Open your Heart

Life is tough. Don’t be ‘tougher’.

Rather choose to 'tune in' to your feelings! I have recently had ‘sleepless nights’. It is not easy to admit this, as I am a self-proclaimed Sleep Bio-hacker.

I run webinars, and have designed a course called:  ‘How to make sleep your SUPER POWER?’ Luckily, I have had only two ‘sleepless nights’… triggered by selling a house that my late husband built (from scratch) for my children, who were 2 and 4 years old at the time. They are now 22 and 24 years old. We mindfully thought through the sale, and it was a choice / good timing. The ensuing legal ‘issues’ with the Buyer were totally unexpected. Plus they opened painful wounds of tragedy, loss and unfulfilled dreams!

Processing these tough ‘life issues’ requires MANY inter-locking puzzle pieces. Of course this is VASTLY different for each of us.  We know from Neuroscience, that a calm and curious brain, coupled with an open heart serves us abundantly! In these tough times of unprecedented change and volatility, we can sometimes focus on the setbacks and problems we are facing. These are going to happen. It is also necessary to ‘zoom out’ in order to observe what’s happening, and hence ensure that we get perspective. We don't want to deny negative thoughts or emotions. We need to observe them, and choose whether to act on them, or not ?

Name your emotions to tame them! We can use our emotions to inform us, as opposed to allowing them to overwhelm us! There are no ‘good or bad’ emotions. All emotions are useful and should be welcomed… just as you welcome your many friends into your house!

But HOW?

Most people use ONLY 3 or 4 words to name their emotions. If you want to ‘increase’ your vocab and hence open your heart –

use the Interactive Plutchik Model for more specific personal insights and specificity of 'words'.

This user-friendly model will help you to identify and learn to name the various intensities of the 8 primary emotions: anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust and joy.

Use this at work / with your family… Print out a few of these colourful ‘cones’ and have them on your dining room table, and on your desk. When you feel like a washing machine of emotions are about to derail you… STOP, take a deep breath and look at the Plutchik’s model. The minute you name your emotion (I often speak out loud to myself) … you are able to calm yourself down, and you’ll feel more centered, and able to 'open your heart'.

Learn how to HELP yourself.Too many of us 'self sabotage'!

‍#EmotionalIntelligence #Selfcare #BounceForward #Selfdevelopment #Personalleadership #sixseconds