Emotions can be horribly unpredictable. One moment you’re trundling along merrily, and the next you’re collapsing into a dark well of questioning what’s it’s all for. It’s almost never clear what triggers a change in emotional state. It seems to pounce on you. Emotions depend on what’s going on in your life at that time, how people around you are feeling, whether your sports team lost last night and (especially) the weather. You can’t rely on your emotions; it’s up to you to get into a mental state of positivity. 

When you first set a goal, you might be brimming with motivation, inspiration and excitement. You are willing to DO THE WORK. A keen dieter is excited to throw on the Lululemon tights, excited to create a sweat in the gym and can even convince themselves that they love the taste of rubbery chicken breast. However, that excitement won’t stick around forever and as you hit a lull, motivation will almost certainly wane. You resent having to wash your Lululemon clothes. You’ll dream of skipping the gym, calling a buddy and sharing a big ‘ole plate of fries. But I guess that’s the story of life. Motivation comes and goes like shade under a tree.  

Often people find themselves in untenable situations through little fault of their own, which can cause immense stress. A teenager may live with an abusive family member while another person might be in a career that exposes them to chaos, such as counselling or even a police officer in a bad neighborhood. When a person is in this state or circumstance, they become hyper-sensitive to threats and negative emotions, leading to them feeling jaded about life and giving up on goals. Also, if they are not careful, they might inadvertently act like victims themselves. 

 Permanent survival mode is a reality for a disturbingly large number of people. They can’t think of long-term goals. The only thing that matters is getting through the day without losing their mind. They struggle with almost everything. They worry about money; they pick fights; they have no idea if their employment will exist next week. 

Yet getting emotional about these problems will almost never help solve them. Challenges are challenging no matter who you are. Only by learning how to move past these emotions and rise above them will you ever have a chance at achieving success. It’s about building a mental state, brick by brick, that can absorb and deal with any challenging emotion that comes along. Yes, I’m talking about moods. 

Our emotional state is always fluid. We can hear good news in the morning and bad news in the afternoon. Your initial reaction to these changes has a great effect on the day’s productivity. A bad mood is like a rainy cloud following you around. 

If you feel that black cloud approaching, find a way to infuse your mind with motivation, happiness and joy. This might involve talking to a cheery friend, focusing on your kid’s picture on your desk or listening to a playlist of songs that either calm you down or pump you up. I’d also recommend taking a moment to be thankful for all the good things happening in your life. You’ll be surprised how much gratitude can counterbalance negativity. 

A thousand years ago, the smartest people still thought our emotions and moods were from the spirits. Today, we know a bit more about the universe and it turns out that emotions are results of chemicals mixing in our brains. Change the mix, change the mood. That’s a bit cartoonish, I understand, but it’s directionally true. Many chronic mental issues are likely due to a chemical imbalance making it more challenging for those people to have emotional discipline. 

What sort of chemicals are we talking about? Dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine are chemicals that cause happiness and joy. These chemicals, such as dopamine, are released when we do something that makes us happy as a reward so our brain knows to perform that action again. As with any chemical, it is possible to have too much of a good thing and this is how people get addicted to an over-release of these chemicals, which can happen with gambling or eating too much ice cream. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that we also get a shot of dopamine whenever our smartphone dings. 

Serotonin is the satisfaction drug.  It regulates our happiness, sleep cycles, mood and pain. Norepinephrine (similar to adrenalin) is injected by the body into the brain in highly stressful moments to trigger the fight or flight response. That’s why mothers can lift cars to save a trapped toddler, it’s the adrenaline pumping their muscles beyond normal operation. Anger can be caused by a chemical called epinephrine, which explains why furious people tend to have an otherworldly sort of strength to them. Endorphins help with laughter and boost the immune system by being released through exercise.  

You might think that emotional discipline is more challenging if the brain is releasing chemicals on its own, whenever it feels like it. But the brain isn’t trying to undermine your efforts and it is possible to regulate at least partially the release of chemicals that create emotions. Chemicals are the brain’s way of trying to give you clues about how to feel in a specific moment. If you know how to be disciplined, then you can use those chemicals to your benefit rather than let them become obstacles. 

Discipline is the name of the game of life. It’s what separates us from the animals. By putting goals above immediate emotional pleasure, humans have built the Pyramids and gone to space. Modern humans aren’t as disciplined as we should be. For a multitude of reasons, we have taken the easy way out instead of the right way. By returning a healthy measure of discipline back into our lives, we all can do what needs to be done before so that we can do what we want to do. And that, really, is the way to create any type success you can imagine.