Have Your Emotions Outlived Their Meaning?

Your Meaning Shapes Your Emotions, and Your Emotions Shape Your Life

Darryl was one of those men who always felt like life owed him something. He worked hard, showed up, did what he was supposed to do but still, it never seemed enough. At work, someone else got the promotion. At home, his wife didn’t seem to notice how tired he was. Even his friends stopped calling as much.

So, he started saying it more often, sometimes out loud, sometimes just under his breath: “What about me?”

That question started to follow him everywhere. It was in his car on the drive home. It was sitting next to him at dinner. It was whispering in his ear when someone else got the recognition he thought he deserved.

Darryl didn’t realize it, but “What about me?” was shaping the story of his life. He wasn’t being attacked by his job, his marriage, or his friends, he was being attacked by his own Meaning and Emotions. His M.E. had turned into his worst enemy.

The Real M.E. — Meaning & Emotions

Every man lives by his M.E., the Meaning he assigns to what happens, and the Emotions that follow it.

If you’ve ever asked, “Why do I feel like this keeps happening to me?” the answer might be in your meaning. The story you tell yourself about a situation creates the emotion you feel about it. That emotion drives your decisions and those decisions determine your results.

It’s a chain reaction: Meaning → Emotion → Decision → Direction.

The job loss, the argument, the disappointment, they don’t define you. The meaning you attach to them does.

If a man sees rejection as failure, he feels shame, and shame drives him to quit. But if he sees rejection as redirection, he feels challenged, and that drives him to grow. The same event. Two different meanings. Two different men.

The Chain Reaction

Every time something happens, your mind quietly asks, “What does this mean?” And whatever story you answer with creates an emotion that moves you toward something or away from it.

That emotion becomes your motion. It decides whether you pick up the phone or shut down. Whether you lead your family with faith or hide behind frustration. Whether you take the next step—or stay stuck blaming the last one.

Wise men learn to pause before reacting. They learn to separate what happened from what they decided it meant. That’s maturity, being able to rewrite the meaning before it rewires your life.

Reframing the Story

You can’t control what life hands you, but you can control how you define it. That’s the power of reframing.

• “She left me” can mean I wasn’t enough — or it can mean God just released me from what couldn’t grow with me.

• “I lost that job” can mean I failed again — or God just pushed me toward something I couldn’t see.

The moment you change the meaning, you change the emotion. And the moment you change the emotion, you shift your direction.

The Bible says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)Transformation doesn’t start with money, muscles, or motivation, it starts with meaning.

A Quick M.E. Check

Ask yourself:

• What meaning have I been giving my pain?

• What emotion has that meaning created?

• What decision has that emotion been driving?

• What would happen if I changed the meaning today?

You don’t need another miracle—you just need a new meaning.

Your M.E. Becomes Your Meds (Meaning-Emotion-Decision-Direction)

Every day, your Meaning and Emotions are like medicine you take. The right M.E. can heal you. The wrong M.E. can poison you.

If your meaning is shaped by pride, fear, or blame, you’ll live emotionally sick. If your meaning is shaped by faith, gratitude, and purpose, your emotions will strengthen you and your decisions will lead you to peace.

You can’t always choose what happens, but you can always choose what it means to you. And in the end, your M.E. becomes your meds, so take the right dose.

Reflection Thought:

Don’t let “What about me?” become your life’s theme. Ask instead, “What does this mean for who I’m becoming? ”Because when you master your M.E., you master your motion.