I lead with green energy and sometimes I get upset. When I express my frustration my colleagues will say, “Hey! Where is all your green energy?” Leading with green energy makes me feel like I have to be happy and caring all the time.
Anger In All Color Energies
Anger is a primary human emotion and we all experience it. I am sorry that you are experiencing a situation in which you are not being granted space to feel and express your feelings. My guess is that colleagues who lead with red are valued or even admired for expressing anger and frustration, while those of you who lead with green are held to a different standard.
Emotions are human and we each experience the full spectrum of emotions in our lives. There is nothing wrong or inconsistent with the emotion you are experiencing and whatever color energy you lead with as a person. Our feelings and emotions are genuine to us regardless of what color is our highest preference.
The most likely reason you are getting that response is from a common misperception of Insights color energies. Without care and attention, we can use color energies to stereotype people and limit people to those constructed characteristics. “Blue People” are always perfectionists, “Green People” are always gentle and caring, “Yellow People” are always carefree and “Red People” are always short-tempered and mean. None of the above is true or helpful! Instead, we should see the color energy preferences as opportunities to appreciate one another and the way we process information and generate our best ideas. As humans we each experience and display the full range of emotions.
Anger And Green Energy
One reason you may have gotten that response by expressing anger as someone who leads with green is because people are grateful for the way you care about how others are feeling, how their values are recognized and acknowledged by you, and the ways you make sure people are seen. The team benefits from the connectedness you foster. When you express anger it may feel like the stability and harmony you cultivate is at risk. In a strange way it is a compliment for the value you provide, but still should not limit you from expressing anger.
Another reason you may have gotten that response from expressing anger is from our natural desire for experiences to be predictable. Most of us value predictability because it allows us to reserve our energy by operating out of our less conscious, freeing up our conscious energy to focus on what is needed from us. When we behave in a way that isn’t expected, people have to dedicate focus energy toward understanding your behavior. If anger is not an emotion that you don’t express often, then it may cause concern or alarm that requires your colleague to dedicate energy to move past what is predictable. One way you can help is to name what you are feeling and reassure your colleague, such as “I am feeling really angry and appreciate you letting me express it right now.”
No Color Limits To Emotions
The value of Insights is to create a common language and understanding of how we best receive and process information, how we generate our best ideas, and what energizes us (and what makes us tired). Insights should not be used to limit or restrict us, especially regarding our emotions and feelings. While there are healthy and unhealthy expressions of human emotions (that’s an essay for another day), we should all be recognized for experiencing the full spectrum of them.