There's no crying in baseball

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Anger. Sadness. Passion. Elation.

Taking the emotion out of a situation is extremely difficult, especially when it’s a human’s only differentiation from AI. However, do you know what AI doesn’t have? A competitive nature or an ego.

Type A personalities are competitive and ambitious. There are a lot of positive outcomes that stem from a little friendly competition. It drives organizations to continuously improve. However, being considered the best or having a few wins under your belt can give a person a bit of an ego. When that ego gets bruised, how is that person going to react?

In order to be considered mature in the workplace, one must exhibit emotional intelligence, base judgement on facts instead of emotions, and maintain a positive attitude even when you don’t want to. Essentially, be empathetic towards others, but roll with the punches when it comes to yourself.

Here are some techniques to help you roll with the punches:

1. Take a deep breathe and count backwards from 10 when you’re angry. Go for a walk to clear your head if you can.

2. If you feel yourself about to cry, control your breathing and find a way to stay calm or step away for a moment.

3. You know how in tv shows someone will ask someone else on a date, they say yes, walk away, and then the person who asked does a happy dance? When something really exciting happens, smile and thank the person then do your happy dance later.

4. There are a lot of places that will recommend practicing mindfulness in order to help you stay calm. Close your eyes, breathe in, breathe out, think about a goal, mantra, or the sound of the ocean.

5. Journal. Writing down what you’re feeling makes it stop playing in your head on repeat.

6. Exercise. You may not be able to hit your coworker, but you can hit a punching bag or spar in martial arts. As Elle Woods said, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't kill their husbands, they just don't.”

How can you apply this to personal decision-making? I’m going to circle back to Renovations Part 2.

At the end of a game, you win some and you lose some. There are no stakes unless money is involved. Maybe you really wanted to win or for your team to win. Maybe it was your kid playing and you don’t want them to be disappointed. Sometimes it’s the ref making a bad call, but usually the other person or team was just better. Play again another time. There is always another time. Everything will be fine. You’ll get the facts and figure it out. When in doubt, ask yourself if you’re having an emotional response or a logical response before moving forward.

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