Mapping Our Emotions At Work

For most of my life, I treated my emotions like a pesky toddler by ignoring their pull, their whine, and their incessant need for my attention.

I was always told that I was "too sensitive" so I imagined that by pretending that I had no emotions, I could fit into other's expectations of me.

It didn't work.

Eventually, those bottled up emotions would shoot out like a shaken champagne bottle, getting everyone soaked.

I was labeled "histrionic" by colleagues.

Now, I see another way.

Yesterday, as part of our "Emotions at Work" masterclass, Antonia Silvaggi and I invited the participants to "map" their emotions to bring them to light and see them more objectively.

🩷 Some mapped geographically -- how different physical spaces lead to different emotions
💙 Some mapped linearly - how their emotions play out over time.
💚 Some mapped cognitively - how their thoughts drive their emotions.
💛 Some mapped interpersonally - how different people and interactions lead to different emotions

After we brought awareness to our emotional landscapes, we then dove into an exercise where we looked at our emotions from an alternative perspective.

Playing the role of director, we cast our partners as different emotional voices in our mind, giving them full permission to play out the scene.

They seemed to have a lot of fun, and it led to quite a few aha moments!

We finished by writing emotional permission slips to ourselves because YES, emotions do belong at work.

Below is one of the participants maps.

What would your emotional map look like?

P.S. Thanks, Antonia, for co-hosting with me, and thanks to all the participants for your vulnerability and engagement!

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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