Self-Care Sunday: Extend Yourself Some Grace

We all cycle through a range of emotions from day-to-day and hour-to-hour. You may feel anger and joy, all within a matter of minutes, but everyone has a predominant emotional state.

To understand this, check out the Emotion Escalator.™

If you were to circle the emotions you feel most often in any recent week, you would find they cluster around one or two steps on the Escalator. This is your predominant emotional state. Another way to think of it is as the mood you feel most often.

Here is the truth about your predominant emotional state: It is unlikely to take a giant leap forward in a short period of time.

So right now, in the middle of a pandemic, when people’s lives and livelihoods are being destroyed, when we are all lonely and worried, please take a moment to extend yourself a little grace. You won’t (and shouldn’t) always feel like life is filled with sunshine and roses and unicorns dancing on your front lawn.

Keep in mind, too, that your predominant emotional state typically progresses up the Emotion Escalator™ one step at a time. It is rare to leap from despair to exuberance in one fell swoop and to stay there permanently. Feeling better is a process. If you feel discouraged, your discouragement might turn into annoyance before you feel apathetic, and then hopeful, and finally inspired.

What emotion are you feeling today? For help moving up the EmotionEscalator™, be sure to check out the activity sheet below.