An emotion can make or break a deal!
Emotions are an integral part of our body, mind, and soul. Skillfully navigating them is an art in itself. An intellectual can apply them according to the circumstances and situations they are going through. But the world is not filled with them. Then how can we master our emotions to use them correctly and at the right time? And the answer is, we have to inculcate a few practices from our life experiences, some from guidance from experts, our parents, and the society that we live in.
Our brains are equipped with an autonomic nervous system which plays a pivotal role in understanding human emotions like joy, sadness, anger, laugh, grief, pride, guilt, fear, disgust, surprise, etc. Now, picture this: When you are exposed to something fearful, say spotting a cobra, it triggers your fear circuit. There will be a physical change in your body: a feeling of dread consumes you, your heart races, you put on a wide-eyed gasping face, and you either freeze or flee. Recognizable?
So, in this guide, we are going to reveal simple yet effective actionable tips to master your emotions properly so that you can win in your life. Select the tips that will best serve your needs and, hence, master your emotions. Ready to dive in?
4 Actionable Tips to Master Your Emotions:
Accepting emotions! It all depends on how you take them to your mind. However, these actionable tips can help you understand and deal with your emotions. Please don't wait until your feelings are at their peak to find a solution. It may be too late.
Tip 1: Emotional Awareness
Being able to recognize the emotion you're feeling at any given time is basically what emotional awareness is all about.
Real-Life Examples:
Public Speaking:
Emotion always works through body language and tone in public speaking. When I was at my graduation, I still remember my first presentation. I was very nervous with fear and anxiety, shivering on the stage. My tone was trembling while speaking, and I swallowed some words. In the end, the audience didn't get what I had delivered.
Have you ever gone through the same experience? Don't worry. The first public speaking experience has made me learn many things. To overcome these emotions, be aware of those emotions. It's natural for us to worry about making mistakes. Take a long breath, remind yourselves you have prepared well, and imagine you have given an excellent presentation and all the audience applauded you. It will help you to turn your stage fear into focusing on the presentation. Transform fear into focus!
Job Interview:
In addition, emotions are essential during job interviews. It can be challenging to communicate your ideas and demonstrate your suitability for the position to the interviewer while feeling apprehensive or tense.
To master these emotions, do mirror work at your home. Stand in front of Start interviewing yourself and answer yourself. It will reveal your emotions (whether you are nervous or anxious or lack confidence), body language, fluency in speaking, facial expressions, etc. Practice until you talk with confidence and courage.
School programs or tests:
We all experience exam anxiety and the worry of receiving poor scores in school. If it is not handled correctly and on time, it could have an impact on the career. Students are likely to achieve good grades and ace examinations if they understand emotions. Students who have emotional intelligence and master emotions can reduce exam stress, overcome boredom, and avoid stressing on a poor grade. They are socially active and always maintain good health.
Tip 2: Practice Emotional Labeling
Emotional labeling refers to identifying and acknowledging emotions of one's own and others. Being in the shoes of others' emotions will make you understand them very well.
Real-Life Examples:
Public speaking:
A proficient communicator can manage their own emotions and the audience's emotions and evoke the subject's underlying emotional context. Label your emotions and the audience whenever you are giving a presentation at your workplace. Awareness of your emotions helps you work on the content you are going to deliver, whereas identifying the audience's emotions allows you to opt for the word choice that triggers the audience.
Job interview:
Does the thought of attending interviews give you stress, anxiety, performance pressure, or fear of rejection and judgment? Don't worry. You are not alone. We all went through it. It might be because of a lack of confidence. Remember, you've studied hard and prepared enough for the interview.
Besides, learning to label your emotions helps you in job interviews. You can learn to interpret those physiological signals with a positive emotion (excitement) or negative emotion (anxiety). When you embrace enthusiasm instead of pressure, your brain shifts from a threat attitude (which causes poor performance) to an opportunity mindset (which causes better performance). Thus, you can master your emotions during job interviews.
