You can’t make yourself calm, cool and collected by trying to make it be that way, just like you can’t make a dog happy by forcibly wagging it’s tail own tail. You can’t change your mind by just “knowing” what is right. When you have an emotional surge practice noticing the emotion rather than refuting it. Say to yourself what you feel. Give that emotion a label or name – anger, sadness, frustration, worry, etc. You cant change your reactions by refuting what you feel. Mindfulness gives you a different way of relating to your mind. You aren’t going to be able to change your mind by just refuting yourself. Mindfulness teaches us empathy and compassion for ourselves, which allows us over time to make changes to our intuition (our reactions).