Quote of the Week

“People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy.”
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Coach Andrea’s Intro

I delivered a workshop on Managing Conflict this week in Toronto. (Great city, by the way — see Ideas and Information for more information about my trip.) One topic we discussed was the Amygdala Hijack which is when your emotions take over and you react vs. respond to a situation. Tony outlines 3 ways to manage yourself when your emotional reaction begins

Exercise Emotional Control

by Tony Alessandra

What causes an emotional overreaction? It’s generally prompted by the speaker himself or by something he or she says. For instance, going to an elegant party dressed like a bum might influence the hosts negatively. On the other hand, wearing a high-powered, Wall Street-like suit might put a rural businessperson on the defensive against a supposedly not-to-be-trusted city slicker.

Severe emotional overreaction can also be caused by loaded topics, such as ethnic, racial, religious, or political references. Differences in values, beliefs, attitudes, education, speed of delivery, image, and a host of other factors can cause a disruption in communication.

So, as listeners, we tend to tune out when we see or hear something we don’t like. As a result, we often miss the true substance of what’s being said.

When your emotional reaction begins, you’ll have an almost irresistible tendency to interrupt, to butt in, and to argue. You may feel your pulse speed up, your breathing become more rapid, or your face become flushed. You may lose your train of thought. Once you recognize this negative emotional reaction, you can redirect it with the following techniques:

First, pause to delay your response or reaction. It’s the tried-and-true approach of counting to ten, or taking in some long, deep breaths. These can really work to calm you down.

A second calming technique: Think about what you have in common with the speaker, rather than focusing on your differences. Maybe you don’t disagree with the person’s motivations — such as raising more money for the school. You just don’t agree with her solutions.

And third, imagine yourself calm and relaxed. Think of a time in your past when you were laid-back, on top of the world, and feeling incredibly great. Visualize that experience as vividly as you can. When you exercise emotional control, you’ll find that active listening is no longer a struggle.

Copyright (c) 1996-2010 Alessandra & Associates, Inc. Dr. Tony Alessandra can be reached at http://www.PlatinumRule.com or at 1-858-456-0028.

Coaching Call to Action

This week, when you find your blood pressure rising and you are moving to “reacting”, just breathe. That will short circuit your reaction and allow you to move into calming yourself so that you can truly hear what the other person is saying and then respond in a “leaderly” way.

Community Involvement

February 1, 2010
Accomplishing Goals that Truly Matter to NEW – Network of Enterprising Women

Andrea will provide her six-step program for identifying what’s important to you and creating and achieving goals that fit your priorities. Network of Enterprising Women is an organization of women business professionals from the Metrowest area of Massachusetts. NEW was formed to provide business support, education, networking, and marketing opportunities, and to help facilitate both personal and professional growth for its members. Members meet monthly. To learn more go to http://www.new-ma.com/.

Ideas and Information

Porter Airlines gets an A+ rating

When was the last time you were waiting for a flight and you had free beverages – coffee and tea (on china), juice, water and snacks – cookies, chips, nuts? And a flight where you were offered water, beverages, snacks 2 or 3 times by a very friendly person? All for a flight of less than 2 hours. Porter Airlines makes flying an enjoyable experience. I highly recommend you check them out – www.flyporter.com.

Other articles you might be interested in:

1. The Overwhelm Prescription
2. Optimism
3. The Problem with Problem Solving
4. Eliminating Time-Wasters
5. No Complaining Week Personal Action Plan

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