Our ability to accept and look at the criticism indicates how much we have grown. Usually, just one word or one critical sentence is enough to throw us off balance and totally disturb our emotions. Emotional stability is a big concern today in the world across all age groups, especially amongst the youth and teens.

We have to make sure we don’t bring up our kids in a way that they grow up to be fragile adults. We don’t let them cry, we don’t let them be upset even for a few minutes. We keep them insulated from challenges and all of a sudden, they face a world that is very uncertain. That is when youngsters fail to adjust. We need to immunize them against emotional ups and downs. And teach them how to balance their emotions, how to get out of negative emotions, and how to calm the mind.  We haven’t been giving our students peace education when it is a must today.

In our brain, there is something called the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) in the frontal lobe. When this part of the brain is strong, people have emotional resilience. They are able to take any blow. Do you know how ACC grows stronger? When you do things you don’t like. When you do some hard work. It also gets stronger when you do some exercise, when you meditate or practice breathing techniques like ‘Sudarshan Kriya’. When ACC is well developed, a person becomes very stable in his emotions, and demonstrates good human values.

We don’t build our emotional muscle. When we are used to getting everything easily, we aren’t ready to do even a little bit of hard work. Then, we don’t let our ACC develop, and our emotions go up and down at the slightest inconvenience or disagreement. People who are into athletics, or who go to the gym and do other physical hard work, have stronger ACC than the rest.

A strong mind can carry a weak body. However, a weak mind cannot even support a strong body. Neither in schools nor in our homes are we taught how to control our emotions! It is normal to get agitated. Our emotions aren’t in our control. The question is, how long do such emotions linger?

Physical exercises, yoga, pranayama, and meditation have a very vital role to play in bringing up an emotionally stable and focused generation. It is no longer a luxury, but a modern-day necessity. We have seen so many youngsters who were emotionally unstable before they started doing yoga. But when they practiced some yoga regularly and spent time in spiritual wisdom, reading books like the Bhagavad Gita, they became mentally powerful, more intuitive, clear, intellectually sharp and emotionally stable. Their inner strength really grew.

Meditation helps us experience a rare state of outer dynamism and inner calm.

We cannot control our emotions from the level of the mind alone. But we can do so by tapping into our breath. Each emotion is linked to a particular way of breathing. If emotions can impact how we breathe, the reverse is also true. From ancient times, people have been using breath as a way to relax and strengthen their minds. If we know a little bit about our breathing patterns and how they impact our minds, the knowledge itself is very empowering, because, by modulating our breathing, we can take charge of our emotions.

Another thing we need to do is, give our children a bigger vision. Whatever work we do, there will be someone to find fault with it. We need to keep working without losing your enthusiasm and spirit. A wise man by his very nature will keep doing good work. His attitude does not depend on someone’s praise or blame.

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