A tough day at the office? Too many deadlines for not enough pay? Parenting toddlers or teenagers and just about at the end of your rope? Too much month for the money and having it out with your partner because of it?
Our family and work situations can cause signficant stress and that can have lasting effects on the success of our relationships or our business.
I invite you to shift your perspective about whatever challenging circumstances you're facing.
Try this little trick: Change your attitude. How you think about the challenges you face and how you respond to them is the key to your happiness.
What exactly does that mean?
Our Emotional Intelligence (EQ) refers to our ability
to condition ourselves to become a master of our emotions.
When we become more conscious of our responses, we can be more adaptable, go with the flow and take it all in stride. Raising our Emotional Intelligence allows us to become unshakable.
We may not be able to control our circumstances all the time, or anyone else, for that matter. We can control how we respond to them.
Watching my parents' marriage fall apart drove those tough lessons home. At ten, I was helpless to save it, but I could learn from the experience. What I could do instead was choose to be married for life.
I was reacquainted with those lessons through my cancer experience too.
If I wanted to live, the chemotherapy that took my hair and my strength was not an option.
I could check my attitude about it and give the nurses a well-deserved smile as I faced the poison again. After all, they tried so hard to make me more comfortable. I could have a grateful heart. After all, I was fortunate enough to live in a country where I had a fighting chance.
I could hold onto hope that I'd make it through and live to see my children have kids of their own - a luxury not afforded to every oncology patient.
When we become more conscious of our responses, we can be more adaptable, go with the flow and take it all in stride. Raising our Emotional Intelligence allows us to become unshakable.
We may not be able to control our circumstances all the time, or anyone else, for that matter. We can control how we respond to them.
Watching my parents' marriage fall apart drove those tough lessons home. At ten, I was helpless to save it, but I could learn from the experience. What I could do instead was choose to be married for life.
I was reacquainted with those lessons through my cancer experience too.
If I wanted to live, the chemotherapy that took my hair and my strength was not an option.
I could check my attitude about it and give the nurses a well-deserved smile as I faced the poison again. After all, they tried so hard to make me more comfortable. I could have a grateful heart. After all, I was fortunate enough to live in a country where I had a fighting chance.
I could hold onto hope that I'd make it through and live to see my children have kids of their own - a luxury not afforded to every oncology patient.
Becoming a Master of your Attitude and elevating your
Emotional Intelligence takes practice. The first step is becoming aware of HOW you respond in tough circumstances.
Here's why we want to raise our EQ: What we focus on expands or improves.
When we focus on what's wrong in our lives...guess what happens? We end up with more that's wrong in our lives. When we focus on all that we have to be grateful for, opportunities open up and miracles happen.
Here's why we want to raise our EQ: What we focus on expands or improves.
When we focus on what's wrong in our lives...guess what happens? We end up with more that's wrong in our lives. When we focus on all that we have to be grateful for, opportunities open up and miracles happen.
The next time you're faced with a challenge...and life gets tough, as it tends to do, ask yourself these questions:
- How are you responding?
- How do you overcome?
- Do you brainstorm with your family or with your team to find solutions?
- Do you craft an action plan to achieve your goal or winning outcome?
- If you want to increase your knowledge or experience, do you seek information or guidance?
- Do you ask for help?
What I've learned from them, and from life, is that when the going gets tough, quitting is not an option.
People of strength and integrity don't say "this is too hard" or "there are too many problems here." People with an attitude of success do whatever it takes to reach their goal.
You can choose to have a winning attitude - about anything.
Written By:Andrea Raco, Certified Professional Coach, Founder of Coach for Life, Creator of 'Your Masterpiece Life' ~ a program designed to help you build the life you love, curator of Gold Key Club and Coach For Life Connections, Wife, Mom of 4, Breast Cancer Survivor and lover of LIFE.
Drop me a note: andrea@coachforlife.ca.
