When you’re expressing your feelings, it’s better to use words that refer to specific emotions rather than words that are vague and general. Don’t say you feel “good” when words like happy, excited, relieved, or anything else could describe how you feel more
“Words such as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ prevent the listener from connecting easily with what we might actually be feeling,”
It’s helpful to distinguish between words that describe our actual feelings and words that describe what we think others are doing. For example, saying “I feel unimportant to the people I work with” may sound as if you’re expressing your feelings, but you’re really describing how you think other people are evaluating you. The underlying feeling might be sadness, discouragement, or something else.
Similarly, saying “I feel ignored” is less an expression of your own feelings and more an interpretation of how other people are acting toward you. And the same goes for sentiments like neglected, cheated, taken for granted, and used.
“By developing a vocabulary of feelings that allows us to clearly and specifically name or identify our emotions, we can connect more easily with one another,” Marshall B. Rosenberg
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