Emotions are very tricky.
They have a lot of power; we know as much. We want them when they are favouring us and at the same time we don’t want them when they seem to hold us down. They confuse us, can make us cry when we shouldn’t and be so happy we forget about the next meeting or we simply don’t care. What a roller coaster!
But what do emotions have to do with your business career? In business, feelings are not really wanted, unless you have to sell something. Your idea, your business strategy or your next PR campaign. Also in marketing, emotions are used to manipulate a specific outcome. Preferably you become good in “using” emotions to make your way through business and to enhance your career. Don’t you?
But I assume lots of times emotions have held you back, prevented you from taking action, made you doubt yourself and have frightened you when aiming at the next level in your career.
Emotions are in the first place a very powerful resource, as is your mind and body. That means the energy they provide you with can be used in favour or against you.
Build awareness:
Emotional Competence starts with you. It is integrating emotions in your thinking and planning process. Start becoming aware of your emotions day by day by writing down how you felt in what kind of situation. Also, think about how your emotions interact with your thinking and your body (e.g. belly ache when agreeing to something you feel is not good for you). In time you’ll see patterns and will become an expert in not just thinking but also “reading” your emotions.
Empower yourself:
By building more self-awareness when including your emotions you actually start introducing your main recourses (body, thinking mind, emotions) to each other and therefore build a strong team. That gets you a lot of power in your corner, but be aware that so much power and force can also be difficult to handle. Knowing you’re going to refuse an opportunity that seems so great, “only” because it doesn’t feel right, is frightening. What will others say? What then?
Coming closer to live up to your full potential needs your permission and will lead you to self-empowerment. And step by step you will be able to hold the power, to become fearless.
Challenges:
You’ll gain more power by integrating your emotions into your daily skills package and in time you’ll understand how to empower yourself. That also means there will be things, plans and ideas you will not be exploring further, because you found out they don’t or didn’t belong to your path.
Negative actions often cause emotions of the sort we’d like to avoid. These times are challenges even though you know that there is no such thing as a “secure” path to success. Building a successful career is never safe, never paved or easy going.
Emotional Competence and building awareness helps you to overcome difficult challenges. Being down on your knees is never pleasant, loosing what you have built or achieved not funny. And pain, frustration, sadness etc are the appropriate feelings for this kind of situation. Nevertheless, give them the due attention in the moment they occur. And most importantly give yourself lots of attention and care. Express to yourself what is going on and how you feel. It is part of the journey, part of moving to the next level by meeting the challenge and living your potential.
If you integrate this, you’ll clear a lot of the emotional chaos, you’ll be able to understand what’s going on within you and your surrounding area. You will start to communicate with focus and transparency and shut out some of the noise that confusion usually includes.
Emotions are part of you, of the colourful, unique and powerful and capable human being you are. Live your life and build your successful career the way you want it to be!
About Eveline Lonoce
Eveline is author of Emotional Competence (£12.99 Panoma Press). Eveline’s entrepreneurial spark has been lit since a young age and Eveline has always strived for getting more out of life and creating new approaches. With 25+ years of experience as an HR professional in the start-up business environment, Eveline has closely studied human behaviour and believes that personal development is the path also for business development as every business is shaped by the people behind it. Eveline is an expert in empowering entrepreneur, an experienced personal development coach and a motivational speaker.
