Clues Make Us Curious
Sometimes naming an emotion can help give us further clues about how we are feeling underneath. For example, feeling anger or embarrassment when someone teases you might be a sign that you care about what others think about you.
When we look at a feelings wheel we can use our detective skills to decipher some of these deeper thoughts and feelings. This helps us understand what matters to us and helps us decide what we want to do next. For example, if you are feeling angry at a parent, being curious about the feeling might help you discover that you are actually feeling annoyed because you haven’t spend much time with them that day. With this new knowledge, you could ask your parent or caregiver when the two of you could hang out together.
CHALLENGE 1: Think of a time you felt one of the big emotions in the middle of the circle. What was the emotion you were feeling? (Ex. Sad, Happy, Scared, Angry, Disgusted, Surprised)
CHALLENGE 2: Look at the middle or outside circle. What were some other emotions the “big emotion” may have been giving you clues about? You can have more than one! How could those other emotion clues tell you about what matters to you or what you need (Ex. When you feel anger as the big emotion could mean that you are jealous of what another person has”)?
CHALLENGE 3: Ask your parent or caregiver to do the same exercise. Did you learn something new about how they were feeling and what they needed?