Developing Emotional Self-Awareness

There is growing concern in corporate mental health, especially within the Middle East, where traditional, one-size-fits-all approaches to employee mental health often miss the mark. Given the current regional context, exposure to painful conflicts, employees face specific challenges—such as secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, and PTSD—that standard wellness programs might not adequately address. The current trend of expecting managers to bridge the gap between employees' needs and corporate mental health programs is problematic. While managers can and should offer support, expecting them to manage complex mental health issues without specialized training or resources is both unrealistic and potentially harmful. The solution would involve organizations adopting trauma-informed policies and creating a workplace culture that understands and responds sensitively to these needs. These could include: 1. When choosing mental health trainings or wellness programs, make sure they are culturally tailored and region specific. 2. Have trauma-informed policies and practices which could include defining boundaries around managers' roles in supporting employees, acknowledging that they are not therapists. These policies should focus on recognizing trauma symptoms, avoiding re-traumatization, and connecting employees to appropriate mental health resources. Also, considering flexible work options for employees struggling with their mental health or having a trauma reaction. These flex work options could include having a workplace that has quiet rooms, or allow for remote work days, or flexible hours, to allow space for self-care and recovery. 3. Offer access to mental health professionals who are both trauma-informed and culturally aware, partnering with regional mental health providers who understand the local context. 4. Expand the corporate “wellness” agenda to include workshops and seminars about vicarious trauma, PTSD, and secondary trauma, focusing on how these issues can affect them indirectly through news, social connections, or work responsibilities. 5. Offer employees routine emotional well-being check-ins with a mental health professional, where they can discuss their concerns in a confidential setting, especially after significant regional events or traumatic incidents. You can also consider group debriefings for teams who may be experiencing vicarious trauma due to their work or regional news. Structured support sessions can help individuals process collective experiences. #BigIdeas2025

Any thought that starts with “I’ll be happy when…” is a trap. 💥 🚫 I’ll be happy when I finish school. 🚫 I’ll be happy when I get a job. 🚫 I’ll be happy when I marry. 🚫 I’ll be happy when I buy a house. 🚫 I’ll be happy when I get a better job. 🚫 I’ll be happy when the kids are older. 🚫 I’ll be happy when I finally can retire. Is happiness a goal we can achieve by crossing tasks off our lifetime to-do list? This isn’t how life works. Studies show that aiming solely for happiness leads to less overall well-being. 💔 They instead experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, and burnout. The more we chase happiness, the further it recedes. 💡 So, how are we supposed to achieve happiness? Happiness isn’t an item we check off a list. We can’t defer it to some point in the future. It’s instead the byproduct of living a wholehearted life. The best way to pursue happiness is to forget about the path altogether. So, instead of asking ourselves what will make us happy, we should ask ourselves what we value. ❤️ We may ask, "How would it be a way to live in alignment with my values?" That's also why identifying my client’s core values is one of my initial coaching exercises as a coach. My core values are autonomy, experimentation, curiosity, and sharing. What are yours? Illustration by me 😊 Inspired by an article from Susan David, Ph.D.. Link to the complete source (and more) in the first comment 👇 #personaldevelopment #values #happiness

How people feel at work shapes how they perform at work. That’s emotional culture—and in healthcare, it can fuel resilience or accelerate burnout. Burnout may be down from its peak, but nearly 1 in 2 clinicians still report emotional exhaustion. And the culture we create—day by day, interaction by interaction—either protects or depletes them. 📊 Compassion isn’t soft. It’s smart: Cleveland Clinic: Empathy training → ↑ patient satisfaction + ↓ burnout Nemours: Workflow + compassion → ↓ errors + ↑ morale Compassionate teams → ↓ burnout + ↓ ER visits (Barsade & O’Neill) Want better results? Start with how people feel. ✔️ Train leaders in empathy and psychological safety ✔️ Embed emotional support into daily workflows ✔️ Celebrate kindness and connection—not just KPIs Emotional culture isn’t a bonus feature. It’s a performance driver hiding in plain sight. #JustOneHeart #Culture #HealthcareLeadership #BurnoutPrevention #WorkplaceWellbeing #PsychologicalSafety #Psychology

