Book #1.1 Emotional Independence

“It has been deeply embedded in our minds that our emotions and behaviour depend on situation and other people. No matter how deeply we believe that we are dependent on external factors, the truth is that we have complete freedom to choose our response. This is called Emotional Independence. You are not emotionally dependent and you have the choice of responding differently.”

The book, explains how the seeds of emotional dependence were sown quite early on in our lives by asking us to recall the school essays we wrote on ‘The Happiest Day of My Life’.

Let’s think about that day.

As a child, we would have written about a birthday party, a gift, a vacation, or an award we received.

If we think deeply about it, it means that “right from childhood, we permitted ourselves to feel happy only when a pleasant event occurred. And we were led to believe it was natural to feel unhappy or upset when things were not favourable“.

If I ask you now, as an adult, to think about the happiest day of your life, what would it include? Let me guess— cracking that exam, your graduation day, securing that dream job, buying that house, traveling to your dream destination, receiving gifts, unexpected surprises—

ＴＨＥ ＬＩＳＴ ＧＯＥＳ ＯＮ.

Nothing much has changed—except that our list has grown longer.

We are still looking for our happiness in external situations and people.

To be continued…

P.S. As I progress with reading the book, Book #1.1, 1.2, and beyond will keep increasing. So stay tuned to discover more about what’s in the book, and don’t forget to read Thought #22!