Tune Into Your Body
If the Dalai Lama is talking about it, it’s worth listening to.
This past week I attended the Science & Wisdom of Emotions Summit.
The summit looked at emotions from the lens of both western scientific research and eastern contemplative practices. There were many great speakers, including the Dalai Lama.
(You know it has to be good when His Holiness is the keynote speaker.)
Another important speaker was Dr. Paul Ekman. He is a renowned psychologist known for his pioneering research on the science of emotions.
Dr. Ekman offered many pearls during his talk, but one in particular stood out to me:
"Emotions evolved to solve problems without thinking. The key to constructively using our emotions is awareness of our emotions."
Now, the first part I already knew.
A while back I wrote a blog post about how emotions are the physical reactions that occur in our bodies in response to our environments.
We have evolution to thank for our emotions, because without them we could not have survived as a species.
Here's an example: let's say you run into a saber-toothed cat.
Would you stop to think, "Should I hide in that tree up ahead? Or is that cave over there better?"
No. You would just get the hell out of Dodge.
Sure, you might freak out after the fact. ("Where the f*** did that cat come from?!") But in the moment, there's no time to think. You need to act.
It's the second part of what Dr. Ekman said that struck a chord with me: the part about using emotions constructively.
For many years I struggled with my emotions. I would shove them away to keep moving forward, especially if I was under stress. (Just ask my therapist.)
But now I know better. I'm more emotionally intelligent, if you will.
In order to manage stress and prevent burnout, you must first detect the distress in your life.
Think about it. How are you supposed to respond to a situation if you don't even know what you're dealing with?
You need to pay attention to the emotions you experience. You need to build awareness.
Thankfully, building awareness is a skill you can develop. And one of the best ways to practice it is by getting out of your head and into your body.
Tune into the sensations you experience in your body. Is your left eye twitching? Are your shoulders in a permanent shrug? Is your stomach digesting the butterflies in it?
As you go through your week, take the time to listen to your body. It's not about doing hours of meditation - it's about tuning into the micro moments when you present on a Zoom call, prep dinner for the kids, or veg out on Netflix. Become aware of what your body is trying to tell you.
And what happens if you don't pay attention to your emotions? I think Dr. Ekman said it best:
"If we are unaware of how we're feeling, we are vulnerable to acting in ways we may later regret."
Ditto.