What Your Emotions Say About Your Work

From:  What Strong Emotions Reveal About the Way You Work BY GEOFFREY JAMES

Emotions are more than just what you feel. They’re powerful signals that you need to make changes in the way you work and the way you think about work.

Frustration

This emotion tells you to be patient. Something isn’t happening as quickly as you’d prefer, even though you’ve done everything right. Taking further action is a mistake, like pulling up seedlings to make them grow. Trust that things will work out.

Fear 

This emotion tells you to be cautious, then courageous. Caution is appropriate because the fear is warning you that something important is in danger. Once you’ve assured yourself that you’ve made your best plan, execute it. Fear is a bad master but a good servant.

Anger

This emotion tells you that you must clarify your instructions. In the workplace, anger is always the result of somebody not performing up to your standards. Blowing up won’t help; if want that person to “deliver the goods” in the future, you’ll need to be clearer about what you want done. Or ask somebody else to do it, of course.

Hatred

This is emotion tells you that there’s something about yourself that’s broken. If you hate your job or your boss, it’s because you’re not courageous enough to find another job and another boss. And you hate that about yourself.

Stress

This emotion tells you to adapt your activities to your limitations. Either renegotiate your commitments so that they can be achieved within a reasonable time or accept the fact that some things aren’t going to get done.

Boredom  

This emotion tells you it’s time to move on. Boredom is quite different from tranquility, which is what you feel when you’re relaxed and happy. Boredom says that you need new challenges, new activities, more powerful goals. Life is too short to waste it being bored.

Joy

This emotion tells you that you’re doing the right thing and thinking the right way. It tells you that even though you sometimes feel the other emotions on this list, you’re alive to the fact that work and life are ultimately about creating and feeling joy–both in yourself and in those around you.