Emotions are the driving force of our health but it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and ignore what's going on inside of us.
Understanding and managing your emotions through greater self-awareness can have a huge impact on your success and well-being.
A recent study by TalentSmartEQ found that 90% of top performers in the workplace possessed high levels of emotional intelligence, including the ability to manage their emotions. This translated into higher levels of job satisfaction and better performance.
Whether you work in a corporate office or for yourself, emotions can play a big role in your daily interactions. Being able to recognise how you're feeling can help you communicate better with your colleagues or clients, make better decisions, and manage stress.
Developing your self-management is also the key to remaining calm in situations that may cause you to feel high levels of emotions.
If you're feeling really anxious about a big presentation coming up, acknowledging that feeling and finding ways to calm yourself down can help you perform better on the day.
Here are a few ways you can find instant calm:
- Slow breathing – take a breath in through your nose for the count of 4 and slowly exhale through your mouth for the count of 8. This long exhale will bring your heart rate down and help you feel calmer.
- Stand tall – your body posture can instruct your mind. Try standing up tall, pushing your shoulders back and raising your chin slightly. Your body will feel more open and your mind will interpret these signals as feeling positive and powerful.
- Focus on your senses – take a look around and focus on an object or image. Notice the colours and shapes. Then, bring your attention to what you can hear in your surroundings. See if you can smell and touch your skin or clothes and run your tongue around your mouth to notice any tastes.
Managing your social awareness is equally important. Being aware of your emotions can help you build better relationships, avoid conflicts, and be more authentic in your interactions with others.
When you understand your own emotions, you can better understand the emotions of others and respond in a kinder and more empathetic way. Plus, being able to express yourself in a healthy way can lead to deeper connections with the people in your lives.
So, how can we get better at recognising our emotions? It starts with taking the time to really check in with yourself and practice self-awareness.
This can be as simple as taking a few deep breaths and asking yourself how you're feeling.
Once you've identified an emotion, you can name it, explore why you're feeling that way, and find healthy ways to express it.
Try these steps to start managing your emotions:
1. Start by identifying what emotion you're feeling. Are you happy, sad, angry, or anxious?
2. Once you've identified your emotion, give it a name. This can help you communicate it better to others and understand it yourself.
3. Reflect on why you're feeling that way. What triggered the emotion? What's causing it? Have you had previous unpleasant interactions with this person? Does this encounter remind you of a certain situation you’ve experienced before where you felt uncomfortable?
4. Try expressing your emotion in a way that feels comfortable to you. You could write about it, talk to a friend, or learn to use techniques such as Sophrology to observe your emotions without judgement and learn to process them.
The key is to be kind to yourself as you explore your emotions. Emotions can be complicated, and it's important to give yourself space to work through them.
In the end, recognising your emotions is a key part of both personal and professional growth. It allows you to connect with others in a more meaningful way, make better decisions, and lead a more fulfilling life. So don't be afraid to take a moment and check in with yourself - it might just change everything.
If you would like to find out more about developing Emotional Intelligence, we offer in-person and online coaching in group and 1-2-1 environments. https://www.myhurdles.com/sessions