Joe makes a comment and you suddenly feel a rush of energy. Your face flushes and your knuckles whiten as you begin squeezing edge of table for dear life. Some part of you knows that this feeling is not proportionate to Joe’s comment or intention, but something was triggered in you nonetheless, and you’re ready to bite his head off.

To be effective as a friend, spouse, significant other, coworker, manager, leader, or whatever role you’re playing at moment, learning to manage your feelings is a critical step toward living a happy, successful, and fulfilled life. And let me just say this up front, managing your feelings doesn't mean that you stuff them down and repress them. It means that you become aware of what's going on inside of you, own your feelings as your own, heed message that they have for you, and act responsibly.

What are emotions and what is emotional mastery? Emotions are often described as energy in motion. They become problems only when we judge them as wrong, bad, or inappropriate. When we let our emotions run us, we miss message that they carry. When we stuff them down for fear of what they might cause us to do, they simply lie in wait to emerge with a vengeance later on. Emotional mastery is ability to process our emotions so that we receive their message and use their energy for appropriate action.

Our emotions are very much a reflection of our beliefs about life events. For example, if you believe that you are your work and you suddenly lose your job, you are likely to feel an incredible amount of fear, as you perceive your very survival to be at stake. If you repress this fear, possibly because you view it as a weakness, you’ll probably experience anger or rage and at some point, you will likely lash out at whoever’s available.

If on other hand, you are a person who views your job simply as one aspect of your life, and you know that your inherent value lies in your unique skills and qualities, then your feelings and response to losing your job will probably be a whole lot different. You may just view this loss as an opportunity to explore a whole new path for yourself.

Title: PLAYING TETRIS WITH TIME MANAGEMENT Author: Dave & Christine Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW Email: mailto:editor@overcoming-depression.com copyright: by Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW Web Address: http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com Word Count: 549 Category: Success

PLAYING TETRIS WITH TIME MANAGEMENT

There I was, running around trying to juggle umpteen items and doing only a fair job of it at best. There was my therapy business, and I have been putting big pieces into place to add coaching to my business along with having to prepare a presentation for an annual convention. Then there's family, kids' needs, marital needs... You know what I mean.

Suddenly I thought about my wife. I began to notice how smoothly she manages tasks in her life. It would have been really easy to miss because she really does make it look effortless, but when you add up sheer number of things she does... WHOA! Absolutely amazing!

So, about two weeks ago I asked her if she would teach me how she juggles so much so well. She asked for a few days to think about it. She said, "Honestly, I just do it, so I'll have to think more about how it is that I do all I do. " Here is what she came up with.