I could barely keep my emotions in check (my voice was shaking almost as much as my hands were).
It was just a few weeks after I'd been promoted to partner, and I'd been wrestling with an issue for another partner's client (and former mentor). Uncertain as to what the right answer was, I called him to run my ideas past him.
This is something we'd done a million times over, and so I thought nothing of it. Until he said "Heather, you're a hot shot partner now. Figure it out."
Ouch, right?
Although I originally worried that they'd made a mistake promoting me, I soon realized that his outburst had more to do with him than me (he wasn't happy that I was branching out on my own, no longer reliant on him).
Our relationship was forever strained from that day forward.
All because he couldn't keep his emotions in check. [And note: I had to work hard to keep mine in check so that things wouldn't get even worse].
Maybe you can relate, Friend?
Even if you haven't had that specific thing happen, I'm sure you've had moments when your emotions threatened to take over.
The problem is that most of us try to push vulnerable feelings away so that we don't fully feel them. Don't do that!
It's unhealthy and one of the best ways to end up unexpectedly having an emotional outburst (at the most inopportune time). [Like my former mentor did].
That's why I'm sharing with you today a simple tool for how to deal with vulnerable emotions so that they don't get the best of you.
Life is messy. And news flash: it's not supposed to feel comfortable all – or even most – of the time.
But that doesn’t mean that you have to wallow in these negative emotions or allow them to take over.
XO,
