Where do you live emotionally most of the time?
In September, we took ourselves off to Cologne to attend Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within an experience that genuinely changed the way I think and more importantly, the way I think about myself.
Never in my life have I attended something with so much learning, excitement, energy, dancing, singing and high-fives! I knew the four days were going to be intense but nothing prepared me for just how full-on they would be.
Day 1 – Where do you live emotionally?
Day 1 explored empowering and disempowering emotions and the idea of choosing to live in a “beautiful state.” We looked at breaking patterns, fear, what stops us moving forward and the forces that shape our emotions and actions.
I'm barely scratching the surface. It was around 13 hours of learning, note-taking, dancing and participation including Tony Robbins speaking, teaching and mentoring for around seven hours straight!
If I had to choose one thing from Day 1 that really stayed with me, it would be this:
Where do I live emotionally most of the time?
If I asked you the same question, what would your answer be?
Recognising your own patterns
I recognised a lot about myself that day. I realised how much your emotions can dictate what you do, your confidence and even how you communicate with other people.
I’ve noticed how people can spend too much time in what Tony describes as a “suffering state.” For me, that can mean looking for validation, overthinking things internally, doubting whether they can achieve something or questioning whether they are good enough.
Recognising those emotions can be uncomfortable but also incredibly empowering.
I recognised that people need a strategy for catching themselves when those thoughts appear, rather than simply allowing them to take over.
Strangely I didn't have to wait long to test it on myself!
Something happened...
Later that evening, a conversation started about my hopes and ambitions for Thrive Together over the next six months.
Almost immediately, my brain went to:
What's stopping me? Can I really achieve everything I want to?
There it was.
I'd caught myself in the exact state we'd spent the day talking about.
But I did something different.
Instead of allowing those thoughts to take over, I changed the conversation in my head. I announced what we were going to achieve and then started talking about how we were going to make it happen.
Within about 30 seconds, I'd moved from doubt to MASSIVE ACTION.
Disempowered to empowered.
I'd moved from what I had recognised as a “suffering state” to a “beautiful state.”
It felt amazing.
What does this mean for the workplace?
It also got me thinking about the work we do at Thrive Together.
What emotional state do people spend most of their working day in?
Pressure? Frustration? Anxiety? Fear? Stress? Autopilot?
Or confidence? Connection? Purpose? Belonging?
Perhaps the bigger question for organisations is:
How much influence does your workplace culture have over the answer?
If we genuinely want to improve workplace wellbeing, perhaps we need to think not only about what support we provide when people are struggling, but also about the environment we have created for people every single day.
Ask yourself, where do you live emotionally and where do the people in your organisation live? I would love to know.