Learning to Cope with Discomfort

A different way of dealing with emotions is through acceptance.

Both positive and negative experiences are inevitable parts of life. In general, we have no problem dealing
with positive experiences. Negative experiences can be more challenging. To a great extent, negative
experiences are experienced as challenging not because of our experience, but because of our attitude
and relationship with those feelings. Although pleasant and unpleasant situations are both parts of life,
many of us have developed a completely different relationship with them: we tend to accept and embrace
pleasant experiences and fight against or resist negative experiences. In the long term, this tendency to deal
differently with both types of experiences creates a different relationship with each of them. The Unwanted Guest
metaphor can help explain what is meant by this.