Feelings: What Actions Happen Next?
As our children grow up, we generally want to do our best to help them to identify how they are feeling. We provide them with charts to help them select how they are feeling. We encourage them to express their feelings to us as they get older in healthy ways to help us better understand what they are going through. But what happens after that? Now that we have identified the feeling, what is the next step?
I heard a great analogy the other day that ‘Feelings are like data: They are great to have, but what action comes next?’ We all have feelings, but how many of us are making moves toward what happens next? If we choose to sit in our feelings and expect things to change; we aren’t going to see any progress. We need to make a game plan to move forward. We need to take action. And if where we currently are isn’t working for us, then we need to change our direction. If where we are has us feeling overjoyed, beyond thankful, and blessed, what can we do to make sure we stay in that realm of happiness and bliss?
This is something that parents and children alike could work on daily and independently but still ask for counsel for the best course of action. We could start all ages off with a vision board to see where they want to be in 5 years, 10 years, etc.; how are they feeling right now with where they currently are? What is it going to take to move them toward that desired vision? Do they need to save money? Do they need to start working toward their education? Are their current friends encouraging them to meet their desired goals?…
