I was talking with my dad about feeling sad and hopeless about his cancer. “On the one hand,” he said, “I know every day is a blessing and there’s so much to be grateful for. But that seems so abstract. So far away right now.” Here are some thoughts about feeling hopeless, and building a ladder toward hope.
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Joshua Freedman
CEO at Six Seconds
Joshua is one of the world’s preeminent experts on developing emotional intelligence to create positive change. With warmth and authenticity, he translates leading-edge science into practical, applicable terms that improve the quality of relationships to unlock enduring success. Joshua leads the world’s largest network of emotional intelligence practitioners and researchers.
Good morning Joshua
My coach and I have looked into my life and she feels that I turned off saddness at a young age which explaines why I have trouble with love. She has me lookig for saddness as I also continue my EI studys. Do you have any suggestion on how I can flip the switch of saddness on so I can also feel love.
Thank you
Hi James, what a beautiful, challenging question. My view is that actually sadness and love are the same thing — they’re both connected to connecting with others (or things). I also suspect they’re deeply connected to appreciation and trust.
:: Do you feel connected to some people, places, things? What happens when you pay closer attention to that connection, strengthening the feeling? Then what happens if you imagine losing that person/place/thing?
:: Do you feel appreciation of some people, places, things? Repeat as above…
:: Do you feel trust (safety) with some people, places, things? Repeat as above…
Looking forward to hearing what happens!
– Josh