Staggering Statistic About Emotions

Take a moment and identify, right now, how you're feeling.

Close your eyes and feel what you're body is trying to tell you.

This Soul Session can wait for you.

In a recent study of 7,000 people, on average, people could only name three emotions, as they were feeling them, of the eighty-seven core emotions available to us; happiness, sadness, and anger.

To identify what we're feeling seems simple. 

It's not, as the data suggests.

Naming emotions is a crucial skill; it's the foundation of understanding our needs and behaviors, so we can move forward with confidence and clarity, and build strong relationships with those around us.

I often talk about the importance of experiencing our full emotional range, meaning we need to be able to identify more than three emotions as we're feeling them to live a fulfilling life.

I like to talk about this in terms of "and;" Let's live an "and" life.

I can feel hopeful and sad.

I can feel grief and joy.

I can feel certain and uncertain.

I can feel overwhelmed and grateful.

I can feel happy and lost.

I can feel embarrassed and like I belong.

I can feel scared and hurt.

I can feel ashamed and loved.

Not only can you feel more than one thing at once, you're built to feel multiple emotions at the same time. That's called range.

Don't pin yourself into a corner, into black and white thinking with what you feel and how you label yourself. You limit your range, your opportunities to heal; you limit possibility.

Practice becoming aware of your feelings in the moment. When something ordinary happens this work, ask yourself, "What am I feeling in this moment?"

Don't worry if you suck at it, you're supposed to. You're getting started. DM me on Instagram and let me know what you come up with. Maybe we can work through it together.

Brene Brown has a list of 30 core emotions to get you started, as a reference point. Once I find an updated version, or compile one, I'll let you know.

Here's to "and,"

Sarah x