Powering through, toughening up, putting on your professional mask, and pretending that you are fine.
How often do you spend time trying not to feel things?
The reality is that feeling and expressing emotion is one of our greatest strengths, and bottling emotions up inside is bad for us.
Every time we swallow a feeling, our body stores it somewhere - the chest, the gut, the shoulders.
Unfelt emotions accumulate. That’s where burnout, anxiety, and the 'I don’t feel like myself anymore' feelings can sneak in.
Letting emotions move is how our nervous system resets itself. It’s not weak.
Feeling our emotions actually makes us more creative, not less so.
Think about the last time your creative juices flowed. Were you freely able to be yourself, or were you holding an emotion back?
Creativity does not come from a blank mind; it comes from being connected to ourself, our experiences, our curiosity, and even our frustrations.
When we allow emotions to flow, ideas spark, and solutions appear.
If we want to innovate, we’ve got to feel.
So how do we start to express ourselves at work without oversharing?
It's easier than you might think. A simple, 'That was a tough meeting' or 'I was afraid of where that might lead us' can change the whole dynamic.
Here are a few examples:
✔️ Name what you feel (briefly) - “I’m feeling a bit stretched today", or “I’m excited about this.”
✔️ Pair the emotion with purpose - "I’m frustrated because I want us to get this right.”
✔️ Use inclusive language - "Did you feel, Did you notice, or Are you experiencing..."
Start small; these small moments of authenticity build trust over time.
We weren’t designed to be emotionless creatures; we were designed to be deeply feeling and deeply connected to each other.
When we allow ourselves to truly feel, we find clarity, creativity, connection, confidence, and maybe ironically, strength.
Not the brittle kind that cracks, the resilient kind that bends, adapts, and grows. Adaptable.
Be human again, it’s what we’re built for.
Let's talk!
We Must Feel & Express Our Emotions