Hajin

Some people, including me, have trouble controlling or even recognizing emotions, which can lead to some very awkward situations. But, as with every problem, there is a solution to this. One of the most famous fictional characters, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson, has this issue, and we will be using him as an example of how to solve or manage this issue. Anyone can control their emotions, with enough effort of course.

To solve a problem, we need to first know the issue. People who have trouble managing emotions have trouble controlling what they say or do, like when Percy pushed Nancy Bobofit into the fountain. This sometimes leads to awkward moments where people say something before thinking it through, and immediately regret it, like in page 39 of ‘The Lightning Thief’ where Percy says to his mother “because you don’t want me around?” and immediately regrets it. People with this issue also have trouble managing anger, which leads to outbursts at inopportune times, like Percy throwing his study guide across the room, or calling his English teacher an old sot (old drunk) after getting chewed out by the teacher one too many times. (pg 39)

Now that we know what the problem is, we can solve it. Apparently, our grandparents knew a thing or two about controlling emotions, as some old-fashioned treatments work quite well in this case. You can also do some positive actions like exercise, which releases dopamine, which makes you feel better, or playing to your strengths to compensate for weaknesses. (Recognizing and Managing Emotions) You can actually control emotions forcibly, so another trick is to ‘think happy thoughts’, a clichéd, but apparently successful technique. Remember, the best decisions are made with both reason and emotions, not just one. You also cannot forget that other people also have emotions, so you have to consider others when making decisions, too.

Controlling emotions can be challenging for many people, including both me (eg. Shouting out something stupid in the middle of class) and Percy Jackson, but can still be done with reason and other strategies that help people manage emotions. People will still always at least once say or do something they regret, but they also have the power to lessen the chance of it happening every single day. being able to control emotions lets you make better choices, as making decisions with just emotion can lead to rash, not well thought out actions, and making decisions with just reason makes for cold, inhumane actions. You also have to consider other people’s emotions as well, so you will never be 100% correct, but you can still try and make the best decisions in day to day life.