Feel Your Feelings in 5 Steps & Why It's Good for Business
Are you having a lot of emotions right now? Don’t worry. You’re human.
Stress and anxiety are hitting us all in waves as we hear reports on the news about increasing numbers of the Pandemic cases, and news of more racial violence.
If you’re like me, you try to hold it together to be strong for others. But pushing emotion away, just means it’ll find a way to come out when you least expect it. We’ll find ourselves snapping at our loved ones, or doing everything we can to numb out - for business owners that can take the shape of sleeping in late, getting lost in busywork, and overwhelm. Not good for business!
When I was out walking the other day thinking about how to pivot my business, an unexpected wave of emotion hit me. My chest started to tighten and I felt tears threatening to spill. I resisted. I was out for a walk! Was I supposed to start bawling in the park? I tried to think of an inspiring thought, but my body was letting go of the emotions I’d been holding in. I stumbled over to a bench, sat down and cried my eyes out.
Get quiet
When we’re trying to avoid feeling, we make sure to have all sorts of distractions around us. TV. Arguments with family. Music. To process a feeling, you need to get quiet.
Breathe
Take some deep breaths. It will help you to find enough calm that you can notice the sensations in your body, and not panic.
Get curious about the sensations in your body
Are you feeling nauseous? Tight throat? Heavy? Weepy? Giving your brain this task getting curious about the actual sensations helps the body to process the feelings
What thoughts are you thinking
Your feelings generally are a result of the thoughts you’re thinking. What thoughts are spinning around in your brain? Do you have a doomsday scenario on repeat? Can you challenge yourself to shift that thought to something lighter?
Move your body
If getting quiet isn’t working, try moving your body. I know that I have a much easier time getting in touch with what I’m feeling when I move. Movement helps us process our emotions. Going for a walk, even getting up to do the dishes can help shift and loosen the tight grip we have on our feelings.
Remember you’re human. Humans have emotions. It’s a very normal part of being alive. If you start to pay attention you’ll notice that during any given day, you experience the whole gamut of emotion.
By their very nature, feelings are temporary. They’re sensations that pass through the body. For a business owner, and for anyone, this is good news. The better we’re able to process emotions, the easier it is to keep pushing forward. Knowing we can process any emotion - fear, doubt, embarrassment, even shame - means we can take on any challenge, feel the feelings - both negative and positive - get past it and thrive.
Extreme emotions are normal during times of stress. They’ll hit us when we least expect it. We can stop resisting, and let ourselves feel the full range of human emotion.
It’s okay. We’re human. We feel everything.
