Emotions: forces for transformation

It's natural for us to experience emotions. Emotions are universal, they are intense and they are beyond the scope of our reason. Being able to live healthily with our emotions is a sign of physical vitality and flexibility.

Work can impose a demanding framework on our emotional life: we need to know how to assert ourselves, be motivated and, sometimes, be discreet, all the while rolling with the punches. We need to shoulder the responsibility of managing our emotions so that we can work efficiently. Norms in the workplace differ from those in our private lives. We may give ourselves permission for outbursts of anger towards those closest to us from time to time, but there is a danger that anger could be transformed into frustration or passive aggression at work.

If suppressed and unacknowledged, emotions accumulate and manifest themselves through breaches of trust, inappropriate irony, resistance to change, lack of sensitivity in relationships, or a negative and demeaning attitude towards others - with disastrous consequences for efficient cooperation and team spirit. Containment is an intelligent, fast and economical way of managing emotions in the workplace. It means recognising, feeling and being aware of the emotion, delaying its expression and releasing it later on, in the right place and in a healthy manner.

Emotions can become powerful forces for transformation. For example, once anger has been recognised and accepted, it can be transformed into determination. We can draw support from it, and it makes us clearer and firmer. An emotion can enable us to shift focus: dissatisfaction can become a motivator of change. Some people will suffer from frustration and remain burdened by it and miserable, while others will take advantage of the frustration to move onto something else, by extracting the positive energy needed for transformation.

There are no positive or negative emotions, just emotions we feel when our needs are met and emotions we feel when our needs are not met.
Marshall Rosenberg

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