School programs or tests:
Suppressing instead of mastering emotions leads to a decline in academic performance. When children can name their emotions, it is easier for them to express them. It can improve their well-being because they won't feel like their emotions are trapped inside. So, it is important for students to recognize their emotions to receive the required counsel and guidance to help them manage both good and negative emotions. Teachers also can help them by conducting activities such as role-plays and emotional charades where different emotions are written down on paper, and students act according to those emotions. It enhances student's understanding on the roles of different emotions.
Tip 3: Develop Empathy:
Empathy is understanding another person's point of view, even if it differs significantly from your own. An empathy deficit is the root cause of negative emotions.
Real-Life Examples:
Public speaking:
Whether you deliver a sales pitch, training session, or presentation, emotional connection is essential for engaging and influencing your audience. How do you develop empathy? Understand the audience; make the session interactive; use examples and stories; maintain eye contact: avoid monotone and rigid delivery. Express different emotions as per the content in your presentation. Otherwise, your speech will be boring.
Job interview:
Nervousness is a common emotion during interviews. Develop empathy before you attend the interview. Empathy can assist you in understanding how your actions affect others, which helps to have more productive conversations. Developing empathy improves communication by allowing you to tailor your speaking style to the individual you're conversing with (interviewer). During your interview, take a long breath, keep an open mind, and listen carefully. You'll definitely succeed.
School programs or tests:
Don't be a perfectionist in everything you do. Also, pay no attention to what others are doing, being evaluated or judged if you fail your test. Nobody is going to offend you. Even if you know you won't perform well, take this as an opportunity to address the underlying reasons and learn. Master your emotions in a healthy way so that you can use them to your advantage. For example, you can use excitement instead of anxiety to motivate you to prepare for a school program or assessments.
Tip 4: Mindfulness and Meditation:
Being mindful implies consciously focusing on what is currently happening, while meditation refers to various mental exercises such as movement-based, guided (directed by another person), and visual (imagining an object or person and directing your attention toward it).
Real-Life Examples:
Public speaking:
Be cautious and conscious whenever you are in public or on the stage. Be aware of how your audience reacts to what you say. Keep an eye on their eyes and faces, notice whether they're focused or distracted, and observe their body language to get a sense of what's going on in their thoughts.
To deliver the best presentation, do a lot of research on the subject and the audience's emotions. Also, do meditation that relieves you from fear, stress, and anxiety and controls all your emotions.
Job Interview:
Attending interviews for freshers is so scary, soul-sucking, terrifying, and depressing that many students fear going to interview venues. Even for experienced candidates, thinking about a job change can also cause a lot of anxiety. Suppose you have the smallest gut feeling that shifting professions or careers would be in your best interests. Begin your job hunt by making mindfulness and meditation a daily practice. Then, you'll discover a lot about your fears and emotions that have been with you for years, thinking patterns, inner voice, and lies you believe as truths such as 'I can not do this,' 'I am unable,' 'I am not fit for it,' etc.
School programs or tests:
Students can deal with a lot of exam stress. It is common to experience jitters or slight anxieties before exams, assessments, or school programs. However, for some kids, exam anxiety becomes so intense that they feel emotionally upset or physically ill. And this emotion does not necessarily go away when the test or exam ends. As conducting tests is a recurring process in educational curriculum, underdressing this test anxiety can have serious consequences.
Meditation is a practice that can help students achieve mindfulness, which lets them focus on the present moment. Forget about the past and the future. Adopt regular meditation practice.
Conclusion:
You are the master of your emotions! It's up to you whether you lead your emotions or lead by emotions. Managing your emotions instead of suppressing them will help you in many ways, such as efficient decision-making, self-care, good human relations, and day-to-day interactions. However, you can master your emotions with a bit of practice. Good luck!
Hesitate not to share your thoughts here.
Have you ever experienced any emotion, as mentioned in the article?
Do any tips from the above article help you master your emotions?
Share your story (if any) on how you managed your emotions and win in presentations, speeches, exams, job interviews, or life. Your story will inspire many who are still not coping with emotions.