Do You Ride Your Emotions – Or Are You At Their Mercy?

IUntitledt was the start of a meeting with a potential new client (let’s call him Peter) and Peter and I were sat discussing what was going on with his team and why some of the key people were avoiding communicating with each other. Peter said something along the lines of “well, I’ve brought you in Kay because it’s probably about all the touchy, feely stuff and I don’t do that”. “You don’t do that?” I said, (risking, I suppose, being shown the door). “Everyone does that Peter; everyone does that all the time, it’s what it’s all about.”

Someone explained to me once how emotion can be defined as ‘energy-in-motion’ and it then took on new meaning; one that really makes sense and to all those “oh, I avoid the touchy-feely stuff” out there, think about emotion like this – it’s ‘energy-in-motion’. At any given moment, you energy can quickly change to another energy and you behave differently. Something else happens and, depending how you decide to react to it (notice I said ‘how you decide’), then your emotion changes again.

As you go through your day, start to notice your own emotions and crucially emotions of others too (they’re on display – you just have to notice them). As you become more and more aware that emotion is driving everything and everyone, you will be able to understand so much more about other people and so much more about yourself.

Here’s a typical scenario that plays out every day for someone, somewhere (with the emotion in brackets).

Rushing to a meeting to avoid being late (excitement, fear) and you arrive just as the meeting is starting (anxiety, embarrassment). As you grab a coffee and your seat (relief, anticipation), you’re asked a question (surprise and fear again). Someone else chimes in to help you (relief and surprise) and you also gather your thoughts and add your opinion (relief and anticipation). The meeting carries on and you notice yourself relaxing (contentment and trust) and you’re asked to be involved in a new project (surprise and joy). You know it will be hard work with a lot riding on it and you say “yes, great” (anticipation, fear, joy) and you all agree to meet again in a couple of weeks to update everyone (anticipation, trust, anxiety). Off you go to your desk and pick up the phone to tell your partner about this opportunity (excitement and surprise mixed with anxiety).

Can you ‘feel’ just from reading the above, how much energy-in-motion is going on for you, just in that meeting?Untitled 1

We are constantly shifting and changing gear with our emotions and the more we understand about how they affect us – and those around us – the more we can start to take notice of where we are in our emotional journey.

We’re all in an emotional state, all of the time – the trick is to notice which emotional state we are in. Are we excited, relaxed, angry, frustrated, happy or sad? – and to know that we are moving in and out of these states all the time. We must then decide and find which is the most helpful, appropriate and resourceful state for us to be in, given what is going on around us. We do have a choice though and when we accept that we can no longer say “Oh, it makes me so angry”. It doesn’t. You decide to be.

Let’s make it your time to shine, in your own way. When would now be a better time to go for Promotion, Recognition and Rewards?

For more information and immediately helpful tips on how to connect and be valued and heard in business please visit www.kaywhite.com.

Beforehand here’s a helpful, immediate Gift for you. Q is for Questions – A downloadable PDF of a chapter from my # 1 best-selling book The A to Z of Being Understood.

Use the chapter to lead conversations, to be more compelling when you first meet someone and – crucially – connect with colleagues, clients, customers by the power of your confident questions.

About the author

Kay White is our Show Up & Sparkle blogger. Known as the Savvy & Influential Communication Expert for Ambitious Women in Business, Kay shows professional women how to attract promotion, recognition and rewards at work without feeling they have to ’sell their soul. Kay shows her clients, who are corporate career women at all different stages of their careers, how to naturally attract more income and opportunity all while being true to themselves. Combining strategic moves with influencing skills plus compelling and assertive language and powerful mindsets, Kay draws on her own 20+ years corporate career in the very male-dominated world of London insurance broking. She started at 18 as a Secretary and left as a Director to start her own business. Hosting an annual 3-day Event for corporate women “Show Up; Sparkle & Be Heard LIVE” Kay encourages and shows women how to be the best, most valuable version of themselves. Kay is author of the Number 1 Best-Seller “The A to Z of Being Understood” and you can connect and find out more from Kay at : www.kaywhite.com.
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