The word, “fluidity” often refers to the ease of movement of a substance or the body.  But we can expand this idea to other areas of our lives, especially that of our emotional dispositions and outlooks.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “fluidity” is also “the state of being unsettled or unstable; changeability. This can apply to emotions, because any action in our environments can elicit a reaction related to the context.

For example, you may be having an off day or something completely out of your control happens (a death, an accident, an unexpected event).  The way you respond to it illustrates the extent of your emotional fluidity: the measure of how well one can adapt to emotional ebbs and flows.

What is Emotional Fluidity?

Emotional fluidity consists of three parts: occurrence and awareness of change (i.e. physical/medical, mental/emotional, social/relational, and/or environmental), adaptation (e.g. figuring out the best course of action based on the situation), and acceptance (e.g. acknowledging the things we can’t change but moving on with the things we can change).

Thoughts for the Week

The next time you are confronted with a curveball, take comfort in the fact that most feelings are temporary and are relative to whatever present situation we are in. they often reveal to us what we value most and are a crucial component in the decision-making process. However, life always goes on so don’t let your current emotions define who you are or who you will become.