Like I mentioned, I’ve been inspired by Marc Brackett’s book Permission to Feel. In the book he points out that most of us have a pretty puny vocabulary when it comes to emotions. Beyond “sad, glad, mad” we’re lost, and so we usually just stick to “fine.”
Brackett suggests several tools for enhancing our emotional vocabulary. The more words we have to describe emotion, the better we become at understanding emotion. One tool is the mood meter:
The mood meter is composed of four quadrants. Each quadrant corresponds to high/low energy and pleasantness/unpleasantness:
- Red: High Energy + Unpleasant Emotions that are fear or anger-related belong in this quadrant.
- Blue: Low Energy + Unpleasant Emotions like sadness, depression, and exhaustion belong here.
- Yellow: High Energy + Pleasant Excitement, happiness and focus are found here.
- Green: Low Energy + Pleasant Calm, fulfilled, and serene belong in the green quadrant.
The mood meter helps us identify some of our more subtle emotions. This reminds me of the vocabulary exercise a lot of teachers use with their students where boring words like “said” are outlawed and students have to brainstorm alternatives like “asked, shouted, exclaimed, wailed.”
Emotional Vocabulary Challenge
Stretch your emotional vocabulary by “outlawing” the words “fine, good, okay” for a week. Talk or write about how you feel using words on the mood meter. It’s difficult and will help you reflect on your emotions. This is a plus, because emotionally intelligent teaching is better teaching.
What words would you add to the mood meter? Which quadrant would your words belong in?
