4 emotion challenges and how to deal with them (Part 2)
It’s that time of the year again. You feel it in the air, don’t you?
The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and the bees are buzzing… In other words — summer is here!
Summer holidays are usually a great time to get some well-deserved rest and just forget about work for a while. Because as you remember, a person doesn’t burn out because they work too much. No, they burn out because they don’t get enough rest.
And this is exactly what I’m going to do this Summer. Rest. And so should you!
But don’t be sad, I’m not going off the grid entirely!
Even though I plan to follow my own advice and make sure to rest during this summer, I still have A LOT in store for the fall.
I’m working on my first book in English and on top of that, I will also work on creating interesting courses which will ultimately help you in your quest of understanding emotions at work.
But before I leave for the summer, here is Part 2 of my blog “4 Emotion challenges and how to deal with them”. Enjoy!
Emotion challenge number 1: Only powerful emotions affect us
We often make the mistake of believing that only powerful and strong emotions have a big effect on us. It’s certainly not a secret to anyone that powerful emotions affect our performance. How many times have YOU regretted that you let your emotions get the better of you? Hmm? C’mon, be honest!
But being under the impression that only strong, powerful emotions affect our behaviours is a very common mistake. Even the smallest, weakest emotions affect us to a large degree. Doesn’t matter if it’s happiness, curiosity, irritation, frustration or pride.
Even a tiny sliver of these emotions have a serious impact on what goes on in our minds. Which on the other hand determines how we think and act in that situation.
What to do instead
Pay attention to ALL emotions — even the weak ones. They have bigger impact than you might believe. So try to listen to even the smallest vibrations you might feel.
Emotion challenge number 2: Emotions only affect us when we experience them
Did you know that even after an emotional situation has ended, you are still affected by what happened? It’s true, and it even has a scientific name. It’s the so called “Carry over effect”.
Most of us think that emotions only affect us when we experience them, not afterwards. However, It’s been proven by multiple studies that the emotional effect moves on to the next situation EVEN if the emotion itself has disappeared.
For instance, momentary anger affects the next situation in a way that might lead us to make rash decisions (and yes, often stupid decisions), even after the emotion of anger is gone.
What to do instead
Remember that emotions you felt recently affect how you deal with issues right…this…second. Which once again can lead to poor judgment and foolish decisions — even when we THINK that we are being rational. Take sufficient time to cool down and digest before making your next moves.
Emotion challenge number 3: Only we are aware of our emotions
Since emotions happen inside of us, we believe they are our private processes and other people are not aware of them at all. Wrong!
Think about this. When you come to work, how long does it take before you know how your colleague is feeling today? Yep, you usually know it within seconds. Your feelings, emotions and your way of dealing with your emotions spread in social networks (not the Facebook kind of network, but the real-life kind) like wildfire.
What to do instead
So we know that people are aware of our emotions and how we deal with them. The questions is: What type of emotions are you spreading around? And maybe more importantly: What kind of emotional environment are YOU creating?
Emotion challenge number 4: We don’t know how to deal with emotions
One of the biggest challenges is that we simply do not have proper knowledge on how we can deal with emotions. And since we don’t have this knowledge, it feels really hard, if not impossible, to deal with our own emotions.
Dealing with your own emotions is definitely hard, but it’s even harder to deal with the emotional state of someone else. How do you get your colleague to calm down or get her excited about her goals? Without the proper knowledge it’s damn hard to create the change you want.
Many organizations do understand the importance of emotions and the creation of a well-balanced emotional environment. But they keep facing the same challenge over and over again — how can we actually build the needed emotional climate in our company?
What to do instead
The first step is to understand that emotions have a big impact on everything you do. Once you’ve understood this, then you need to take step two: Learn new and concrete ways for dealing with emotions.
You will find some in this blog and other one’s in the blog from two weeks ago by clicking here. These are perfect first steps to take, beginner and pro alike.
And if you want more (or simply miss me), just go back to my blog page and read through some of my old blog posts. They are filled with TONS of useful tactics, strategies, and methods.
Maybe take this summer to really work on getting in touch with your emotions and learn how you can use them to your advantage!
That’s it for me. I wish all of you a great and relaxing Summer! I’ll see you after the summer.
/ Jarkko
P.S Also if you like to read my other posts, get a Great free e-book on how to get the success you want and deserve, or get a copy of my mini-course on how to get people’s attention and get them to listen to you please visit www.jarkkorantanen.com
