Hello!

I am in Thailand this week, so enjoy this “re-run” from a few months ago. Dive into a beautiful (and true!) story about the power of navigating emotions– and learn how you can transform anger/sadness/grief/confusion into wisdom about yourself and your life’s path. <3

PS– If you’d like to receive this free gift of goodness in your inbox every week, you can subscribe here!

Illuminate: Navigating Anger toward Wisdom

Yesterday, I witnessed a friend’s “a-ha” moment, and she allowed me to share her story with you.
First, she recognized a pattern. This is her pattern when interacting with her husband: “when I feel unacknowledged, I get angry.” Specifically, when she feels he isn’t spending enough time with her, she yells, she fights, she bursts with molten frustration. Why?

As we continued getting to know her patterns, a prominent theme emerged: she spends her life mothering (acknowledging + supporting others), at the expense of herself. As she puts it, “I’m a mom,” and she seems to successfully mother everyone in her life except for herself.

So as we circled back to her pattern of anger with her husband, I asked her to consider what that emotion of anger might be trying to communicate with her. Her answer: “pay attention to me!!” And her a-ha moment came when she realized that anger’s message of “pay attention to me!” isn’t just meant for her husband. It’s meant for HER, too.

Anger is her strong reminder to see herself, to acknowledge herself, to put herself first. While she and her husband may need to focus on spending more time together, she suspects that paying more regular attention to herself will result in less outbursts with her husband. Seeing herself, acknowledging herself, and taking care of herself comprises a huge arc in her life’s storyline– and she touched this poignant tale with the help of her anger.

How can navigating YOUR emotions open the door to to your life’s precious story?

Emotions are steeped in wisdom. Are you listening?

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Your goal with this activity is to access the kernel of wisdom behind an unpleasant emotion. Think back to the last time you experienced a challenging emotion, and try to re-activate some of it in your body.

First, what emotion are you feeling? Then, use one or more of these prompts to help tease out what the message of that emotion is:

1. Ask the emotion, “what are you trying to tell me?”

2. Or, “what do you need from me?”

3. Find your identified emotion on this chart then find its purpose. This might give you a clue into what it’s telling you!

Each emotion you experience is a precious tributary into the river of your life’s story. Don’t miss out on the wisdom your emotions have to offer you!

Emotions are like nudges to remind us what’s important.

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REFRESH + RENEW EVERY MONDAY WITH ILLUMINATE IN YOUR INBOX!

What would your day-to-day life look like if you tapped into the wisdom of your emotions even 10% more often?

What are some common emotional themes for you, and what are they saying about your life?

How can you dive deeper into the wisdom of your emotions? Journaling, attending a free Six Seconds webinar, taking your own SEI?

Illuminate is a weekly e-mail series that provides practical tips + galvanizing inspirations for practicing an emotionally intelligent life. In our time together, we’ll operate from the assumption that you have all the wisdom you need inside of yourself + that you have a purpose the world needs to see. We will explore the tools + techniques to illuminate your own inner wisdom and purpose. If you’d like to receive this free gift of goodness in your inbox every week, subscribe here.

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Maria Jackson

Program Manager at Six Seconds

Maria Jackson enjoys writing about the personal side of practicing emotional intelligence. Her noble goal is to “nurture inner illumination,” and she feel grateful to work and live in a world where she can practice daily. She shares stories, tips, and inspirations for living EQ in Illuminate, a free, weekly e-mail column (6sec.org/illuminate). She'd love to hear from you at [email protected]