In many ways, you may feel that you have little control over your life. Often, it seems like the harder you try; the more obstacles get in your way. It’s true that life can be harsh even to those who don’t seem to “deserve” it. But in fact, God gave us will. We have the power to choose in our life. And the way you feel on the inside manifests itself in the choices that you make.

How Your Deepest Feelings Lead Life Choices

When you feel bad inside, it’s almost impossible to disguise those negative feelings. They will show themselves in the way you hold yourself, the way you speak, and the way you behave. We’ve all had days when we wake up in a sour mood. Loved ones may call us “grumpy” or “cranky,” but what it means is that the negativity and heaviness you’re feeling inside are showing up in your personality.

On days like that, you may do things that purposely sabotage yourself. You might angrily eat the entire bag of potato chips, ruining the weight loss plan you started two days ago. Or you might step out for a cigarette break to try to “calm your nerves,” even though you had been on a long streak of quitting smoking. But one bad day, and the diet is ruined, you have addictive nicotine in your body again, and your family and coworkers are trying to steer clear of you.

These are examples of fairly innocuous bad choices, but even worse choices with harsher consequences can come from bad feelings. It doesn’t take long to find terrible news stories of people who acted spontaneously out of rage and anger, only to find themselves lamenting their actions in a court of law. To sum up, an unhealthy soul most often leads to sin and despair. So what can you do?

Keeping Your Soul Healthy

Keeping your soul is a matter of staying close to God and living within his tenets. God laid out a master plan for our lives to ensure our happiness on Earth. If we follow God’s laws, presented in the Book of Exodus and Deuteronomy, we can rejoice in the promise of eternal life. More tenets and guidance from God can be found elsewhere, including in Leviticus and Numbers. It’s helpful to read the Bible on a daily basis to remind yourself that God is here to guide you.

Another way you can keep your soul healthy is to avoid toxic people and situations. You know in the depths of your soul who those people are in your life. You know the situations to avoid. Be honest with yourself and avoid temptation and conflict, even if it means saying no to certain people who threaten the serenity of your soul.

The choices you make in your life can lead to happiness and contentment, or they may lead to despair. This is why it’s so important to keep your soul healthy and positive, so that your feelings and choices in life work in your favor and not against your well-being.