Emotion follows belief

Can we liberate ourselves from negative emotions, what is emotional freedom?

One's emotional reaction to external stimuli is filtered through one's system of beliefs about the world. Alter your beliefs and your emotional response will adjust accordingly. In that sense, some emotions -- such as anger -- can be controlled. The hard part is discovering what needs to be altered to achieve the desired outcome.

Emotion follows belief. It's a simple and clear idea on the surface, but hides many layers of complexity the further you dig. It also depends on how some terms are defined, such as "emotion", "belief", etc., so there is much room to quibble about that without even addressing the core idea.

It's easy to find examples of this idea in action. Perhaps more difficult is finding counter-examples.

Example: Consider a FIFA World Cup game. When a goal is scored, some people are elated, some feel the opposite dejected, and some feel neither. Some fans get rowdy and some do not. Same external stimuli but different emotional responses. What is the difference? They each have different beliefs about the meaning of that goal.

Play with this idea and transform your life! It's easier than expected.