Sometimes it's confusing when I start taking action because I feel fear and anxiety, which seem like negative feelings. But I think there's a difference between that kind of feeling and the real negative feelings Steve is talking about.
Let's say I'm in a neutral state of emotion, when I start feeling a negative feeling. Maybe I start feeling lonely because I haven't spent enough time interacting with other people lately. I could try to ignore or suppress this negative feeling, or I could take action to improve the situation. If I decide to take action, I might decide to try and phone some friends and plan to get together with them. But then I will feel fear and anxiety about phoning. That seems like a negative feeling. But if I push through that fear and take action anyway, then I'll be moving in a positive direction.
So how can you tell the difference between negative feelings that you should try to take action to correct, and the negative feeling of fear that you have to just have courage to get through?
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