Controlling Emotions - Self-development

How to maintain high productivity throughout the working day? Researcher Tony Schwartz offers several psychological practices that will help you not to lose your vitality, to feel vigorous for a long time.

Dossier

Tony SCHWARTZ is an American journalist and writer, author of several best-selling books, founder and CEO of The Energy Project. Tony Schwartz's latest book, The Way We Work, doesn't work. Proven Ways to Manage Life Energy”- was published in 2010. Since May 2013, Schwartz has written a weekly column, DealBook, in the financial news section of The New York Times.

How to start controlling emotions

When people develop the ability to control their emotions, they can improve their quality of life and stay productive despite external stimuli. Where to begin?

To begin with, you should become more attentive to how you feel at different points in the working day, and to the influence of emotions on work efficiency. Most people recognize that they are most productive when they feel positive.

However, without periodic rest breaks, we are physically incapable of positive emotions for a long time. Faced with tough demands and unexpected challenges, people tend to slip into negative emotions - fight-or-flight responses - often several times a day. This state of mind deprives a person of energy and leads to conflicts in relationships.

Here are some exercises to help you control your emotions.

Exercise 1. Buying time

Deep abdominal breathing is a powerful exercise for controlling emotions. Exhaling slowly for five to six seconds promotes relaxation and disables the hit-and-run response. Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe, used to smoke whenever something unpleasant happened - two or three times a day. He didn't smoke at all. As soon as he mastered this breathing exercise, the need to smoke disappeared.

Exercise 2. Thanks a lot

Another powerful practice is expressing appreciation to people. It is useful to both the giver and the receiver. You can express gratitude in any form. A handwritten note, an e-mail, a call, a conversation will be appropriate, and the more detailed the message is, the more effective. Set aside a special time for this to make it a habit.

Exercise 3. Changing the focus of perception

Finally, a great way to control emotions is to learn to change the versions of events we tell ourselves. People often define themselves as victims by blaming other people or external factors for their problems. Awareness of the difference between the facts of the situation that happened and the way we interpret them is powerful in itself. For many, it will be a revelation to learn about how interpretation affects the emotional background.

Tell upbeat and inspiring stories without denying or belittling the facts

Ask yourself questions:

• What would the other party to the conflict say and could it be true?
• How will I look at this situation in six months?
• Despite the outcome of this conflict, how can I grow up and what can I learn?

Each of the questions promotes conscious control over emotions. By changing the focus of perception, you can see the situation from a different perspective and, possibly, understand colleagues and opponents

Source: hbr.org/2007/10/manage-your-energy-not-your-time