Emotions are reactions. They are responses to external stimuli such as events or situations.
Then, the brain comes into play with perception (picking selected event data), assigning meanings, and generating feelings and behaviours.
Aha! The key insight here is this:
You can’t control your emotions—they happen, whether you like it or not—but with a bit of training, you can understand how your mind interprets them.
And how you interpret them impacts your behaviours and decision-making.
Once you understand that your emotions (especially the negative ones) are helpful only for a few seconds and subject to personal interpretation, you are conditioned to leverage their power to your benefit.
This is where #PositiveIntelligence (PQ) matters.
It’s about labelling, managing, and choosing your response to emotions.
Whether positive or negative, emotions influence your leadership.
You know, just as well as I do, that the negative ones can shake us to our core.
Crises, structural changes, adversity - our leadership skills and qualities are constantly put to the test.
This is when you need PQ the most.
Next time you face a challenging situation, follow these 3 steps.
💎 Assess your emotional response. What is the emotion? What does the voice of the emotion say to you? Is it judgmental? Is it empathetic?
💎 Focus your mind on the present moment (not with the shame of what happened in the past or the fear of the uncertainty of the future). How loud do you want the voice of the emotion to be? If you like it, let it be. You don’t like it? Try these: deep breathing, mindfulness, exercise, and drinking water. All those tangible actions lower the loudness of the emotions.
💎 Choose your best response:
- Activate empathy - for yourself or others or both
- Be curious (How did we get there? How can we do better?)
- Be innovative and create solutions without evaluation
- Navigate the options (What would make you the proudest at the end of your life?)
- Commit to move into action based on your innovative mind - not based on reacting loaded with unfiltered emotions.
Working on self-awareness, self-command, and responses in action can help you develop your mental fitness as a leader. It is a skill everybody must develop.
If you, as a leader, need support boosting your mental fitness, let’s talk so you can discover
🔹 How the scientific tools and frameworks I’ve been successfully using with my clients (like Positive Intelligence) can help you reach a breakthrough in your leadership and
🔹 How you can benefit from my signature ONE Model for Leaders
DM me here or book a free Strategy Call.