Time spent complaining would be better spent responding

People with high emotional intelligence know how to manage their emotions.

They can see when they are thinking negatively and head it off at the pass, rather than allow it to toxify the environment and make people not want to be around them.

They know how to accept reality and respond to what occurs, rather than complaining about it and letting negativity eclipse their ability to see all of life’s possibilities.

The interesting thing is, people who manage their emotions effectively also tend to perform better than those who don’t. Not because they’re more skilled, but because they’re able to think clearly. Their lucidity lays a foundation that makes everything else flow better.

Metlife once hired a special group of insurance agents who tested high on emotional intelligence, but failed the normal sales aptitude test. And when compared to salespeople who passed the regular aptitude test but were more negative, the first group made twenty percent more sales in their first year and fifty percent more in the second year.

These people prove that our goal is not to deny or avoid or suppress our feelings, but to get good at balancing our moods so that worry, anxiety, fear, or anger do not get in the way of what needs to be done.

My former coworker comes to mind, who was famous for putting up a fuss any time the team had to work late. She would post these whiny, cynical, passive aggressive messages about how late it was and how hard she was working and why she needed to come in late the next day to make up for it.

And her feelings were valid. None of us were thrilled about being at the office past dinner. But her time spent complaining would probably have been better spent responding to client requests and simply getting the job done.

We all wanted to tell her, yeah, of course it’s late and our clients are idiots and you’re tired and hungry. We all are. It sucks.

Let’s not add a salty layer of criticism on top of our existing stress and make thing worse.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How does your attitude lay a foundation from which positive outcomes can flow?