love to hear.
Loving you,
Wen