Mobilization Continuum
The Mobilization Continuum of Emotional Expression is an instructional diagram, shown below.
It illustrates Response Ability and how we can create our life as our mindful construct, to improve our emotional health and emotional intelligence.

- (Click on the image above to see it appear as a PDF file in other window)
- 1) We are able to assume an emotive mode by conscious choice (and thus greater control)—and give ourselves permission to say irrational, offensive, or hurtful things in order to express how we feel and then later understand why. The key is to not censor our feelings because those very feelings can be traced to thoughts and beliefs, which we want to access in order to learn more about why we might feel that way in the first place.
- 2) We are aware that there is a process taking place and that if we work through the emotional reaction first, later on we can go back and analyze our reaction to learn more about our belief systems and assumptions which gave us cause to feel a certain way. Our awareness of our emotional reactions makes it easier to return to (unemotional) rational thinking.
- 3) We are able to see how others violate our boundaries by expressing any anger/sadness/frustration/depression we may be feeling in regards to that violation—if we never ourselves to feel the violation, we may never become aware of it. After expressing how we feel about a violation, we are then able to see how we are or are not protecting our boundaries by taking a mindful look in the mirror at our own behaviors.
- 4) We are able to conclude the emotive mode by transitioning back into "normal" life and assessing what course of action we want to take, from a rational mindset based upon a clearer understanding of ourselves, our needs, and our boundaries or lack of them.
We are able to transition because we cleared out the emotional cobwebs clouding our judgment—emotions are merely psychoevolutionary signals for danger and so on, and they will remain as long as we sense real or perceived danger on a subconscious level. So we need to change the way we think about the threat before we can change or lessen our emotional response to it.