Tips for Managing Your Emotions

Don’t let your emotions rule your life. It’s time to make them work for you!

Alright! It’s time to talk about emotions — emotional intelligence that is! This is a hot topic, personally and professionally. Emotional intelligence (EI) can be defined as our ability to clearly understand how our thoughts and feelings connect with our actions and behaviors on the outside, as well as our ability to manage and express appropriate emotions for ourselves and others.

Now, I know the majority of society might say that emotions are bad, scary and pointless. There is also the idea that if you avoid them, you won’t have to feel them; and if you don’t feel them, they don’t actually exist. False! They do exist and it’s time to embrace them. In reality, the more people express their emotions the higher their emotional intelligence, thus the more effective they will be in whatever they do. 

Emotional Intelligence is single handedly related to raising one’s conscious awareness. The greater the awareness of emotional intelligence, the more significant of an impact it has in all areas of life. This includes the relationship with yourself, as well as the relationships with co-workers, friends, family and others. Having an awareness of EI and improving upon it will help you to significantly decrease stress personally and professionally, demonstrate greater leadership and decision-making skills, and also improve interpersonal relationships. 

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence is about: awareness, expression, and managing or controlling emotions. High EI helps people frame their point of view to be positive and allows for the ability to choose how to respond in various situations. Thus, resulting in a creative, caring and supporting environment where everyone thrives — including you! 

Digging Deeper into Emotional Intelligence

Awareness

The way events are interpreted offers the possibility to recognize that emotions are not inevitable. This means step back, observe what is going on, then elicit your emotional response. 

Expression

Devoid of, or lack of, emotional expression is often the single greatest challenge for leaders. As humans we are emotional, and that’s not even the biggest issue. Holding those emotions IN, however, is a HUGE factor. Not allowing expression of emotions creates energy that, over time, will drain and destroy your world and your relationships.  So it’s not just about expressing emotions, it’s about being able to express them appropriately. 

Managing and Controlling

The last piece of the puzzle is managing and controlling emotions - both yours and others. Being able to do this significantly increases your EI. At work, at home, and in your personal life, possessing the ability to manage emotions, as well as having self-control during stressful or challenging situations that produce strong emotions is an art. It is also a quality that the most powerful leaders in the world embody. 

Although we are unaware of it, we create our emotions and in turn that means we can re-create them any time we choose. Having a higher awareness of EI lets us “use” these emotions instead of being at their mercy.

Shifting emotions is much more effective than shifting behaviors. Manage your own emotions and mood first. Then, help others to help others to do the same. STOP being “the tough guy” and bottling up those emotions, and START learning how to make them work for you.  

Are you or your organization ready to learn more about Emotional Intelligence? Learn how to change the way you work, the way you interact with yourself and others, decrease stress, and increase productivity and team work. Contact me today! Malay — The Full Pursuit Coach: malayb@fullpursuitlifecoaching.com