As promised from the article (Five ways to have a great relationship with self) I have decided to complete this edition on listening to your emotions. If you’re like me, this would involve a bit of putting your ear on a rock and listening to rock whispers……
Okay you didn’t get it, me neither.
Read on down below to see how I think you can listen to your emotions to develop and advance in emotional intelligence.
1. Accept now, question later
Have you ever been in a situation and felt an emotion then chided yourself about how you are not supposed to be feeling this way? Yes, me too and that’s our misconception where emotions are concerned. You don’t get to tell yourself how to feel and how not to feel, unless of course, you’re a form of artificial intelligence that is just gaining sentience. Your subconscious plays a huge role in the emotions that are felt in a particular situation and to ensure complete peace between the body and mind, just accept what you feel now, and ask questions later.
2. Question your self
Ask yourself what you want to know. You would like to know why you felt that specific emotion in a given situation. We take for granted how much the answers are within ourselves, and if we just take the time to question and listen to our internal reactions to presented scenarios, we’ll hear the answers we seek, and have a deeper understanding of self.
3. Respond, not react
I know I said to accept your emotions before chiding yourself, and in doing so, we should also remember that there is an inner child in all of us, that would like to “act out” sometimes. Accepting how you feel in a situation does not always mean you will react exactly as you feel, especially if the setting does not allow for a negative emotional explosion. Fret not! This is where practicing emotional intelligence comes in. Accepting your emotions does not always mean you will “Act “on your emotions right then and there.
4. Mental exercises
Think about situations you’ve been in and how you reacted. If you had reacted differently would the outcome be a bit different? With this, go ahead and practice different possible responses to situations that trigger negative emotions. In doing so, you train your mind to understand that there are multiple possible responses to any given situation, and you train your mind how to select the best and most intelligent option.
5. Express yourself amicably
This is where interpersonal communication is necessary. Always feel free to articulate yourself very clearly and respectfully. Though your emotions are yours to process, bottling up and suffering in silence is never recommended. Find amicable ways of expressing yourself, and remember you’re doing it for you not them!
