The Story of Two Wolves
How our emotions can define us
What if I was to tell you that the feeling (emotion) always precedes the thought? It is not always easy to change our thinking and make the feelings go away. But we can use our thoughts to challenge those feelings, and teach our body not to react or attach an old story to that feeling.
An old parable comes to mind when I think about what emotions we choose to feel and hang on to as a result of our past.
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
It’s easy to justify our behaviour according to what we feel. We unconsciously behave as we always have and, in this case, it means drawing on the emotion
When we take a mindful pause, we get to decide how we want to feel, and which wolf we want to feed.
Whether or not this is your first time hearing this story, it serves as an important reminder of the power we have over our experiences and emotions.
Having more insight into how we process emotional data is crucial to how we adapt and respond to different situations.
I am running an Emotional Intelligence Masterclass on the 27th November in Melbourne. Linking the Life Styles Inventory to the MSCEIT (Mayer Salovey Emotional Intelligence Test). This will provide you with a greater sense of awareness to recognise, use, understand and manage your emotions.
Please contact Emily Markwell or myself for further information.
#personaldevelopment #leadership #emotions #bestself #emotionalagility #positive #negative #choice
Michelle Crouch Dattner Group Compass - Visionary Leadership for Women
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1 年Michelle, thanks for sharing!
Experienced People Leader, versed in day-to-day operational management, strategic vision and change implementation.
5 年#practicethepause
What do penguins and coral reefs have in common?
5 年I love that story. To me, the lesson is more powerful because the conclusion is left to the reader to draw and there is no moral judgement. So a person who might otherwise try to defend the times they are angry, resentful, etc is less likely to do so because they won’t feel attacked when the information is presented this way. I’m going to think about how I can use this idea- thank you!!
Executive Coaching | Leadership Development | Cultivating Well for Women
5 年Thanks for the reminder Michelle its a little gem