EMOTIONS are the cornerstone of the human experience. As life washes over us like waves in an ocean, our emotions often become the buoy that keeps us afloat. We use our emotions not only to make sense of the world’s chaotic nature, but also to survive it. When we encounter difficult situations, we depend on hope and joy to help us overcome the pain. When we are confused about important decisions, we lean on our hearts to point us in the right direction. Our emotions are so important to us that without them, our very identities become altered.

Despite the crucial role emotions play in our lives, they can often become our weakness.

At any given moment, we perceive the world in two different ways. From one perspective, we see the world exactly as it is, with its flaws and its undesirable aspects. In another perspective, we see it as the version that we prefer it to be. These two perspectives shape our actions and are very often the bridge that connects the two worlds which reside in our minds.

For example, imagine that in the current reality, you find your room is dirty and littered. However, using your ability to perceive optimistically, you can imagine it as clean and well-organised. Because you can envision your room in different ways, you can clean it and thus use your actions as a bridge to transform your current reality into a new one.

In this way, it is in our instinct to constantly seek a better version of reality. Every choice we make, from the food we eat to the work we do, is based on our desire to change the world around us in a way that makes it more desirable for us. This instinct gives us purpose and the optimism to thrive, but it can also become entangled in our emotions, creating insurmountable obstacles. Our instinctive need to change our environment to make it more comfortable is useful only when change is actually possible.

In situations where change is not possible or not suitable, it becomes a constant irritation instead. For an individual who prefers sunny weather over rainy weather, every rainy day becomes an obstacle. For an individual who prefers driving to walking, every unavoidable journey on foot becomes excruciating. In this manner, our emotions and our preferences make our lives difficult when we do not simultaneously develop the skill of passivity.

Of course, our generation is characterised by everything that stands against passivity. We are used to speaking out and calling attention to matters that need to be addressed. We are not used to accepting intolerance or unpleasantness, and we are most certainly not used to bearing discomfort for the sake of keeping peace. As admirable as these qualities are, they have also unfortunately led us to believe that passivity is entirely negative. In truth, being passive is not about being oblivious or unempathetic. It is also not about being docile and easy-going. It is about learning to accept life as it comes, even when this means that we are occasionally uncomfortable or discontent. The ability to accept disagreeable realities without being overcome by our emotions is a mighty gift.

Think of it in this way — when you accept unchangeable realities gracefully, you will eventually learn to find the best way to live through them. Through passivity, the same individuals who disliked rainy days will gradually learn to use the weather to their advantage. Those who may have disliked walking would begin to see it as an opportunity for exercise rather than a chore.

Being passive encourages us to take control of our emotions so they do not affect our productivity, even in seemingly unfavourable conditions.

As a generation, we have already proven ourselves capable of creating change and catalysing the metamorphosis of realities that we disagree with. With this power already within us, there are no limits to what we can achieve if we also adopt the skill of passivity. As we learn to walk the line between proactiveness and passivity, let us discover the extraordinary feats we can achieve.