Perhaps in the age of Elsa and her message to "Let it go" we should truly stop and ask if that is wise. Maybe we should seek advice from John, Paul, George, and Ringo and "Let it be." The Beatles told us that these were words of wisdom. Let's listen and "Let it be."
When it comes to our feelings we should never let them go without understanding them. Letting them be for a time helps us accept them and learn from them.
The Happiness Lab (podcast), Season 3 Episode 1 is a talk with Brene Brown. Brene talks with Laurie, the host and Yale psychology professor, regarding mapping emotions. They explore Brene's new book Atlas of the Heart (now on my to-buy-and-read soon list!).
The idea of identifying and mapping out our emotions is not a new concept to us. This is a topic we have explored while implementing and utilizing the Mood Meter. The mood meter presents us with 100 emotions; Atlas of the Heart delves deeper into 87 of those emotions.
Correctly identifying an emotion gives us power to understand where it is coming from and why we need it at that moment. We can explore it and learn from it.
In the podcast Brene quotes Ludwig Wittgenstein. The quotes is profound when we consider our goal of helping students name emotions. Wittgenstein, a philosopher from the early 1900's once said "The limits of language are the limits of my world." If we do not teach our students the language to use when talking about emotions we are limiting their emotional word. Brene also shares that when we face an emotion head-on and learn to name it we give ourselves power over the emotion.
Starting a new year with a goal to properly name our own emotions is a step toward opening our world. Imagine the world you can open for your students when help them learn the language of emotions.
This week I challenge you to let an emotion be. An emotion you might normally rush away, ignore, or dismiss. Accept it and Let it Be. Let it be the emotion that it is. Let it be with you for a moment. Let it be. Name your emotion, take power over it, let it be, and then if it does not help you, slowly shift it to what will serve you well.
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