Areas that may need immediate attention:  Do you have low scores for any areas, say 4 or below, that may be causing concern for your Emotional Self and which it will want you to prioritise?

Areas that may need attention soon: Do you have medium scores for any areas, say 5 or 6, that your Emotional Self will want you to start addressing once you have made progress with the areas above? 

Areas that may need maintaining: Do you have high scores for any areas, say 7 or above, that your Emotional Self will definitely want you to maintain and keep in good shape?

What’s influencing your scores? Explore the factors that might explain the scores you gave and the thoughts you recorded. These could include personal factors e.g., high or low self-esteem; relational factors e.g., agreement or conflict with a partner, family member or friend; or environmental factors e.g., how you feel about where you live or how and where you spend your time.

What emotional messages are you receiving? Are they positive, such as calmness, inner balance or flow, or negative, such as stress, anxiety, low mood or anger? What might your Emotional Self be drawing your attention towards? For example, do you need to boost your self-esteem or maintain it; tell someone close to you what you value about your relationship or raise an issue of concern; weigh up your options about where to live; or spend more time in an environment where you feel at your best?

What roles do stories, beliefs and assumptions play? Consider the stories, beliefs or assumptions that may be shaping how you see these areas of your life. For example, do you believe retirement should mean slowing down or that you need to keep busy to feel worthwhile; assume that longstanding relationships will naturally adapt to retirement; tell yourself that you are too old to change direction or try something new; or believe that where and how you live should remain much as it is? Consider whether these stories and beliefs are helping you get your areas into the best possible shape or making that more difficult.

Emotional Weight: Heavy or Light? Consider whether some causes carry more emotional weight than others. For example, does thinking about your loss of professional identity trigger stronger emotions than concerns about how you spend your time; does tension in a relationship affect you more than dissatisfaction with where you live; or does uncertainty about your future generate more anxiety than other areas of your retirement? Stronger emotional reactions may indicate where your Emotional Self particularly wants your attention.

Recent or Long-Standing? Consider how long your causes have been present and whether their origins pre-date retirement. For example, has a relationship become more difficult since you stopped working, or were tensions already present; have you only recently begun questioning your sense of purpose, or was work masking something that had been there for years; are concerns about health or where you live new, or have you been putting off addressing them? Understanding when a cause began can help you make better sense of why it is affecting you now.

Influence and Control: Within Control or Beyond Control? Consider how much influence or control you have over each cause. For example, can you change how you spend your time, initiate an important conversation, improve your fitness or make different financial choices? Other factors, such as another person’s behaviour, a health diagnosis or an unexpected change in circumstances, may be largely or completely beyond your control. Distinguishing between the two can help you direct your time and energy towards what you can influence while considering how best to respond to what you cannot.

Internal or External? Consider whether your causes come primarily from within you or from what is happening around you. Internal causes might include beliefs about what retirement should look like, expectations you have carried with you, or doubts about your ability to adapt. External causes might include changes in a relationship, financial circumstances, health problems or where you live. Some causes will involve both: an external event or circumstance may become more difficult because of what you believe, expect or tell yourself about it.

Stability Over Time: Temporary or Persistent? Consider whether your causes and scores change with your mood, circumstances, or what is happening in your life, or whether they remain relatively consistent over time. For example, has a recent disagreement temporarily affected how you feel about a relationship; does your sense of purpose improve when you have plans or activities to look forward to; or have concerns about your identity, health or lifestyle persisted regardless of circumstances? Understanding whether a cause is temporary or persistent can help you judge how much attention it needs and what kind of response might be appropriate.