Intentional emotion

To be a high performer, you don’t want to leave your emotions to chance.

Emotions are extremely fleeting, right? I invite you even to just notice right now how you're feeling, and what you attach that feeling to around “why” you're feeling that way. Emotions become the fuel for our actions and our thoughts – they create momentum in certain directions.

If you are seeking to be a high performer in your life, to get the results you're looking for, to experience great relationships and well-being, then you're going to want to be more deliberate with your emotions. I'm going to give you three ways to do that today.

I know it's a challenge – I have many roles in my life, but probably the most difficult one from an emotional perspective is parenting! I have a four and a half year old and this has definitely brought me many emotional challenges. So I speak to myself, as I speak to you today, on this item – don't leave your emotions to chance!

Here are three ways that you can begin to be more deliberate in your emotions, and by doing so create more momentum in your thoughts, and then your actions toward what you actually want. When we're stuck in emotions that are unproductive, it's just that much harder to get where we want, and it tends to become a vicious cycle.

Tip #1: Decide how you want to feel. In order to break out of leaving our emotions to chance and being at the mercy of what's happening outside of you, you have to know how you actually want to feel. Start to think about this first thing in the morning. How do I want to feel today? Is it joyful? Is it grateful? Is it excited? You can't be intentional with your emotions unless you know what emotion you want to feel.

Tip #2: Check in regularly. It's one thing to decide in the morning, but it's another thing to actually monitor during the day so that when you get off course, you can get yourself back where you were seeking to be. Pick some great times that will work for you – maybe it's every time you go to get a glass of water, or before you start your next meeting. Decide on at least three times a day where you can stop and say ‘Am I feeling what I intended?’ And if you’re not, that's an opportunity for you to move in a more productive direction.

Tip #3: Use your breathing to break momentum. That second step can be difficult, which is why I'm offering this third tip. If you know how you want to feel, you've checked in and you realize you're off course, you need to do something to break the momentum and start moving in that other direction. For example, if you're spinning in anger or frustration, you can't just check in and say, ‘okay, well, I guess I just need to be excited now.’ It doesn't work, right? We have to actually break the momentum of that frustration or whatever's going on in the moment. One of the best ways to do that is to pay attention to your breathing. When you do that, you get rooted more in what's happening right now, not the thing that angered you awhile back. Take 5 to 10 slow, deep breaths. Every time you get re-pulled into the anger, come back to your breath.

Attention to your breath is one of the fastest ways to break momentum from something you don't want to keep happening. Once you become present, you can start moving yourself in that new direction. It’s also good to know what helps you get going – does music help you make a shift, or positive self talk, or getting up and moving around? Start to learn and know those things that help you shift your momentum back to your intentional emotion.

Using your emotion intentionally will take you take you really far in high performance because the majority of people are not going to do that. Most people allow themselves to be at the mercy of what happens to them during the day.

If you'd like help on your journey to your most fulfilling life, please message me.