Have you done your emotional check-in?

As the year comes to an end, it is natural to evaluate your achievements and successes for the past 12 months and set some new intentions for the year ahead. With life being so busy, juggling between work, family, friends and other commitments, have you taken the time out recently to assess where you are emotionally? Are there any thoughts that are actually holding you back from achieving success both personally and on a professional level? Over time, if left unresolved, these thoughts can have severe implications on your future.

“Yesterday I had a thought. That thought became an emotion, that emotion turned into words. Those words fuelled action, and the actions became a habit. The habit became my character, my character became my destiny. Today I, therefore, think about my thoughts, a bit more carefully.” – unknown

Step 1: Acknowledge the problem

Be completely honest with yourselves and know that there is a problem which is holding you back.

Your outer world mirrors your inner world.  Most of what’s going on in and around your life is the manifestation of choices and decisions made by you. To get the best out of life, you must acknowledge what’s happening in your inner world which brings about gains to your external world.

Step 2 Recognising Emotions

Recognise emotions that don’t serve us and making the change.

Having emotions can be a beautiful thing, and it makes us human. The word emotion came from the Latin word ‘emovere’, which means ‘to move’, which is what your bodies are supposed to do with these emotions – feel, experience and move on. Most of the time your emotions should be positive, uplifting, exciting and help you to move forward. Yet when you experience adverse significantly emotional events, then negative emotions become a piece of ‘baggage’ that you carry around in your ‘emotional’ backpack. These add to the other negative emotions that you have collected over the years.

Have you encountered people or situations where you have felt intimidated or when someone has belittled you in front of your peers – how does it make you feel? Anger, scared? Maybe it reminds you of a time when you were a child? Could you possibly be still holding onto these emotions?

Do you fear to ask your manager for a pay increase because fearing rejection? This is usually the type of fear that often holds you back when you are contemplating the unknown.

How do you feel when you suffer a financial loss or even a loved one? Chances are you feel mainly sadness…even depression – the opposite of happiness.

Staying in these negative states too long will lead to you being trapped within your own head. One thing for sure is that hanging on to these emotions is unnatural and over time can cause both physical and mental health problems. In turn, this prevents you from really enjoying life and taking the necessary risks for growth.

So, ask yourself ‘how big is your emotional baggage?’ and is it time to offload these emotions so that you can achieve your future goals?

Step 3: Positive learning

We know that past events cannot be changed, but you can change the way in which you look at them, by drawing upon the positive lessons that you can take away from them. For example, you may have been turned down for a job interview or a recent work promotion. Instead of thinking that you are not competent enough, try asking for feedback on what you could have done differently so you can learn from the experience.

Step 4: Install Techniques

Once you know the underlying problems/issues and addressed your negative emotional baggage, only then can you find suitable strategies and techniques to help you let go and be the best version of yourself. This may be with the aid of a career coach, NLP coach or someone else who will hold you accountable, ensuring only emotions which are serving you for the future are upheld and letting go of those emotions which aren’t.

Step 5: Have a plan

Create a realistic detailed plan for yourself, to be the best version of you.

I hope this article has encouraged you to take the necessary time out to check-in with yourself. In relation to your career goals for the coming year, I would also like to offer you my expertise and services so you can take control – whether it is making the transition into another career or getting the essential development needed for the next level of your career. As a way of saying thank you for your time, I would like to offer you a 30-minute complementary NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) coaching session, should you be ready to let go of any deep-rooted negative emotions.

Please email me at admin@athwalresourcing.co.uk for further information on any of the above.