Our relationships and interactions with all people, even strangers, tell us so much about ourselves. It is worthwhile to tune into the emotions that come up in those relationships.

Our spouse might ask for something, like an omelet with lots of veggies or a massage or to go someplace for a daytrip. Nothing too big. But we get somewhat annoyed at the request. It is worth reflecting on that negative emotion. It is telling us something about ourselves. Something about our beliefs, values, weaknesses, sense of worthiness, etc.

What are we annoyed at? It might be that some part of us is uncomfortable that they had the audacity to ask for that because we ourselves would never ask for that. But, why wouldn’t we ask for it? Is it something about what we think is ‘extra’? Or something about our worthiness? Or our concern about what others will think? Or our standards?

When we tap into what is under our emotion, we can better respond.

🤔We may reframe the situation and think, “OK, personally, I think it is frivolous, but it is something reasonable to ask for.”

🤔We may respond from our principles rather than our emotions. “I know that place is great fun. I am concerned about how that will impact our savings.”

🤔We may recognize that we do want that in our lives too, “I think I’ll have an omelet too.”

Our emotions can help us better understand ourselves.