Some time ago, I came across a list/scale for emotions while listening to a few podcasts about entrepreneurship during one of my runs. As it often does when some interesting, thought-provoking statements or questions are covered, my mind started to wonder how, in addition to the intended use in the podcast about entrepreneurship, I could use that same list and make an analogy to running.

The process to follow with the list is to stay in the list’s top elements as much as possible. Since that upper area/group (from 1 to 7) is considered the area of power, that is when you are in the flow. Staying in that state will make you feel extremely happy with your accomplishments, process, and results. The more time you spend here, it will increase the chances and probability that you can achieve positive results and meet your goals.

Subsequently, the next group ( from 8 to 14) is not necessarily all positive, but staying or being in this state could get you going/moving, even if it is in multiple directions. You might feel stuck at times, and depending on your next steps and actions, you might easily move up or down the top, mid or lower section.

The bottom portion ( from 15 to 22) of the list is the emotional elements that you would like to move away from. Those will affect you largely in a negative way that will continue to push or keep you down. Feeding that spiral sense of defeating, loss, and even quitting feeling that could come across when tough situations arise. This path, level after level down, could be very dangerous if you do not take action to move yourself upward to higher emotional levels. Sometimes, you must reset expectations, plans, and thinking modes/paradigms.

Here’s the emotional scale as described by Abraham-Hicks: 

1. Joy/Appreciation/Empowerment/Freedom/Love 
2. Passion 
3. Enthusiasm/Eagerness/Happiness 
4. Positive Expectation/Belief 
5. Optimism 
6. Hopefulness 
7. Contentment 
8. Boredom 
9. Pessimism 
10. Frustration/Irritation/Impatience 
11. Overwhelment (feeling overwhelmed) 
12. Disappointment 
13. Doubt 
14. Worry 
15. Blame 
16. Discouragement 
17. Anger 
18. Revenge 
19. Hatred/Rage 
20. Jealousy 
21. Insecurity/Guilt/Unworthiness 
22. Fear/Grief/Desperation/Despair/Powerlessness 

Now what? How can you use this? There are different approaches that you could use. But to me, here is how I will approach it to increase that mental toughness needed during long events and covering ultra distances.

Step 1. Take a look at each emotional element and describe how it affects you, how it shows up, and the locations or stages that show up. Have a good understanding of how they come about.

For example, number 4, Positive Expectation/Belief, could show up when you execute your fueling strategy, and you know exactly how you will feel after taking fuel. Reinforcing that belief that things are going right in the right direction.

Step 2. Reflect on the activities and the causes that will allow or make you stay in each element. The actions that trigger the emotion and the things you can actually control. This is very important because you want to know how to intentionally activate or prevent a trigger.

For example, number 8, Boredom, you know exactly what might cause it, that super long stretch, long climb, or not appealing segment. You might have some audio prepared to get your mind away or start to pay more attention to the other senses, like smell, taste, or even the different sensations you feel over the skin. (Air, sun, cold/hot)

Step 3. Determine your current state of the emotional mind and where does it sit in the scale.

Step 4. Formulate a plan based on your learnings on how to either stay or move towards the power emotional states. How can you move your thought process to remain in the top 5 emotional states?

Step 5. Note what worked and what did not. Keep in mind that what works for now might not necessarily work in the future.

On a weekly basis reflect on your logs regarding how often were you on the power flow state, neutral and/or negative. Every week (Every day) you will most likely be in any of the three areas at any point in the week. We are all humans, the idea is to strive to keep you more often than not in the power emotional flow state.