I was thrilled to read the term ‘emotional labor’ in Seth Godin’s book, Linchpin. Finally, a phrase to capture what I consider to be at least half the work of creating anything.
The emotional labor that goes into building a business or developing an art or writing career is enormous. It’s why I have a job as a coach. If it were simply a matter of executing tasks, any monkey could create. It’s the emotional labor that separates those who can succeed and those who give up on their creative dreams.
So what is this emotional labor? Because emotions aren’t visible, and because we’re often besieged by several unpleasant ones at once, we often don’t recognize the work we’re putting in.
Doing my own emotional labor and facilitating that work for my clients, I’ve gained a sense of what it takes emotionally. When my clients learn to acknowledge and value their emotional efforts, they’re empowered. They know they can overcome fear and resistance. They know that they will be able to manage future conflicts more easily.
Kinds of emotional labor
The following list contains qualities, rather than emotions. Being able to feel, practice and live these qualities is good, hard emotional labor.
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