Power Acronym 44: C.R.E.A.T.E.
transmuting thoughts into positive actions
Part of the work I’m doing with Power Acronym Daily is creating frameworks that can be used for personal and professional growth.
As mentioned in Power Acronym 43: A.C.E., fear often keeps us from living the life we want to live. The most common way we tend to respond to threats and negative emotions is “fight, flight, or freeze”.
While fighting and fleeing are actions, they may not be the most beneficial, depending on the circumstances.
As I thought about this, I wondered if I could create an acronym that serves as a process for taking the energy of emotions and transforming them into positive outcomes.
Power Acronym 44: C.R.E.A.T.E.
Catch
Be aware and catch hold of your emotions and thoughts.
Distinguishing thoughts and feelings as separate from our identity gives us the power to respond without being caught in a negative thunderstorm.
“The greatest freedom lies in the ability to choose your own thoughts” - Werner Erhard
Our unconscious thoughts should be viewed like the Texas weather: If you don’t like it, wait a minute.
I’ve heard meditators advise thoughts to be viewed like traffic on a highway. Just watch each of them pass by, making no judgment about them.
We can’t help how we feel or what we think sometimes. But the control Erhard is speaking to has to do with our ability to respond to moments in a positive way.
Recognize
Acknowledge and identify the specific feelings you're experiencing.
Once we can catch our thoughts we unlock the ability to see them for what they are and recognize the triggers that set our minds in motion.
When you know you’ve had a thought before, you can practice responding in ways that create a new outcome until you find the one that aligns with the life you want.
When you recognize that feeling, hold it in place with language.
What language can use use to hold them in place?
Are you anxious? Or are you excited? Are you depressed? Or tired?
Place them in the proper container.
Embrace
It's hard to communicate feelings, especially after burying them beneath the surface of ourselves or masking them with busyness, substances, or people.
However, it is critical to accept emotions without judgment or resistance.
We may not be able to control our thoughts but we can control how we respond to them.
The acceptance of our thoughts is not an agreement with them.
It is a brave step to acknowledge that they exist, keeping us from avoiding (or fleeing) them. It is at this point we can control the future and become the master where we were once a slave.
Assess
But first, it’s important to know them.
Evaluate the impact and significance of your emotions on your well-being.
Are they keeping you from doing something you know would be beneficial for you?
Are they stopping you from your best work?
How are they impacting your relationship with yourself, others, and life itself?
Transform
Find ways to channel your feelings into positive and constructive actions.
The creative act begins here.
Journaling, drawing, exercise, organizing, cleaning…these are all different ways to take the thoughts and feelings we have and make them something new.
Like a remix of your favorite song, what new lyric or sound could you generate that could bring it under greater control?
Engage
Actively participate in activities that align with your values and goals.
It's important to note that not all activities that quell our emotions are positive. The goal is to transmute them into a force for positive growth, not a downward spiral.
One of the simplest practices to implement is breathwork.
Intentional breathing grounds us in what’s happening now and keeps us locked in to what’s important.
Are you ready to C.R.E.A.T.E?
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