You and your friend had been studying hard all week in order to ace Friday’s exam and avoid summer classes. However, when the grades came back, they were much lower than expected, leaving you feeling devastated. Your friend, however, didn’t seem too bothered by the results, which made you wonder why you couldn’t shake it off like they could. It turns out that it is possible to control our emotions, and psychologists use the Process Model to identify where and how to intervene in the process that forms our emotions. This process has four steps: entering a situation, evaluating it, and then leading to an emotional response. Each step offers an opportunity to consciously intervene and change our emotions, and the Process Model outlines what strategies we might try at each phase. Ultimately, it’s up to each person to find their own balance when it comes to emotions, and it’s not necessary to always try to be happy. In fact, studies suggest that people fixated on happiness may experience secondary negative emotions. However, strategies like reappraisal can help you re-evaluate your thoughts about a situation, allowing you to accept your emotions and cultivate hope that things will get better.