"How your Emotions can be like a Jack-in-the-Box..."
By Susie and Otto Collins

It's been our observation that most of us will do almost anything to avoid feeling negative emotions.

Resisting or hiding from unwanted feelings never pushes them away. They just get stuffed down and as Steven Covey says, "come up later in uglier ways."

This isn't the purpose of emotions--to be stuffed down, pushed away and never to be dealt with. The purpose of emotions is to serve as a barometer for whether your life is flowing and in balance or not.

Karla McLaren in her tape series "Emotional Genius" said that emotions signal imbalance. They help you move to understanding and then to resolution of a situation or problem. She went on to say that they can also be clear signals from your inner wisdom that you have lost your way.

What we are saying is-- don't be afraid of your (or anyone's) emotions. The exception of course being if you feel you are in physical danger.

If you want close, connected relationships, you have to be willing to deal consciously with both your and your partner's emotions. You can't sweep your thoughts, emotions and desires under a rug and not deal with them and then hope that everything will turn out just fine. It just isn't possible.

Remember the Jack-in-the box you had when you were a kid? You'd wind the crank over and over while the silly song played and you didn't know when Jack would burst out of the box right in your face.

When you stuff your emotions down or push them away, they act just like your old Jack-in-the-box. You know they're going to blow up in your face, but you just don't know when.

We've discovered the best way to keep emotions from blowing up in your face is to first be aware of what you are feeling and then deal with them as they come up--with grace.

When anger, for example, arises in either one of us, we have an agreement that we will get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. An important key is that we both listen and speak about the issue with open hearts.

We made that agreement when we came together and it has helped us heal our relationship when tough issues and challenges come up.

If you want an outstanding marriage, we recommend that you make this same agreement with your spouse.

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Relationship coaches Susie and Otto Collins, authors of "Should You Stay or Should You Go?" and "No More Jealousy" are experts at helping people get more of the love they really want. Learn the 5 keys to a closer, more loving relationship, click below for your free 5-part mini-course:
http://www.RelationshipGold.com.