For an abundance of reasons, the holiday season tends to heighten emotions; therefore, we must be self-aware and consider positive ways to manage them using expressions of emotions like smiling and laughing.
Emotions play a significant role in our life; they guide every decision we make. Therefore, carefully managing them is critical to how positive our relationships. Developing your emotional intelligence by learning to recognize, understand, and manage your emotions and those around you will inevitably change how you make decisions.
Positive emotions will change your life for the better.
When you're in a challenging situation or feeling troubled, negative thoughts can inhibit you from making rational decisions and reducing the patience required to work through it. Sometimes a simple distraction allows a positive frame of mind to control and enable rational thoughts to emerge. Did you know it only takes 6 seconds to redirect your brain? Trust me, waiting it out will always provide better results.
Believe it or not – smiling is the perfect quick distraction!
A smile is a simple self-management tool to offset your negative emotional state. Both laughing and smiling send signals to your brain that you’re happy. Once that occurs, the thoughts your mind produces quickly become positive. Smiling and laughing are so powerful they can make you forget what upset you. By the time you remember the upsetting situation, your brain is redirected and no longer upset.
Over the holidays, when we may be feeling overwhelmed or tired, many of us have numerous work and family events that can cause us to become emotionally hijacked. If smiling or laughing isn’t possible or appropriate during these occasions, try counting to ten to manage your emotions and restore calm.
Keep it positive – redirect your emotions.
If you feel down, you can override your emotions. Try to redirect yourself by watching television, a movie or reading a humorous book. Smiling and laughter are positive emotions that can shift your mood and get you feeling good again. As your emotions shift and you feel happy, you will experience joy and return to living in the moment!
Keep in mind, to be the best version of yourself, you always want to manage your emotions instead of them controlling you. Marshall Connects offers Emotional Intelligence Assessments and Coaching to enhance skill development in all areas, including self-management techniques like successfully regulating your emotions to improve your life and overall productivity.
This article was originally published on December 8, 2018, and has been updated (November 2020).
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