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From the moment we were born, we've been a slave to our emotions. Babies cry, kids throw tantrums, teenagers rebel... However, there are times when we need to rein these feelings in and learn how to control emotions.
After all, you can't exactly break down in tears whenever your boss disagrees with your idea. And you can't exactly hit other people either because they irritate you.
So how do you control emotions? Read on to find out.
Step 1: Be Prepared.
Sometimes, we feel a burst of emotion when we're caught unaware. When someone says something that we don't expect, we might cry, laugh or get really angry. This might be okay when you're among friends, but it's a different story altogether when you're in the middle of a board meeting.
One way on how to control emotions is to prepare yourself for what's ahead. For example, if you already know that you're meeting with an insufferable client, pace yourself. Tell yourself not to get hot-headed. Be the epitome of cool. Preparing yourself helps you control your emotions and not the other way around.
Step 2: Be Objective.
By separating yourself from the situation, you're able to look at things in a more logical perspective.
Let's say you're a journalist covering an earthquake tragedy where thousands of people died. If you want to learn how to control emotions long enough so you can do your job properly, detach yourself from the number of grieving people. Focus on the numbers and the science.
Learning how to control emotions might sound harsh and cold in a tragedy such as this; but sometimes, it's the only way you can do your job and report the incident properly.
Step 3: Be Patient.
Counting 1-10 won't help you if you're a pretty impatient person. Therefore, it's important that you work on that area of yourself. Being patient helps delay bursts of emotion that may not be appropriate for the situation. It gives your feelings time to subside and retreat.
One way to cultivate patience is meditation. This activity also helps you calm yourself down and quell strong waves of emotion.
Being able to feel emotions and express them is part of being human. There's nothing wrong with that. However, there are certain instances wherein we must learn how to control emotions. Besides, sudden bursts of emotions also lead us to doing things we might regret later on. In order to avoid any awkward situations, remember to be prepared, be objective and be patient.
