In order to increase my awareness of emotions, I have
devised the list on the left, based on experience and the book "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman.
His later books, "Working With Emotional Intelligence" and "Primal Leadership", are
also widely acclaimed as insightful and informative.
The spectrum identified here is rather wide, but perhaps not comprehensive.
By narrowing a focus on perceptions and naming a feeling one may better track why
one experiences certain emotions.
Reviewing the feelings categorized alongside this
text may help one find a few which characterize a present state of mind.
Note the category under which the feeling is organized for insights into
how it may have come to pass. Attaching a name to a present feeling reminds one
of the transient nature of such things and points a clearer direction toward
understanding. Identifying emotions in others likewise promotes understanding.
According to Richard Lucas one may increase happiness
through a nightly review and analysis of the daily events which have gone well. Analyze
only the reasons these events went well. Writing a short essay about the potential absence
of a positive life event also improves ones' affective state. Likewise, when pursuing
improvement of creativity, carefully employ only the techniques of Appreciative Inquiry
rather than any deficiency-based method.
Amy Cuddy asserts from her behavioral research, that one may gain
confidence by practicing preparatory posing before confronting challenging individuals or groups.
She suggests two minutes of a standing posture with arms lifted up, hands extended out and
the head thrown back to simulate a winner's body language. Cuddy claims that uncrossing
ankles and spreading one's arms during an encounter will also encourage expansive and open
expression on the part of the practitioner. She contends that body language affects the
mind of the posing individual as much as those others who may see the non-verbal messages.
The principles and concepts detailed above in no
way constitute advice to the reader. Readers are hereby notified that the
web designer intends for this page to be used only by the writer as a reminder
of concepts presented in the books mentioned above.
