Your Energy in Motion!
Last weekend, my family and I saw the beautiful movie “Inside Out 2”—a follow up from its first release in 2015. It was great to see the additional emotions on our screen and as experienced by Riley (the main character in the movie), who gave us an insight into the bustling headquarters of her mind where her emotion had a voice, a story, and an impact on her inner world. The expansion of the core emotions of Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear, which were welcomed with Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy, Ennui (boredom), and (sometimes) Nostalgia, was a true gift to us.
Emotions play a crucial role when attempting to transform the conflicts or disagreements in our lives. They are the feelings that bleed into the assumptions, interpretations, perceptions, and conclusions we often form. Emotions are energy in motion; and if unexpressed they stay in our bodies and lead to internal and external suffering, which eventually results in dis-ease (uneasiness), leaving us wondering how most doctors’ diagnoses come about.
This animated movie gifted my family and me with delightful yet profound ways to recognize, understand, examine, and embrace our emotions to pave the way to inner peace, resolve internal conflicts, and improve our interpersonal relationships—and I couldn’t help but share some of my top three learnings with you as you go through life’s ups and downs.
Learn how to label your feelings when they show up!
1. All parts of your feelings have vital importance in your life. Ensure you personify or label your emotions so that they reveal the purpose they have come to serve or the needs they've come to meet.
2. Ignoring or suppressing your emotions can lead to discord within yourself, much like the chaos that ensues when Joy attempts to sideline Sadness OR when Anxiety desperately gets in the way of other emotions. Recognizing that your emotions have come to stay can empower you to give equal respect to all your feelings, providing a balanced emotional viewpoint essential for resolving internal conflicts.
3. Strive for emotional harmony at all times. Throughout the movie, we see Riley's emotions often clash, causing internal turmoil. This conflict mirrors our internal struggles when different parts of us yearn for attention. For instance, Anger might scream for justice, Fear whispers caution, and Embarrassment signals you to be authentic. My question for you is…how well can you or do you harmonize your emotions when they show up all at once?
Bonus: Accept the transformative power of your emotions. The movie beautifully demonstrates how Sadness, once marginalized, becomes instrumental in Riley's healing and growth. On the other hand, Nostalgia repeatedly sidelined will become relevant in another season of life. By acknowledging the value of Sadness, Joy learns that genuine happiness often emerges from moments of vulnerability and sorrow. In the same vein, when Sadness meets with Joy, they can get to relive beautiful memories.
When you learn to welcome this diversity of emotions, identify them, and articulate the needs they serve, you invariably unlock the potential for inner transformation that blossoms harmoniously in your relationships and life as a whole. Read this again!
PS: Myself and an expert friend (identity revealed soon) will be hosting a one-day mini-workshop tailored to equip individuals with essential conflict resolution skills. We will show you how to recognize, understand, examine, and embrace your emotions; we will provide you with effective communication templates to help your dialogues, and share proven strategies we have studied and applied that are instrumental to transforming your conflicts, disagreements, disputes—and so much more!
More details coming soon!
