Atlas of the Heart
‘Atlas of the Heart’, the latest book by Brene Brown is like an encyclopedia of emotions and human experiences.
For anyone interested in understanding the power of the language we use to describe our feelings and the importance of accurately recognising and naming them in order to make sense of them then I would definitely recommend this book.
As Brene explains “To form meaningful connections with others, we must first connect with ourselves, but to do either we must first establish a common understanding of the language of emotion and human experience”.
The book focuses on how language is our portal to meaning-making and the majority of its content is concentrated on examining the eighty-seven emotions that define us as a human.
These explanations are all backed up with research, stories, and examples, with a core recognition, that all our emotions and experiences are layers of biology, biography, behaviour and back-story!
In expanding my own personal emotional language, I particularly liked:
Hope is not what most of us think. It is not a warm, fuzzy emotion that fills us with a sense of possibility. Hope is a way of thinking - a cognitive process.
Humility is openness to new learning combined with a balanced and accurate assessment of our contributions, including our strengths, imperfections, and opportunities for growth.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given my professional interest in supporting others to wonder and be curious about their careers the following also appealed to me:
Curiosity is recognizing a gap in our knowledge about something that interests us and becoming emotionally and cognitively invested in closing that gap through exploration and learning.
Wonder inspires the wish to understand.
I found ‘Atlas of the Heart’ visually engaging too (I did read the hard copy). Personally, The image ‘Dark Elergy’ and the explanation presented by the artist Suse Ellen Lowenstein of the topic of ‘Anguish’ was especially powerful.
However, it is worth noting that this book is not all definitions and beautiful images. Brene’s ‘A Grounded Theory on cultivating meaningful connection’ provides a clear outline of the skill set needed for connecting with others.
For me, it was interesting to consider how these skills align directly with my own work as a career coach and can help me to continue to develop my ability to be ‘other-focused’.