The 49 feelings
Two questions decide a feeling: how much energy is behind it, and whether it sits pleasant or unpleasant. Point at a cell on the grid to see.
Or use the arrow keys.
The 7×7 affect grid: pick a cell to name a feeling
Furious, raging
About as much energy as you carry, and it feels about as bad as it gets.
Anxious, tense
About as much energy as you carry, and it feels bad.
Restless, on edge
About as much energy as you carry, and it leans unpleasant.
Wired, buzzing
About as much energy as you carry, and it sits neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Eager, pumped
About as much energy as you carry, and it leans pleasant.
Thrilled, lively
About as much energy as you carry, and it feels good.
Ecstatic, glowing
About as much energy as you carry, and it feels about as good as it gets.
Angry, tense
High energy, and it feels about as bad as it gets.
Stressed out
High energy, and it feels bad.
Jittery, antsy
High energy, and it leans unpleasant.
Keyed up
High energy, and it sits neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Driven, focused
High energy, and it leans pleasant.
Excited, upbeat
High energy, and it feels good.
Elated, joyful
High energy, and it feels about as good as it gets.
Irritated, edgy
A little more energy than usual, and it feels about as bad as it gets.
Frazzled, frayed
A little more energy than usual, and it feels bad.
Unsettled, tense
A little more energy than usual, and it leans unpleasant.
Alert, engaged
A little more energy than usual, and it sits neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Motivated, ready
A little more energy than usual, and it leans pleasant.
Cheerful, light
A little more energy than usual, and it feels good.
Happy, warm
A little more energy than usual, and it feels about as good as it gets.
Fed up
An ordinary amount of energy, and it feels about as bad as it gets.
A bit bothered
An ordinary amount of energy, and it feels bad.
Slightly off
An ordinary amount of energy, and it leans unpleasant.
Right in the middle
An ordinary amount of energy, and it sits neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Doing okay
An ordinary amount of energy, and it leans pleasant.
Pretty good
An ordinary amount of energy, and it feels good.
Really good
An ordinary amount of energy, and it feels about as good as it gets.
Glum, flat
A little less energy than usual, and it feels about as bad as it gets.
A bit down
A little less energy than usual, and it feels bad.
Kind of flat
A little less energy than usual, and it leans unpleasant.
Quiet, even
A little less energy than usual, and it sits neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Settled, calm
A little less energy than usual, and it leans pleasant.
Relaxed, easy
A little less energy than usual, and it feels good.
Quietly content
A little less energy than usual, and it feels about as good as it gets.
Heavy-hearted
Low energy, and it feels about as bad as it gets.
Worn down
Low energy, and it feels bad.
Sluggish, low
Low energy, and it leans unpleasant.
Still, quiet
Low energy, and it sits neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Mellow, soft
Low energy, and it leans pleasant.
Calm, easy
Low energy, and it feels good.
Calm, content
Low energy, and it feels about as good as it gets.
Drained, low
Almost no energy at all, and it feels about as bad as it gets.
Wiped out
Almost no energy at all, and it feels bad.
Weary, empty
Almost no energy at all, and it leans unpleasant.
Sleepy, slow
Almost no energy at all, and it sits neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Soft, tired
Almost no energy at all, and it leans pleasant.
Peaceful, rested
Almost no energy at all, and it feels good.
Serene, rested
Almost no energy at all, and it feels about as good as it gets.
How to read it
Start with energy, because it is the easier question. Are you wired or flattened? That puts you in a row. Then ask whether the feeling is a good one or a bad one, which puts you in a column. Where they cross is the name.
The two axes are independent, and that is the point. Furious and ecstatic are both very high energy; they sit in the same row at opposite ends. Drained and serene are both very low energy. Calm is not the opposite of angry — tired is. Most people never separate these, which is why "bad day" ends up covering four genuinely different states.
Where the grid comes from
This is a circumplex model of affect, first set out by James A. Russell in 1980. His argument was that emotions are not a list of discrete items but positions in a continuous space with two dimensions — valence, running unpleasant to pleasant, and arousal, running low energy to high. Nearly every mood chart since is some arrangement of those two axes; this one uses seven steps each rather than the usual four quadrants, which is fine enough to separate a bit bothered from fed up without asking you to know the difference in advance.
Why phrases, not single words
Most feelings lists are single words, which sounds precise and works badly. If you do not already have the vocabulary, "languid" does not help you find yourself. Every cell here is a short phrase in ordinary language, written so that neighbouring cells read differently — you should be able to tell sluggish, low from kind of flat without a dictionary.
This also means the grid is deliberately not exhaustive. Forty-nine is not the number of feelings that exist. It is the number of distinctions you can make reliably in about two seconds, which is the only kind that survives being asked every day.
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