Simple ways to ground your emotions in dire situations

Sometimes life is just too much for all of us no matter how cool and controlled you usually are. The problem is you can not let your negative emotions show at work, or you will risk paying the price and being labelled as a panicking or hysterical woman. No one wants that.

However, if you want to make your negative feelings known, you have to make a deliberate decision and be in control of your emotions - and know exactly what you're doing. So instead of being emotional you have to be rational. 

There are some simple ways to ground your emotions, even in situations where you feel like throwing a full-blown tantrum.

1. Acknowledge our shared humanity:
   Recognise that everyone experiences setbacks, failures, and sometimes even despair. These are human emotions, and they will pass. Sometimes it's good to let things be or at least get a decent  night's sleep before reacting in any way.

2. Take care of yourself:
   If there's nothing you can do about the nuisance and you must thus "live with it", do things that bring you joy and enhance your well-being—no one else can do them for you. Get enough sleep and eat healthily.

3. Surround yourself with people who are kin to you:                                                                                           "Kin to you" refers to someone who is related to you by blood or family ties, or as anthropology has it: someone who is related to you in spirit. So it can also mean someone who shares a close connection or bond with you, as if they were family even though there is no biological or legal tie. The person who is kin to you can have same traits, values, or experiences as you, and that creates a familial-like connection.

4. Find your personal empowering thought: Follow my blog and you will get the instructions for finding your Empowering Thought in episode #23.

5. Activate your senses:
   Spend time in nature, admire art, read books, and be fully present in the moment—not stuck in yesterday or worrying about tomorrow.

6. Breathe mindfully:
   Inhale through your nose while counting to three, then exhale slowly through your mouth.

7. Stay calm when others lose their cool or hurt you:
   Your calmness can help diffuse the situation for others, and if not that, then at least it will soothe you. Breathe, recall your empowering thought, and remind yourself that you have nothing to fear or be ashamed of. You don’t need to feel guilt, but it’s okay to feel sad. 

   Step away from an emotionally charged situation and say that you're ready to discuss once things have calmed down. Silence that little voice inside your head that's telling you to "fight for it!". Tell it to go away and stay away. You are in command, not that voice. You are responsible for your own reactions but you are not responsible for the reactions of others.