Do you remember Grover on Sesame Street teaching kids about Over, Under, Around and Through? Check it out: Grover on YouTube. Grover’s lesson is useful in understanding how we respond to negative emotions like sadness, guilt, anger or jealousy. Most of us do whatever we can to go over, under or around those emotions.
Research shows, however, that we need to go through the experience of feeling uncomfortable emotions so we can learn how to accept and deal with them. Like Grover, we can’t just do it once. Experiencing these emotions throughout our lives can make us more resilient and able to bounce back sooner. We can also develop more empathy for others who are dealing with difficult situations.
If you find yourself trying to go over, under or around something, I invite you to consider what benefits might be on the other side if you let yourself go through it.