EQ IMPACT: It's time to get off the emotional roller coaster

Do you enjoy amusement parks? When I was younger, I loved riding roller coasters, but now that I'm older, they don't agree with me as much. ??Nonetheless, let's keep going.

Imagine you're in line for a roller coaster, waiting patiently for your turn. Finally, it's your chance to choose a seat. The attendant checks your safety harness, mumbles something into the mic, and with a slight jerk, you're off! Whoa! Are you excited? Nervous? A little of both?

As you turn the corner and climb the metal hill, you may feel a mix of nervousness, excitement, and anxiety. But here's a cognitive trick to help with those feelings - it's called "anxiety reappraisal." The idea is to tell yourself you're excited whenever you feel nervous. It may sound simple, but it's been shown to be effective in studies and real-life situations.

I've used this technique myself when I'm about to speak on stage. Instead of saying, "I'm nervous," I tell myself, "I'm excited about this moment." It's all about reframing your thoughts. And now, we've made it to the top! Hang on tight because it's time for the ride of your life!

Let's talk about how our emotions are like a roller coaster ride. We experience many feelings at once, which can be a slow and easy ride or a scary one, depending on how we react to these emotions.

The people around us can influence our emotions, and we can also affect theirs. We can manage our behavior and emotions in response, but we can't control how others feel.

Unfortunately, many people don't realize how strong these influences can be. Reacting impulsively can make us feel powerless, which is why it's essential to develop emotional intelligence to maintain our emotional power.

?Emotions are contagious, and it's essential to understand this concept deeply. You might have noticed that when someone close to you is highly excited, it makes you excited, too. On the other hand, talking to someone who is depressed may leave you feeling sad.

As a leader in the workplace, community, or even your home, you are the thermostat of your team and family. A study published in Psychological Science found that their unconscious minds picked up the image when participants were shown a face with either a happy, angry, or neutral expression for just 30 milliseconds. Participants' bodies reacted by increasing electrical activity in the muscles needed to smile when they were shown images displaying happiness, and the same thing happened with pictures of anger.

This reaction is significant because participants saw the images for just 30 milliseconds, and their bodies reacted automatically, even though they were not consciously aware of what expression they were being exposed to. This highlights how people around you expressing a strong emotional state can impact your body's reaction and vice versa!

Therefore, it's crucial to ask yourself who influences you and with whom you interact frequently. What emotional state do they tend to be in all the time or quite often? Are you often riding an emotional roller coaster with questionable riders? Understanding this in your work environment and life is essential because if we are aware of this powerful impact, we can limit how much we allow ourselves to be influenced, especially by what we have labeled "negative emotions."

Knowing how much we influence each other's emotional states, we can positively influence those around us, including setting the emotional tone of our work and home environment by modeling the desired behavior.

Here are some questions to generate self-re?ection:

1. What is your emotional state that is impacting others around you?
2. Ask yourself how you are in?uencing others around you?
3. What can you do to limit your exposure to those who may negatively in?uence your emotions – personally and professionally?

Are you tired of riding the emotional roller coaster? ?? Let's hop off and go get a funnel cake and talk about how we can find more peace, emotional power, and calm confidence. Sound good?

Emotionally Brilliant (96.8% of the time!)??,

Nicole F. Smith, M.Ed.

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