Good emotions come from good actions

By Engr. Carlos Cornejo

Growth in the intellect is achieved through reading books, studying for a course, attending seminars, etc.  Emotional growth follows our intellectual growth. Emotion is an internal bodily reaction we would have as a consequence with whatever we perceive in our minds.  If I perceive you as a friend, I will feel comfortable being with you. Emotionally I am glad to see you. However, if I perceive you as an enemy, my physical reaction will be one of fight or flight. My muscles will grow tense and my heartbeat will accelerate.  Perhaps, I feel afraid of you and don’t want to be in your presence.

In short, whatever dominates our thoughts would likewise be the prevailing emotions. If we think of good thoughts, good feelings will follow.  If we think of bad thoughts, like imagining ourselves having failed, bad feelings would follow. That’s why many self-help books would recommend to control our thoughts and think only of good and positive ones. I would agree with this to a certain extent. But what some self-help authors don’t see is that positive thoughts don’t just come to us automatically. It is part of who we are. It is part of our character. Let’s have an exaggerated example but I think it strikes home the point. Let’s say you have just robbed a bank. Would you be able to have good thoughts when your conscience would bother you with the crime you have done? Perhaps the immediate good thoughts you would have, are the riches that you have just acquired. But in the long run the godly voice of your conscience will distress you for your wrong doing. That’s why some individuals have shut off their conscience not because they are able to turn it off like a switch but because their conscience has become numbed due to their constant failure to do the right thing. Well, we might say, “Wouldn’t that be a good thing, no one reprimanding us anymore?” Not at all, would you want to become so indifferent to your offenses that killing a person for example might feel normal to you as swatting a fly?

The foundation of good thoughts are good actions. Good actions are also called virtues. Once your life is founded on good actions you become a virtuous person. And a virtuous person is a happy individual because good and happy thoughts prevail all the time. This was how Aristotle, the philosopher of common sense, arrived at this conclusion.

This would tell us the importance of “formation in values” or many people would refer to it simply as “formation”. Formation is educating ourselves on virtues. Formation is all about forming or training our conscience to distinguish clearly from what is morally good from bad. It is also acquiring wisdom to see the silliness of choosing the bad from the good. Why choose sin when it brings us misery, whereas choosing virtue gives us true joy? The Bible is the ultimate source of formation. Religious instruction such as classes on the teachings of the Catholic Church or Catechism classes likewise is another basic foundation in formation. Reading spiritual books, attendance in recollections, retreats and seminars, seeking advice from wise people are all great sources of formation. Good thoughts turn into good actions and good actions generate good thoughts. Good thoughts become good feelings which in turn makes a good and happy life.  That’s literally what we call a virtuous cycle.