Are you the type of person who cries or laughs easily? Or are you struggling to identify what exactly you are feeling? In this podcast episode, you will learn why having self-awareness through understanding your emotions can help your well-being.
Karla McLaren, M.Ed, is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and pioneering educator whose empathic approach to emotions revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways into self-awareness, effective communication, and healthy empathy.
She is also the founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics LLC and EmpathyAcademy.org., and the creator of Emotional Dynamics at Work®, a workplace assessment and mentoring program to bring grounded and sustainable empathy and emotional awareness practices to individuals, teams, and organizations.
Moreover, Karla is the author of Embracing Anxiety: How to Access the Genius of This Vital Emotion (2020), The Dynamic Emotional Integration Workbook (2018), Escaping Utopia: Growing Up in a Cult, Getting Out, and Starting Over (with Janja Lalich, Ph.D., 2017), The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life’s Most Essential Skill (2013), and The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings are Trying to Tell You (2010).
Last but not least, she is also the author of the book about emotional work, empathy work, and creating emotionally well-regulated workplaces: The Power of Emotions at Work: Accessing the Vital Intelligence in Your Workplace (2021).
In this podcast episode hosted by Lu Ngo, the conversation started when Karen defined self-awareness as an emotional skill that is not separate from logic or anything else you want to separate because it is the basis of how you function as a human.
She added that everything you do, everything you believe, and every action and decision you make is predicated by your emotions. If you don’t know how your feelings work, you will not understand why you do such things or how to handle yourself.
She emphasized that understanding emotions and how emotions work means that you become aware of yourselves at a very deep level, sort of the motivation for ‘why we are, who we are.’ In addition, Karen said to be more empathetic to yourself and your emotions to understand what you are feeling at the moment; it is necessary so you can deal with the issue and not run from your emotions and self-awareness.
Having self-awareness enables you to recognize the full spectrum of your feelings and manage your well-being. Through this, you will tend to make better decisions and have a greater perspective.
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