Do this to feel better emotionally in JUST FIVE SECONDS
"Brainy What-Why-How"
Your weekly nibble of science-backed goodness to help you move better and feel unstoppable.
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What (the TL:DR)
If you're feeling any unwanted, uncomfortable, or unhelpful emotion, try this:
Say to yourself (either out loud or in your mind):
"Even though I'm feeling [insert emotion], I love and accept myself anyway."
Go on...give it a try. See how you feel 😌 Repeat it a few times if needed.
Why (the geeky neurology)
Why does this work?*
If you've been reading my newsletters, you'll know we kind of have two brains:
1️⃣ The old brain: emotional, reactive, reflexive; it does everything automatically (without us thinking about it).
Some people refer to this as a wild animal that we try to tame.
2️⃣ The new brain: this allows us to think about things, plan ahead, do things on purpose, and inhibit the old brain.
In the same analogy, this would be us, trying to tame that wild animal, to saddle it up and ride it carefree into the sunset towards all of our goals, wishes, and desires.
But!! What sometimes happens is this:
"Really everything's fine. I shouldn't be feeling so [anxious/overwhelmed/sad/angry/frustrated]. I need to just chill out."
and this is the equivalent of trying to tame the wild animal by yelling at it "hey be chill!"
How (apply it to your life)
By instead accepting the emotions we feel (the wild animals) and choosing to love ourselves anyway,
we remove the shame we feel around having those unwanted emotions.
We stop trying to control a wild animal, and let it be wild, to run off on its own.
It eventually calms down and starts grazing or sun-bathing or whatever.
This practice is one of the pillars of Emotional Freedom Therapy Check out the EFT meditations on Move With Adell here.
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Thank you for reading!
And please share with a friend or colleague who might find this valuable.
What's your wild animal? Did you picture a stallion? An alligator? I'd love to know hehe,
Adell xoxo
if it didn't work for you, that's okay! It won't work for everyone. There are definitely other techniques you can use to feel better emotionally, like just taking a deep breath and consciously relaxing the tension in your body.
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