A helpful principle for life and work lies in being able to recognise the emotions that are present with us when we are making choices, doing things, listening, and speaking words. 

There is a reason that anger is said to be the forerunner of shame and why many CEOs make decisions earlier in the day, when they are less saddled by stress and fatigue. 

It comes down to state! By analogy: you see a lake at its best when both you and that lake are still; the reflection is clear and there is more depth of sight into the waters. 

Any compulsion or turbulence can stir-up and distort our view and our actions. It’s there when thoughts are racing and the body is tense, for example. Whether short or long term, a decision made from a place outside of qualities like joy, love and acceptance, will tend to some form of problem later on.

What about when emotions like anger can help us? Simply put, they may be helpful for getting us off the couch, but not the marathon.

So as we make our choices, it may be helpful to keep this principle in mind:

“I’m at risk of making unwise decisions from a place of judgement and negativity; so let me make them from a space of calm acceptance”

Choose what you want, be grateful for what you have, and let yourself experience the negativity of your life from a place of acceptance; this will give you the view, insight, and path needed to create a more harmonious and prosperous life for yourself and others.

Kyle