Let's Get Real:A Step by Step Guide
In case you hadn’t picked up on it yet, I’m a little bit of a self-development junkie. Ever since I read my first self-development book called “Being Happy” I’ve been intrigued with learning more about myself and ways to step into my fullest potential so that I can share insight with those around me. As I progressed through more books I began to see a potential I was hiding from myself and how I could embrace a new level of wholeness that would grant me empowerment from within.
One of my frustrations over the years however, was that I had found very few action steps to apply to common pieces of advice such as “let it go”, “forgive them and move on” and “release what no longer serves you.” As my journey unfolds working with others, I’ve found that having tangible exercises to process through difficult emotions has been profoundly beneficial. One of the best perks of working through an emotional exercise is that you have the possibility to see results in real-time, gaining insight into your mental, emotional, and sometime even physical health as you work through each step.
So today I want to share with you an emotional exercise to help acknowledge our true experiences regarding our current and past relationships with people (this can be any kind of relationship) where we may still feel stuck with unresolved anger, resentment, fear, anxiety, sadness, etc.
This exercise allows you to understand why you may be feeling certain emotions, gain clarity on all the different emotions you’re experiencing, give all of those feelings a voice and then begin the process of releasing what we no longer want to hold onto.
We may feel strong resistance in dealing with certain emotions, but it is often those same feelings we avoid that keep us from experiencing all of the wonderful joys life has to offer. Basically, when we block ‘bad’ emotions, we are blocking ourselves from experiencing more ‘good’ emotions. So instead of blocking, we are going to transform.
Best of all, you can do this exercise as often as you want. Ready?
Let’s Get Real: A step-by-step guide
1. Start by gathering paper and a pen. Set up some alone time in a safe and comfortable space, free of interruptions.
2. Begin thinking about a person that you’ve been storing some unresolved feelings towards, allowing those emotions to surface and feeling them fully. As you are ready, start writing a letter directed to them. The person in mind will not actually be receiving this letter, so be sure to fill it with all of the judgments, criticisms, honest, raw, vulnerable feelings you have experienced. Get all of it out on paper.
3. Once you have finished writing, the next step is to read this letter out loud. You can read it quietly so no one in the other room hears you, but read it out loud. This will begin to release the charge behind the emotions.
4. From here you can now get rid of the letter however you like. You can simply throw it away, rip it up, recycle it, or even burn it if that makes you happy. Please be careful in the way you decide to do this – I believe we are all adults and know the dangers of fire. ☺
5. Lastly, take several deep breaths and thank yourself for being brave and allowing yourself to feel and express these stored emotions.
Try not to attach a specific outcome to this exercise. Be open to how releasing these emotions may show up in your life. Inner peace, less tension in the body, finding yourself experiencing more compassion and understanding for yourself and others, or a myriad of other experiences are all possible outcomes.
If you have any questions about the process of this exercise or would like to share your experience I encourage you to send me an email or comment below. I’d love to hear how this may support you in finding releases around stored emotions. If you are the type of person that needs a safe space and extra support by talking through this with someone just let me know and we’ll set up a time to talk. I want you to know you are not in this alone.
Sending you all so many smiles and hugs,
Laura
