Feelings 101 - Understanding and Channeling Your Inner "Guidance System"

More powerful than any other tool in your arsenal

In alignment with recent discussions on developing a healthy relationship with your feelings, I realized it was about time to take a deeper look at what this really means, and how you can put your feelings to good use.

NOTE: I make a special distinction in using the word “feelings” vs the word “emotions;” this will ideally be clear to you by the end of this stack.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a psychologist, therapist, or licensed professional.

What I speak on comes from years of serious failures/mistakes/iterations, and it comes from taking on a hard introspective look at my own life over the years.

Feelings are like masks, if you really think

Feelings - Nature’s Alarm System

Before really diving into things, let’s set the stage of this discussion by analyzing all of the feelings you might experience on a day to day basis.

Let’s start with your alarm clock.

Depending on how you slept, you’ll either wake up feeling tired, well-rested, hungover, or downright awful.

Within seconds, you’ll become aware of the temperature of your surroundings, and you’ll either feel comfortable and cozy, or warm and sweaty.

Depending on your routine, thirst might be the next feeling at bat, followed potentially by feeling the need to use the restroom.

Hunger, pain, heat, cold, your underwear is a little tight and cuts your circulation, or you wore your least favorite pair of socks, so your feet are itchy all day long.

Anger, fear, stress, being horny, all of these, and many many more, are feelings, and they’re useful signals from your body about something occurring in your life that might be worth paying attention to.

Each feeling is a message from your body’s innate mechanisms and as such they function just like the dashboard on your car.

The challenge, though, is becoming aware of these, and then learning how to act upon them.

It’s up to you to notice the alarms and respond to them.