Do you ever let them see you sweat?
The archetype of the stoic, unflinching leader is a hard one to shake in our culture. But displaying emotion is not necessarily a sign of weakness.
As JotForm founder Aytekin Tank explains for Entrepreneur, it all comes down to the brain and how we use it. While raw emotion comes from the limbic brain, triggering our innate responses and our fight-or-flight reactions, those reactions can be tempered by another part of our brain: the prefrontal cortex.
This is the part of the brain that has control, and it’s where emotional agility comes from. If you can learn to recognize, label and manage your emotions, you’ll become a zen master.
“Sounds easy… NOT.”
Okay here are some tricks:
- Simply learn to recognize your emotions as they arise.
- Sit with those feelings for a minute or two before you act on them.
- Rename negative emotions. For instance, nervousness = excitement.
Be mindful of your emotions, and your mind will become your ally.
