How effectively do you deal with emotional challenges?
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, emotions impact our work. Fear, anger, and frustration can block creativity, damage performance, and harm relationships, especially when you are not aware of them. Naturally, we are willing to turn away from this unpleasant state. But suppressing emotions can affect your health, your relationships, and ultimately your productivity/performance. Often they lash out when you least expect it. or for some people, leads to pullback, silence, and solitude.
Having difficult conversations also requires that you face what you would rather avoid, open yourself up to dealing with strong emotions and look deeply at what is going on with yourself and others instead of jumping too quickly to a decision. It is not easy but necessary.
Below is a step by step strategy you can use:
1- Acknowledge how you feel and take a few easy breaths to calm and relax your body and mind.
2-Try to name the emotion.
3-Allow it, don't suppress it.
4- Examine with kindness and try to uncover what is happening.
5- Befriend your feelings and practice self-compassion. For example, you can place your hand on your heart.
6- Think about what actions you can take to care for yourself and move forward toward what matters most.
7- If you are having a difficult conversation, bring empathy to both sides of the situation. Then move through your feelings from your point of you and then from the other person's point of view.
Today, I invite you to see your emotions as separate from you and learn to stay with them with kind awareness.
Feel free to comment below.
Wishing you continued success and growth,
Sincerely,
Nora Paxton