The Evaluation Step

Between feeling an emotion and acting, there should be an evaluation step — a moment where you check whether the signal matches reality. This isn't suppression. You take the feeling seriously enough to examine it before reacting.

Two questions:

1. What is this emotion telling me? Identify the specific information. "My anger says I feel disrespected."

2. Is the signal accurate now? Sometimes yes. Sometimes it's a pattern from the past — guilt firing over a boundary you were right to set.