Big Girls Do Cry - Emotional Management for Business Success
Humans are emotional beasts. You’re not an exception. So, please know this: when you allow emotion to run your business, it will ruin your business.
Don’t tell me, “Damian, you just don’t get it. I’m a very sensitive individual.” The more you allow yourself that excuse, the worse off you’ll be.
Big Girls (And Boys) Do Cry
I’ll give you permission to be emotional. However, I WON’T give you permission to run your business emotionally. There’s a difference.
Your business is your baby. You invented it, reinvented it, ran it through fat and through lean. I’m with you. I’ve cried, screamed, cussed, and sweated over this endeavor. In running your own enterprise you will celebrate the highest highs and endure some of your lowest lows.
The challenge is knowing and managing your feelings.
Know Your Emotions
You should know who you are and how you work. You should also understand your weak spots.
Here are mine:
I’m impatient. Also hot headed. I’m prone to stress, which disrupts sleep. I’m an aesthetic, a personality trait that fuels anxiety when life, surroundings, and business are in disarray. My ADHD requires management so I can focus and complete work. Because if I don’t, I fester all night over things being in disarray!
There. I just explained me. You need to do the same. What do you know about yourself and your emotions?
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Manage Your Emotions
Ever heard of a “crime of passion?” They don’t use that term to describe jay walking. We all have an emotional beast within us, capable of turning at any moment. What should you do? Manage your emotional state like you’re managing warehouse inventory. Meaning, unemotionally.
This is where most folks fail. They know their emotions but lack discipline to check and balance them. Ever see a child throwing a tantrum at the grocery store? That’s you when you allow feelings to get in front of your finances.
How to Tame Your Emotional Beast
First off, realize your customers don’t care about your feelings. They aren’t paying for your happiness, they’re paying to increase their happiness.
Secondly, emotional management is life management. Here are a few of my techniques:
I exercise. Physical exertion releases endorphins and allows a pressure relief valve. Aids focus, productivity, and creativity too.
Money is important to me. As it is to you! Therefore, I manage money to minimize stress.
I don’t lie, which alleviates emotional turmoil that lying creates.
A new initiative I launched is to have less concurrent initiatives. Too many cakes in the oven makes for a lot of half -baked cakes! Are you emotionally frazzled due to too many ongoing projects?
Get the point? Your emotional state is often a result of what you choose to do (or don’t do) with your time and energy.
Now, write down 3 action steps you will take to manage your emotional beast:
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The Payoff
The better you know and actively manage your emotional beast, the better off you’ll be. Personally and professionally.
Damian Mason helps people create the life and business of their choosing. Find him at www.damianmason.com.
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