Self-Assessment

Get ready to dig in, y’all.  

Before we jump in, let’s take a moment to level-set.  It’s important to take a self-inventory of how you are approaching these questions, because we all have biases (whether or not we want to fully admit it).  Emotional intelligence (often referred to as EQ) is defined by Psychology Today as “the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others,” and is where you should start to level-set before deeply engaging in any of this material. 

You might be at this website because you are feeling angry or sad about what you are seeing and reading.  Depending on where you get your news, the source is likely injecting bias into their reporting.  Far right leaning media sources (like Fox News) are reporting on the same situations as far left leaning sources (like MSNBC), as well as various social media companies (like Facebook), where Forbes reports that 64% of adults report getting their news.  As you can imagine, this can be very confusing and muddle our intake of information in real time.

One tool that exists to aid in this is Dr. Robert Plutchik’s feelings wheel, seen below.  Start in the middle, and work through your emotions to a singular feeling on the outermost band of the wheel.  This will better help you reconcile your feelings, reframe your mindset, and check yourself of biases before you dive into the material.  

For example, as you interact with this section, you may notice that you are experiencing feelings of being provoked or judgemental and your heart might be beating quickly.  This feeling can be fleeting from section to section, and you may also feel powerless or overwhelmed.  We challenge you to ask yourself WHY you are experiencing these feelings, and what is triggering them to come to the surface.  

Remember, change starts with YOU.  You cannot effectively create change in others until you effect change within yourself.