The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Losing temper under pressure can cause people to doubt your credibility as a business leader. As when you lose your temper, actually lose your worth. There are many situations during the course of a day that can make us lose our cool temperament; making a mistake in plain view, getting into an argument, having to listen to criticism, dealing with bad news or facing a looming project deadline with everyone involved moving way too slowly.
It's easy to be calm when everything is going well, but it's how you respond to stressful situation that sets you apart from the crowd. Losing temper once in a while is fine but doing so on a regular basis signals to others that you're not in control of your emotions, and this creates a doubt that puts a dent in your credibility.
Find an outlet for your frustrations: Find an outlet for taking your stress or frustration out whether it's running, walking, hiking, cycling, swimming, gardening or even shadow boxing.
Raise your emotional self-awareness: The ability to prevent emotions from boiling over and remain cool under fire has a direct link to performance. Research involving more than a million people reveals that 90 per cent of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress to remain calm and in control.
To do this, there's a repertoire of behaviours you can choose from. These include listening, being patient, not interrupting, breathing deeply, taking notes, not making a decision in the moment, and even changing your position. The more you do this, the more you'll find yourself in the driver's seat rather than letting others pull your emotional strings.
Watch your body language: Studies show that our body language doesn't just reflect our emotions, it can cause them. Physically displaying expressions of negative emotions such as anxiety or anger acts like a feedback loop which, in turn, heightens that emotion.
Get pen and paper: A study conducted by University of Chicago shows that writing down our negative thoughts or worries about an upcoming important event has a calming effect and can improve our performance. The act of writing our thoughts down forces us to give coherence to stressful thoughts, which not only lessens the intensity of these thoughts but can even negate them.
To prevent worries, stress and anxieties from sapping your brain power when you need it, get in the habit of writing down your worrisome thoughts. You can do this any time during the day, but it's most important just before a high stakes event. Some people are naturally gifted with a calm personality, and it gives them a competitive advantage. For the rest of us, putting some of these practices to use is a wise thing to do.
Philosopher James Allen once said: Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels f wisdom.
— The writer is Ajay Sharma, Future of Work Expert, Founder, Get Me Experts & Flexiorg
