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Thoughts and Perspective on the Emotional Guidance Scale
Insights
As can be seen in the scale, fear, grief, depression, despair and powerlessness are at the very bottom of the scale. To think that we can jump from the very bottom of the scale to the very top (joy, appreciation, empowerment, FREEDOM, LOVE) is only setting us up for failure. That would be like going from Blackfoot to Florida instantly.
As we climb that emotional scale moving our feelings/emotions more into hatred, rage, revenge and/or anger we frequently will go immediately into some kind of self-condemnation because we tend to direct our hatred, rage, and/or anger toward those we love most and who are most important to us. We know in our minds and hearts that our loved ones don’t deserve to be the brunt of our emotions. So, there we go - condemning ourselves for it which spirals us back down into the bottom of the scale: fear, grief, depression, despair and powerlessness. This could be a big reason that it is seems so challenging for many to move up the scale and out of depression/despair/powerlessness.
Perhaps the best thing we can do is congratulate ourselves for moving up the scale when we feel hatred or anger instead of condemning ourselves. From there, reach for discouragement, blame, worry, doubt, disappointment, etc. Here is where we would likely benefit from recognizing that we don't have to be there long, perhaps only moments – sometimes just long enough to identify our thoughts, feelings and emotions. We might consider where we're at on the scale, congratulate ourselves, let it go and allow ourselves to move up a notch, maybe two... maybe even three or four! Perhaps, when we do that, we would move UP on the scale vs. spiraling back down to the bottom.
The focus wheel and list of positive/appreciated aspects/things are great tools to assist us in focusing on what we most love and appreciate. (Image to right is Focus Wheel example) There may be times that we feel kind of blah when doing our focus wheel and don't quite feel that we've reached that place of optimism and upliftment - at those times, it can feel like we're just going through the focus wheel motions. That's okay; again, avoid condemning ourselves for it and move on/UP.
An important thing to keep in mind is, as we move up the scale and start settling into the next emotion higher on the scale, it becomes the new norm so it may not feel as though we're making any progress. We are!!! Carry on!!!
Another thing to remember is... we all have our less-than-perfect-and-wonderful days. We all have days that we just flat feel blah, grumpy, bummed or whatever. Of course, it is optimum if we get ourselves out of that funk, and it's always recommended to do something and/or focus on something that assists us on getting out of our funk. What if we knew that it's okay? It is okay! Again, avoid going into the place of self-condemnation and feeling that we're failing at climbing our emotional scale. We're climbing it, and we're making progress!!!
We all prefer to feel empowered, happy and joyful, right? Yet, we all have external stimuli (provocations, situations and life events) that may seem to challenge our empowerment, happiness and joy. What if we became acutely aware of the emotions we feel in any given moment and, with deliberate intent, we change our thoughts to adjust our emotions to be more uplifting and positive? What could be the outcome? Not even the sky is the limit. Most importantly, we become happier.
The Emotional Guidance Scale is perhaps one platform that may be utilized in assisting us to reach Joy, Appreciation, Self-Empowerment, Freedom and Love – which is indeed within the reach of each and every one of us!