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.
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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