“Listen to your heart” — this advice has endured across generations. The authors argue that feelings function as internal guides, helping us navigate life’s complexities and understand ourselves better.
Everyday emotions permeate our experiences — from joy when reuniting with friends to impatience in long lines to disappointment over sold-out ice cream flavors. Yet despite acknowledging emotions constantly, society often diminishes their importance relative to rational thought.
The Core Argument
People readily discuss weather, movies, and sports but struggle to articulate their feelings. The article challenges the tendency to suppress emotions, arguing that:
“Our strongest memories and best decisions come when we actively embrace our emotions and invite our logic and emotions to work together.”
Recognizing and processing feelings without judgment constitutes a critical life skill. This emotional awareness enables better decision-making, stronger relationships, and authentic leadership — beneficial in personal contexts and professional roles.
Historical Context
The authors reference three influential researchers:
- Paul Ekman — identified six basic emotions with corresponding facial expressions
- Robert Plutchik — used color to represent emotions and their blends
- Gloria Willcox — created the concentric feelings wheel concept
The Feelings Wheel Framework
The authors present their comprehensive feelings wheel containing 177 emotions organized in concentric circles: primary emotions at the center, secondary feelings in the middle ring, and tertiary feelings on the outer ring.
Using the Wheel
Users can approach the wheel flexibly, starting from any circle. When experiencing strong anger without understanding its cause, one might begin with the inner circle’s base emotion and move outward, examining secondary and tertiary feeling labels.
Suggested reflection questions include:
- What makes you certain this word describes your feeling?
- Why don’t other words here fit better?
- How long have you felt this way?
- What’s causing these feelings?
Benefits of the Practice
Using the wheel provides:
- Clarity
- Reduces feelings of losing control
- Offers language for expressing emotions to others
- Reveals causal patterns
- Helps identify frequently experienced feelings versus those to cultivate more
Design Philosophy
The authors note their wheel intentionally lacks symmetry because “feelings are not orderly.” Rather than following geometric patterns where each emotion splits into neat subdivisions, their design captures the imperfect diversity of emotional experience through varying slice sizes.
They acknowledge no single feelings wheel can comprehensively represent all human emotions, inviting readers experiencing unlabeled feelings to contact them at feelings@glowwormconsulting.com.
Terms of Use
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Personal Use: Free for individual, family, and friend applications; shareable widely as tools enhance collective wellbeing. This wheel “is not a substitute for medical advice.”
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Professional Use: Teachers and counselors may use the wheel with proper copyright acknowledgment; poster versions available through Amazon.
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Translation: Requests for other-language versions should be directed to feelings@glowwormconsulting.com, reflecting commitment to accessibility.
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Commercial Restrictions: The wheel cannot be used commercially. Training or consulting applications require explicit written permission; creating physical or digital products from the wheel is prohibited. Product requests go to store@glowworm.company.
