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Wendy HearnBusiness & Personal Coach 
Wendy HearnThe Inspiring Catalyst business coaching business coaching |
Feeling low and being a positive, energetic person who is inspired don't go together, or do they? I woke up this particular morning feeling a little lost and low. It was the type of 'low' feeling that passes fairly quickly, but it certainly didn't feel comfortable for me. I immediately wanted to understand why and to fight it, and then I'd be okay. This wasn't the usual me who is very positive, upbeat and energetic. I didn't want to feel like this. Fighting my feelings and understanding them meant asking myself to 'do' something. I know from previous experience that what I really need when I feel like this is not to fight it, and to just be with my feelings in the moment. Easier said than done! It's not about wallowing in your feelings, feeling sorry for yourself and being a victim. It's about taking responsibility for your feelings and being connected with them. Through 'being' with my feelings, I realised that there was a part of my dreams being denied by me. I'd kept the dream at the back of my mind and now was the time to give it some voice and bring it alive. Once I'd been with these feelings fully and moved through them, I felt excited. I was so inspired and bouncing full of enthusiasm that I needed scraping off the ceiling! I find it interesting that after feeling low, I usually bounce back up much higher. It's these times when exciting ideas, opportunities and great results show up. I know that I need to listen to myself more, allow space for my feelings and identify what I most need. But when you're feeling low it seems like the last thing you want to do. Successful people are generally positive, upbeat, truly alive and willing to persevere. I used to think persevering meant continuing to 'do' things regardless of my feelings. Persevering isn't about fighting the low feelings, it's about being with them until they pass. You'll often hear that you need to think positively and the keyword here is 'think'. Thinking comes from your head and what you really need is to 'be' a positive person. Being comes from your heart and requires that you feel it all. This doesn't just mean the feelings that we enjoy experiencing such as, excitement, enthusiasm and joy. It also means experiencing the other feelings such as sadness, loss and confusion. When we feel excited, inspired or enthusiastic we want to stay with those feelings and not let them go. Yet feeling low is one of the feelings that we don't want to be with. Just as the feelings of excitement tell me that things are working well for me, the low feelings tell me that something isn't working well and I need to grow as a person. I hear people apologise for feeling low, because they shouldn't feel like this. It's very normal to have these feelings. These feelings give you clues and they are there for a reason. Will there be an end to feeling low at times? I'm willing to be wrong and at the moment I believe that we will continue to experience these feelings. The way forward is to shorten the time by choosing to 'be' with them fully. Being with any low feelings allows me to bounce back up and probably be even more positive, alive and full of energy. When you've previously felt low, what has worked better for you after? Did you get more clarity? Did a wonderful opportunity appear for you? Did you bring to live a dream? There are lessons for us in our feelings and we need to be with them long enough to get the lesson. The lesson is always in our best interests, even if we doubt that at the time. Allow yourself to 'be' a positive person and experience all of it, rather than just 'doing' positive thinking. I encourage you to be someone who experiences your feelings in order to make breakthroughs in who you're being, and ultimately be the person you want to be. What I want for you is to be with your feelings long enough to be inspired again.
Wendy Hearn 
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