1 Every time you feel a feeling, give it a name.
This may sound strange because we have feelings every mili-second but
I am referring to the feelings which stand out from the crowd.
The special pleasant one and more important,
the not so nice one.
This act of naming feelings will develop emotional literacy
- inner you, the important you.
The emotionally literate you.
2 Capture the strength of a feeling when you feel it.
Hold it in your hand so to speak.
Note it. Speak it or at least write it down.
Use it as a tool. A learning tool.
Try not to control it,
suppress it,
but manage it.
3 Give special attention to the anger, jealousy, envy and negative feelings generally.
Turn the emotion inside-out to examination it.
Take it by the throat and use the energy to understand it.
Reverse it into a positive feeling - use it.
Do something with it.
When I watch a movie or TV and see a fictitious character,
or a real life person, whose behaviour or attitude I don't like,
I ask why? Why don't I? What are my feelings?
What is the behaviour? Why is this person behaving this way?
I am taking the energy from my own emotions and using it.
4 If you only spend time with humans unlike yourself,
- being with humans in the same social strata,
it will be more difficult to develop emotionally.
Deliberately spend time with those who are different.
The more extreme the better.
Do the above with them. Learn from them.
Working with 'the hard to reach' is a great challenge
but massive in terms of learning.
5 All feelings are yours - not another persons.
Feelings inside you are yours.
"He made me feel angry" cannot be a correct statement
because nobody makes us feel. They come from inside us.
We feel. They behave. They have attitudes.
They can be nasty or beautiful.
Both ends of the spectrum can stimulate our feelings.
And - they, family, friends, colleagues, clients - in helping relationships
need a human in their lives who are getting to grips with their own
emotions - including ANGER.
