How to Build Your Emotional Agility

0:28This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. of America for a reason. With SUVs made to move with your rhythm. The versatile Equinox tackles your entire day. The spacious Traverse fits your crew and your whole weekend. And tracks bring style with value you can count on. All infused with tech that has your back. So your drive always hits the right chord. Chevrolet. Together let's drive.

1:03In our complex, fast-changing knowledge economy, the ability to manage one's thoughts and feelings is essential to business success. The prevailing wisdom says that negative thoughts and feelings have no place at the office. Leaders should be either stoic or cheerful. They must project confidence and damp down any negativity brewing inside them. But that goes against basic biology. All healthy human beings have an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear. That's just our minds doing the job they were designed to do, anticipating and solving problems while avoiding potential pitfalls.

1:43Leaders often stumble not because they have undesirable thoughts and feelings, that's inevitable, but because they get hooked by them, like fish caught on a line. This can happen in two ways. We might buy into the negative thoughts and feelings, treating them like facts and acting accordingly. Or we can avoid situations that evoke these feelings by, for example, not taking on new challenges. Effective leaders don't do either. Instead, they approach negative thoughts and feelings in a mindful, values-driven, and productive way by developing a powerful skill called emotional agility. This ability to manage one's thoughts and feelings can help people alleviate stress, reduce errors, become more innovative, and improve job performance.

2:33Here are four practices to help you develop emotional agility. First, recognize patterns in your thoughts and feelings so you can tell when you're hooked on them. It's hard to do but there are certain telltale signs. One is that your thinking becomes rigid and repetitive. Another is that the story your mind is telling you seems like one you've heard before, like a rerun of some past experience. Second, label your thoughts and emotions. Just as you call a spade a spade, call a thought a thought, and an emotion an emotion. Labeling them allows you to see your thoughts and feelings for what they are, transient sources of data that may or may not be accurate or helpful.

3:19Humans are able to take this helicopter view of their own experiences, and research shows that this simple practice not only improves behavior and well-being, but also promotes beneficial biological changes in the brain and at the cellular level. Then, accept your thoughts and emotions instead of resisting them. This allows you to take productive action. Respond to your ideas and emotions with an open attitude, paying attention to them and letting yourself experience them. They may be signaling that something important is at stake. When you're feeling hooked, take 10 deep breaths and notice what's happening in the moment.

3:59This can bring relief, but it won't necessarily make you feel good. In fact, you may realize just how upset you really are. The important thing is to show yourself and others around you some compassion and examine the reality of the situation. And finally, act on your values so you can begin to unhook yourself from your difficult thoughts and emotions. By doing so, you expand your choices and increase your ability to act in a way that aligns with your values. Leaders need to focus on the concept of workability. Is your response going to serve your organization in the long term and take you toward being the leader you most want to be?

4:38The mind's thought stream flows endlessly, and emotions change like the weather. But values can be called on at any time, in any situation. It's impossible to block out difficult thoughts and emotions. Effective leaders are mindful of their inner experiences, but not caught in them. They know how to free up their internal resources and commit to actions that align with their values. Developing emotional agility is no quick fix. Even those who regularly use these practices can find themselves hooked. But over time, leaders who become adept at emotional agility are the ones most likely to thrive.

5:32everything down. No roads, no cars, no way through. But his daughter was getting married. And somehow, someway, he was going to walk her down that aisle. All systems down. A new Snap Judgment miniseries from KQED. Tap to listen now. Your team just added its 67th AI tool and also your 67th security blind spot. The good news? The Vanta agent works like a GRC engineer in the background, finding every app your team uses, scoring the risk, and drafting fixes for you. Vanta is the platform used by over 16 ,000 fast-moving companies like Ramp, Cursor, and Harvey, who are shaping the future with AI and staying ahead of AI risk.

6:17Get started at Vanta.com. Have no fear. Chosen Foods is here to defend your favorite foods from the forces of seedy oils and sketchy ingredients. With cooking oils, salad dressings, and mayo, all powered by the good fats from 100 % pure avocado oil and simple, delicious ingredients. Chosen Foods.