03/11/2009
80% of human behavior is automatic. We breathe, eat, walk, and even drive our cars on automatic pilot. Our average day at the office is also characterized by routine - some we're aware of, and some we're not. Finding ourselves in a difficult work situation then, we don't often stop to think - rather we approach it as we are used to doing, and part of that approach is invariably our emotional reaction.
Stuff happens. A lot of this Stuff is beyond our control, whether it's a tough phone call, an unexpected project hitch, or a grumpy co-worker. How can we make it so that we can bypass our crippling emotional responses, and approach Stuff logically? Emotions are critically important to human survival - so much so that emotions naturally kick in before your brain can move to a logical response:
So then what? We can't change nature. Emotions will always be the first thing we feel. The trick here is to be aware of this so that you can ride out your emotions without letting them distract or paralyze the rest of the process. Learning to be aware is a difficult thing for us, given the statistic at the beginning of this article, but it is the first step in managing our emotions.
So the next time some unexpected or unpleasant Stuff comes up that threatens to ruin your day, feel your emotions - revel in them - then put them aside long enough to logically decide on a course of action that will allow you to move beyond.
Tess
gravity project manager