The State Triangle

by Sharon Frith
(UK)

Hi Charmaine and all you coaches out there

I thought I could shed a bit of light on the state triangle for you.

What this basically means is that our emotions are affected by the following

A)Language - The way we speak to ourselves (ie: our self talk - that little voice inside your head that either tells you that you can do something or that you can't)

B) Physiology or our body language has a massive effect on our emotions – ie: whether you smile or frown effects your emotions. Whether you stand tall or you slump your shoulders affects whether you feel confident or insecure

C) Focus – of course what you focus on affects your emotions – focusing on our problems creates more problems and focusing on how grateful we are and what we can do every day to make life even better ensures that you get that too.

Therefore if you are aware that having great body language, use positive inspiring language and focusing on the good instead of the bad will then be reflected in how you feel.

A good example of how your physiology affects your emotions is this: when you are miserable, take a moment to study your body language – you will find that you are sitting slumped or standing slumped, you head will be down instead of up and you will be frowning instead of smiling. If you make the effort to consciously CHANGE your physiology by pulling your head up, smiling and standing tall with your shoulders back, you will instantly feel better. There is a good saying that ‘motion creates emotion’ so if you move your body – walk, run or even better dance the very change in your physiology will change your emotions.

Enjoy

Sharon Frith