Progress tracking will be enabled once user accounts are connected.
Meaning Map - Responses
Understanding Your Responses
What are responses?
Responses are the actions, choices and attitudes that show how you are managing what your Emotional Self is asking of you. They reflect how you are responding to the causes you identified earlier.
Are they working?
Are your responses helping you move towards thriving and surviving?
Are some responses neutral or ineffective?
Are there situations where new approaches may be needed?
By understanding your responses, you begin to see:
where your efforts are effective
where they are not producing change
what your Emotional Self still needs from you
Session Objectives
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
- assessmentAssess the quality of your current responses to the causes you identified in your Meaning Map.
- compare_arrowsCompare stronger responses that support thriving and surviving with weaker ones that may be holding you back.
- buildIdentify areas where practical changes can improve your responses and boost your Emotional Self’s confidence in your ability to stay on track.
What Did You Discover
You’ve now completed your meaning map for responses.
Now that you’ve completed your Meaning Map for responses, take a moment to think about the scores you gave. Each score is information from your Emotional Self — it shows where you are:
REPLACE — insert list items here
Reflect on your results using the questions on the next few slides.
1. Explore Your Range of Scores
Reflect on your range of scores using these questions:
Areas that may need attention
Do you have any 7+ scores – areas that may be causing concern for your Emotional Self?
Areas that may need attention
Do you have any 7+ scores – areas that may be causing concern for your Emotional Self?
Areas that may need attention
Do you have any 7+ scores – areas that may be causing concern for your Emotional Self?
The Meaning Map
2. Look for Patterns and Themes
venn diagram — identity lifestyle and relationships
Are your scores clustered around certain areas, for example, identity, relationships, or lifestyle?
The Meaning Map
3. Examine the Why
What personal, relational, or environmental factors might explain the scores you gave?
Which emotions come up when you think about these areas, and what might those emotions be trying to communicate?
What stories, habits, or assumptions might be shaping the way you see these areas?
The Meaning Map
3. Examine the Why
What explains the range of your responses, for example, in terms of effectiveness and ineffectiveness?
Examples to explore include:
Calm or Reactive? Do you stay calm under pressure, or do certain triggers make you more reactive?
Thoughtful or Impulsive? Do you seek perspective before responding, or find yourself reacting on instinct?
Optimistic or Cautious? Do you approach challenges with optimism and curiosity, or with hesitation and doubt?
Problem-Solving or Avoiding? Do you engage with difficulties constructively, or tend to delay or avoid them?
Open or Defensive? Do you listen and adapt easily, or feel resistant when challenged or uncertain?
The Meaning Map
3. Examine the Why
Take a few notes on what stands out most to you. This reflection helps you move from simply scoring your life areas to understanding what those scores mean, turning numbers into insights that your Emotional Self can appreciate.
As for your causes, commit to regularly completing new Meaning Maps for your response, too. This will give you up-to-date assessments of the impact of your responses and whether they are helping or hindering.
Turning numbers into insights that your Emotional Self can appreciate.
Meaning Map Responses – Example
Personal Growth
Mapping your responses for personal insight
After working through the Causes stage, the Responses stage showed me how I was dealing with what I’d found. I realised I’d been reacting automatically to certain triggers from my past, getting frustrated, withdrawing, or overthinking.
Mapping my responses helped me slow down and choose how to handle things instead of falling into old habits. The more I practised this, the calmer I felt. Retirement stopped feeling like something happening to me and started to feel like something I was shaping.” Richi
Meaning Map Responses – Example
Emotional Realisation
Understanding the responses behind your feelings
The Responses stage helped me understand the link between my emotions and my behaviour. During the Causes stage, I saw that loss of structure was a big issue for me. Here, I saw how my responses, filling every hour or avoiding decisions, were my way of managing that discomfort. Once I recognised that, I could try different responses: pacing myself, setting smaller goals, or giving myself permission to rest. Those changes made a noticeable difference to how settled I felt day to day.” Suzannah
Meaning Map Responses – Example
Practical Outcomes
Implementing change in actionable steps
Moving into the Responses stage was where things started to take shape. The Causes stage showed me what was influencing me; this part showed me what to do about it. I could see how my reactions were either reinforcing or reducing my stress in retirement. I began replacing knee-jerk reactions with small, deliberate responses, listening more, being flexible, and giving things time. The difference was immediate. My confidence grew because I could see myself responding rather than reacting.” Richard
Assessing Your Current Reality
Again, like Richi, Suzannah and Richard, you’ve taken another important step. Exploring how you respond to the key areas of your life shows how you’re engaging with retirement in real time. Meaning grows when you listen to what your emotions are telling you and adjust your responses accordingly.