No need for the story

Whenever we speak about the feeling and emotion work we do, people immediately think that they are going to have to talk about their feelings. This is the last thing we want or ask for.

March 30, 2018 • Written by Matthew Green

Whenever we speak about the feeling and emotion work we do, people immediately think that they are going to have to talk about their feelings. This is the last thing we want or ask for.

Imagine a therapy that works without you saying what’s wrong

Whenever we speak about the feeling and emotion work we do, people immediately think that they are going to have to talk about their feelings. This leads to fears that they will expose themselves, have to be vulnerable and possibly go ‘deep’. Having endured years of being told this is how we deal with feelings, this is not a surprising response. However, this is the last thing we want or ask for in our Shape of Emotion work, whether it be in one-on-one sessions, workshops, training or Emotional Fitness classes.

Telling the story engages the head and the thinking processes. And we are all about feelings. We want to get people out of their heads and into their hearts. We want less thinking and more feeling.

We are interested in that a feeling can be felt in the body

We don’t need to know the story, we don’t even need to know what the emotion is that is being felt. We don’t need to know whether it is anger or anxiety, sadness or frustration. We don’t need to know that you had an argument with your teenager or boyfriend or friend and feel angry. We don’t need to know that you shouted at your 6 year old and now feel guilty. We can’t care less that your need for order and neatness causes you untold frustration with your messy spouse.

What we are interested in is that a feeling can be felt in the body. This is the entry point to doing the Shape of Emotion work. A process that is caring, supportive, content-free, safe and offers freedom from difficult emotions and feelings.

What are you doing with your difficult feelings and emotions?

Matthew Green — Co-founder, 5th Place, watercolour portrait

Matthew Green

Reducing the Certainty Deficit in high-performing people and teams · Emotional fitness coach

Matthew works with athletes, performance teams, and anyone who wants to reduce the Certainty Deficit in their situation or context.

The Certainty Deficit is the space between what you can do and what your body will let you do when it counts. It is context-specific and situational. A person or athlete can have zero deficit in one situation and a significant one in another.

The body holds beliefs that keep the Certainty Deficit in place. These beliefs run deeper than self-talk and faster than any conscious strategy. When they shift, the ceiling shifts, and new possibilities arise.

Matthew is also an emotional fitness coach who supports individuals to live and lead from a place of inner clarity and stability. The work is somatic-first, practical, and grounded.

If you're seeing a pattern that current approaches haven't shifted, let's talk.

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