As we’re all aware, emotions can sit on a huge spectrum from super-amazingly-positive to nasty-evil-negative. Let’s shift our focus down to that lower end of the scale and consider some of the more negative emotions we all experience – whether they are common or rare.
Pick 5 negative emotions in particular and write them down.
Now, beside each of them, write down a situation where you remember experiencing that emotion. You don’t have to go into lots of detail, just a brief summary or a couple of words that remind you what the situation was.
Finally, think about the way you processed that situation and answer the following questions for each one.
What lesson (or lessons) might you have learned?
What did you gain from it?
How might you differently next time?
Too often we try to pretend we aren’t feeling negative emotions until it’s too late and we are feeling terrible. Acknowledging a negative feeling can make it seem less powerful and helps you begin to think constructively about what to do with that feeling.
