“Emotional self-awareness is the ability to recognize your feelings, to differentiate between them, to know why you are feeling these feelings, and to recognize the impact your feelings have on others around you” (EQ Edge, 57). Emotionally healthy people:

• Use emotion words like: mad, sad, hurt, scared, frustrated, anxious etc.
• Are aware when their moods change
• Can identify the cause or reason for an emotional change
• Observe others for reactions to their emotions

Have you ever said or done something you wished you hadn’t, out of an emotional reaction? I certainly have.  Emotions like anger, jealousy, pride, insecurity, fear and hurt can influence our behavior and our ability to function well with others.

Feelings are a healthy way of living, but none of us wants to be a “victim” to those feelings. We want feelings to be channeled into constructive ways of dealing with conflict, reaching out to others with grace in the face of adversity, and productive behavior vs destructive behavior.

Attached here is an exercise you can do to help you learn to identify and constructively deal with the emotions you feel.  Give it a try and see if it helps you become more emotionally self-aware.

Emotional Self-Awareness Exercise