Listening to Emotions

“Listen to your own voice, your own soul, too many people listen to the noise of the world, instead of themselves.” ~Leon Brown

Wouldn’t it be nice if our emotions could be like push notifications on our smart phones? Any time we felt a negative emotion, we would get a message in our brain telling us what we are feeling and what we need to do. Until science discovers a way to create an app for that, we will have to just to do it the old fashioned way, by listening to our emotions. But perhaps listening to our emotions could be easier if we start to think of them as if it is someone calling us on the phone (before the days of caller ID). Usually the first thing you want to know when someone calls is “Who is it?” When we feel an emotion, we also want to ask ourselves, “Who is this? What am I feeling?” Then second thing we want to know when someone calls is the purpose, and so it is the same with the emotion. We want to ask ourselves, “Frustration (or anger, or sadness, or depression) is calling, what do I need?” Identify the needs that you haven’t been fulfilling, maybe it’s self-care like sleeping and eating, or maybe it’s an open honest conversation you need to have with your partner. When you’ve identified your needs, thank your emotions for calling and start acting on fulfilling your needs. No one else can pick up the phone for us when our emotions call, so make a commitment to answer each time they ring!