Over the last few months we’ve been hosting online conversations to share experiences of emotions that often don’t get talked about. Many of us can be reluctant to explore negative feelings with each other, as the pressure to conceal them can be high when the prevailing culture champions positivity and professionalism.
Several people joined us for 75 minute sessions to explore how they might work with their negative feelings more creatively, with one session for each of the following emotions - despair, anxiety, and shame.
We deliberately did not offer any kind of advice or solution - partly because our instinct is that there is more value in staying with these kinds of feelings and seeing what’s there, instead of chasing them away or even trying to ‘transform’ them into something supposedly more useful or comfortable. We didn’t want to position ourselves as teachers, just as fellow explorers.
Each of us, at different times, thought this might be a bad idea. Would anyone come? What kind of pandora’s box would we be opening? Would the tone be too somber?
Instead, what we experienced in the sessions was rich, often enjoyable conversation through which we felt a deeper connection to one another.
A willingness to “face the shark”, as one participant put it, can sometimes be the experience we most need.
What if our negative emotions are taking us toward an otherwise unreachable experience of reality?
Our next guided conversation will explore our relationship with anger and how we might design more constructively with it in life and work.
You can sign up for the workshop at the link below. Tickets are 10 USD.
If you are interested in using Unhurried Design to approach an opportunity or challenge differently, we are open to exploring what’s possible with you. You can book a call below.