Last week I talked about how our emotions impact our performance, but what do you do when difficult emotions arise that can negatively impact your performance? You work with them.
Our emotions act as a messenger between our brain and our bodies which helps us the better understand the state we are in in that moment. Yet when difficult emotions rise to the surface, people tend to try and repress them by pushing them down until they no longer feel that way.
Not only does this not work, but it is also extremely unhealthy. Numbing out or ignoring how we feel may help us in the short-term, but frequently leads to serious, long-term negative effects on our mental health. Which is why it is crucial to know how to work with difficult emotions when they come to the surface.
Here are a few things you can do to work with your emotions:
- Take a few mindful breaths to calm your headspace.
- Identify and label the emotions you are feeling and ask yourself what caused the emotions to arise.
- Accept and sit with how you are feeling, without judgement. We are all human, we all feel these difficult emotions and it is okay that we do.
- Talk with someone about how you are feeling or write in a journal to help work through those emotions
- Let go of it. Visualize those emotions rolling off your shoulders and down your arm and into the abyss.
If you find the emotions are difficult to overcome, it may require some deeper investigating. Get curious with why it is you are feeling this way. What thoughts are coming up? When? Around whom or what topic? Knowing these answers can help you to find a solution.
– Coach Taylor
