As a woman I am proud of the advances we have made. We are attaining education at every level, we have our own careers and businesses, we are working hard within our communities and homes, and we have very diverse interests and hobbies. Its an exciting time for women. We are evolving in all the ways of the world. However, I wonder if we are evolving emotionally. What I mean by emotional evolution is slow and continued growth, which culminates into an overall state of well-being. As a whole, I am not sure thats happening for us. I think we may be so involved with keeping all of our advances evolving that we let our sense of emotional balance and well-being atrophy. What proof do I have that we are not evolving emotionally? I see women who are continually angry; depressed; frustrated; unsupportive toward other women; pretending; practicing addictive behavior; abusive or being abused in relationships (physically, emotionally or verbally); disconnected from their families; and the list of negativity goes on and on. This is not a judgment of other women; this is an observation of others and myself. I have seen some, if not all of the negativity mentioned above in myself. Of course I am not like that everyday, but if I dont study and practice emotionally stabilizing behavior I quickly fall. If any of this sounds familiar, you may be thinking about how to continue or begin the process of evolving emotionally. Well, its very easy to begin if you use your career, education or interests as a model. Think about where you are right now, how did you get there? How did you amass so much knowledge? You studied; you tried new things; you asked for help; you read manuals; you took classes; you wrote and followed plans; you thought hard about getting better; and you continued these practices everyday with the belief that you could be great at what you do. Use that model to become emotionally evolved. Here are just a few of the things to try: - Journal (be extremely honest in your writings)
- Read or Listen to self-help books
- Talk to people you look up to about how they manage their lives
- Pray
- Meditate
- Read ancient spiritual guides such as the Bible, the Koran, or the Vedas
- Watch television that promotes emotional health (not Montel Williams-- more like a PBS special about positive thinking)
- Write down emotional goals for your life like you already have them (e.g. I am lovable, I am happy, I have supportive friends)
- Exercise your body
- Give to others
- Learn about nutrition and eat better
- Learn about nature
- Learn about other people
Keeping these things and other emotionally stabilizing activities in your life will help you to evolve. It is important to remember that this is an evolution process, so slow progress is what you will see. I practice all of these things, and I am still very much a work in progress. Just as with your career and interests, you may never know everything there is to know, but you will have gained wisdom and knowledge. The key is to be actively working toward emotional evolution. You may not see the culmination until the day you die, but when you look back you will have great moments in your life and less regrets. |
