Take it on Tuesday: Managing Emotions. Managing Yourself

Take it on Tuesday!

To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Like you, I sometimes let my days get ahead of me. I almost said, "Forget it." But I am committed to maintaining discipline with my posts.

It's important not to be ruled by our emotions when managing ourselves. Does this mean we should suppress our emotions? Of course not. We should feel them, but we maintain control of our responses. Today, we often speak about living authentically, but this does not mean acting with unmanaged emotions that can result in bad decisions, broken trust, and broken relationships.

A few weeks back, I was impatient with a team member. I thought about it, called the next day, acknowledged my error, and apologized. I used my head to think about how I could have been better, but my heart to ensure she knew my response was about me, not her.

While it may not always come naturally, it takes discipline to manage ourselves and an equal amount of discipline to think of others.