Emotions

How often do you pause and explore how you are feeling? It is harder than it sounds. You might struggle to pinpoint your exact emotion. Distinguishing between sadness and anxiety, or excitement and nervousness can be challenging. You're not alone; many of us haven't mastered this intricate domain. It's beneficial to regularly pause and introspect without judgment, delving into what's happening within.

Be curious what interpretations your brain offers you for physical sensations. You possess more interpretive freedom than you might realise. The way you communicate internally and your previous experiences provide cues to your brain about your emotional state. Simply dismissing a feeling or insisting you're calm doesn't suffice. Yet, your thoughts might steer you from nervousness to excitement, or to panic.

Dr. Julia Milner, in an interview, shared a story from her student years when she confused the physical symptoms of an impending flu with feelings of infatuation on a first date. Our brains are constantly trying to make sense of the world around us, inventing stories that make sense to us.

Our brains predict, and what we perceive as facts often reflects one interpretation of reality. Practicing to pause and question if what seems undeniable is genuinely so. Sometimes, the accuracy of the story you tell yourself matters less than its impact. For instance, imagining that the rude person cutting in front of you is distressed due to a devastating diagnosis for his wife can prevent unnecessary frustration, letting you focus on what truly matters that day. Whether it's true or not is secondary to its utility.

Emotions might also be valuable source of finding what is important to you, if you take good care of yourself, uphold your boundaries, if a situation is unacceptable as well as who and what you truly care for.

Striking a balance between listening to your feelings and coaching yourself out of them poses a challenge. Is the uneasiness you're experiencing an intuitive warning against proceeding with a particular project, or is it simply the discomfort of stepping out of your comfort zone, facing a challenge that promises growth?

Only you can answer this for yourself. Journaling, talking to a friend or a qualified coach can provide clarity. I love working on this question with my coaching clients. Get in touch if you need some help figuring things out.

Sarah Mohr photographed by Julia Pouly.