When encountering difficult situations, separating truth from emotion and adopting a successful business mindset can make a huge difference in both the outcome and the way you feel about it.
Kenneth had an unpleasant encounter with a client and couldn’t stop replaying the events of the day in his head, so much so that he lay in bed, unable to sleep, worrying about the future of their business relationship.
Barbara was reeling as she left a meeting with her business partner. They had disagreed about the way to handle an employee issue. Normally, this wouldn’t be a terribly stressful conversation, but this time was different, and the after-effects were taking a toll on her attitude and her productivity.
When Charlie hung up the phone with a client he had been serving for some years, he felt for sure he had blown the account and couldn’t get the situation out of his mind. He had an internal dialogue going on where he was blaming himself for what he did and didn’t say. He also had some pent up anger for his client that had been festering for a while. It was preventing him from getting his work done and was causing him undue stress.
Successful business mindsets can prevent difficult situations from becoming overwhelming. If you run a business or work for yourself, it’s crucial that you keep your emotions in check so that you are able to face difficult situations calmly and be able to make sound business decisions and react appropriately without interference from any old emotional baggage.
In each of these cases, the difficult part wasn’t about the facts or what actually transpired. It was about how these individuals responded both inwardly and outwardly. It was about how their buttons got pushed, what they told themselves about the situations and how they reacted to them that caused the real problems.
If these scenarios feel at all familiar, here are some questions to help you separate truth from emotion and stay grounded:
1. What actually happened? Just the facts, not an interpretation.
2. What did you say to yourself about what happened?
3. What was your emotional response? How did you feel during and after?
4. What was your behavioral response? What did you do in response to the event?
5. Is what you’re saying to yourself about this situation really true?
6. Are your responses helping you, or hurting you?
7. How might you handle a situation like this in future?
Join the conversation below!
If you run a business or work for yourself and are having a hard time keeping your emotional reactions at bay, schedule a time to speak with me and learn how I can help.
NY Business Coach Susan Martin
Wonderful questions Susan, thank u!
Comments on this entry are closed.