Emotions are contagious, use them in entrepreneurship says Jasmine Kalra

Recognize negative thoughts and challenge them so that the focus shifts on the ‘potential’ rather than the ‘what’s missing’ says Jasmine Kalra, a leadership coach and entrepreneur

Emotions are contagious

Our brain and emotional response system (limbic system) is an open loop. If there is a negative emotion we are experiencing, there is a high chance of that being passed on unknowingly to others around us. If a manager is in a bad mood, it most certainly affects the morale of the team. A happier manager creates a happier work environment. Being mindful of our mood and consciously being positive can help create a productive environment at work. So, if you are a manager, think about how you would like to be perceived by your team on a day to achieve maximum for yourself and your team. Similarly, if you are a team member, how you would like to be perceived by your team leader to make the most of your day.

Switch negative to positive

Recently my daughters’ school did a program on “Feelings” where children were asked to think about how they react when they get angry. After a brainstorming session, these kids expressed that shouting, hitting, throwing stuff, making a mess were some of the reactions of anger; and then they were made to realize with examples that negative emotions can be regulated and converted to positive outcomes – going for a run, doing your favorite activity, playing a sport etc. This insight shared by my 8-year-old made me realize that that the educational system today recognizes the importance of EQ and is inculcating these values in their offering to overall develop children.

Transforming negative thoughts to positive energy can be achieved by conscious thinking - by recognizing negative thoughts and making a conscious effort to convert them.

Be present

Doesn’t it feel good to meet someone who is genuinely interested to know how is your day going? Or how did the issues with your neighbor sort out? Or how did that family reunion that you had been preparing for weeks go? Knowing your co-workers beyond their call of duty always helps in establishing a great working relationship. Becoming aware of the people you are working with helps in building trust and workability. You don’t have to go out of your way to find out but just being present and interested gets people to lose their guard and be transparent with you. Remember the intent is not to get over involved in people’s lives but just to understand where they are coming from and hence help them achieve their best at work.

Emotions come to us naturally, most of the times we cannot put a finger to the reason, however what we can do is be mindful of our emotions and manage accordingly. We all have the power of conscious thinking that can help in balancing our thought process. And when we do that, we realize - Getting angry is a choice, letting a bad mood linger on is a choice, not reacting in a stressful situation is a choice, viewing the ‘potential’ rather than ‘what’s missing’ is a choice – hence in the end, it is our choice! I choose to use my emotional intelligence to manage my work and life, do you?