These days, my morning routine includes two essentials: meditation + morning pages (a few pages of freewriting).
I prioritize these practices because they help me see + feel what’s really going on inside: the real (+ sometimes hard) emotions.
Which means I often start my day feeling bad.
Which may seem less than ideal, but it works wonders.
Here’s why:
1) It feels like a luxury to have plenty of room for all of my feelings -- for all of me. This space is a gift, even when some of what fills it feels hard.
2) Avoiding negative feelings often means not feeling at all.
When I push away the negative emotions (which I often do on default), I feel less alive because I’m resisting energy that wants to flow through me.
If I shut down my anxiety or leave my grief in a shadowy corner, there’s less flow overall, which also chokes out experiences of awe, delight, and joy.
3) Feeling the hard stuff is part of how I move + process energy. And once the energy is moving, it becomes raw aliveness + powerful creativity.
4) This practice of feeling bad on purpose reminds me that feeling (+ life in general) is complex + paradoxical.
I might wake up feeling optimistic about life + excited for the day but also find some anxiety + grief below the surface. (Like a day on a recent vacation when I discovered some grief during my meditation + writing time and had a hard cry before moving on with my wonderful day).
This is all normal + okay + just how feelings work, and there's room for all of it.
5) Making space to feel bad makes me less afraid of the hard feelings + more confident in my ability to hold them.
Which makes me less afraid of life + more willing to do the hard things that matter to me, even when they spark negative emotions.
So here’s to feeling bad!
May your own negative feelings invite flow, illuminate your strength, and remind you of your power to step into what matters, even when it's hard.
And if you want support in creating this space for yourself + uncovering the magic of your hard emotions, get in touch! I help folks with this is my coaching work, and I'd love to support you too.