Most people only use SWOT in business. The real unlock is using it on yourself: I stumbled into this years ago when I felt stuck. And I now coach the leaders at my companies to do the same. The power is in the forced awareness: Self-awareness for strengths and weaknesses, External awareness for opportunities and threats, There's a reason it's so popular in business: It's one of the simplest, most effective exercises for clarity. Try it: 1) Strengths Description:  ↳The things you do better than most people around you Why It Matters:  ↳If you don't lean into these, your biggest assets stay invisible Examples: ↳You're the go-to person for simplifying complex ideas ↳Colleagues trust you to calm a tense room ↳You consistently hit deadlines even under pressure ↳You bring creative ideas that spark team discussions How to Handle: ↳Don't hide them - showcase them in meetings, projects, 1:1s, and reviews ↳Look for trainings or practice that will help you get even stronger at them ↳Document wins so you can point to evidence during reviews 2) Weaknesses Description:  ↳Patterns that hold you back more often than you admit Why It Matters:  ↳Left unaddressed, they quietly cap your growth and credibility Examples: ↳You procrastinate on detailed reports ↳You freeze up when conversations get confrontational ↳You struggle to say no and get overcommitted ↳You avoid learning new tools until forced How to Handle: ↳Name them out loud so you're self-aware enough to manage them ↳Recognize it's more efficient to lean into strengths than improve weaknesses ↳Instead of trying to fix them, build systems or partnerships that fill the gap 3) Opportunities Description:  ↳Chances outside your daily to-do list that could change your trajectory Why It Matters:  ↳Spotting these early can accelerate your career faster than waiting for "luck" Examples: ↳A cross-functional project that needs a volunteer ↳A senior colleague offering to mentor you ↳Your company investing in a new market where you could get involved ↳An internal role opening that matches your long-term goals How to Handle: ↳Say yes before you feel "ready" ↳Block time so these don't get buried by daily tasks ↳Tell your manager directly what you'd like to explore next 4) Threats Description:  ↳Forces outside your control that could stall your growth Why It Matters:  ↳If you don't anticipate them, you'll always be reacting instead of adapting Examples: ↳Your role getting automated by new tools ↳A reorganization that sidelines your team's visibility ↳Budget cuts shrinking opportunities for advancement ↳Industry shifts reducing demand for your skill set How to Handle: ↳Keep one eye on the bigger picture ↳Expand and nurture your network, minimizing threats by maximizing opportunities ↳Diversify your skills so one change doesn't wipe out your value Which category do you think will help you most? --- ♻️ Share this to help someone that may be stuck. And follow me George Stern for more. 

When a leader is emotionally out of control, can the business thrive? The consequences of lacking emotional management tools are massive. I found myself with ❌ more negative emotions ❌ strained relationships ❌ decreased productivity. Since 1997, I discovered there are subtle and powerful ways to manage these emotions: submodalities - a concept rooted in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that shows promise for emotional regulation... if mastered well. Where my emotions were concerned, I used to think 💔 I had no control 💔 that events dictated my life and 💔 if it was a bad day there was nothing I could do about it. After I learnt about submodalities, I could ✅ shift a bad day into a more fulfilling one ✅ get a grip on my overwhelming emotions ✅ make better decisions that could transform my situation. Submodalities are finer distinctions within our sensory experiences. Think of them as a mental menu control like those you have for a computer display screen. They allow us to ✅ respond well to negative triggers ✅ amplify positive experiences ✅ become more mindful about our patterns of behavior ✅ craft better mental habits. You can shift from ➡ anger to calmness ➡ anxiety to confidence ➡ sadness to gratitude ➡ frustration to empathy by adjusting how you internally represent them, enabling you to be the master of your own emotional world. Let's explore some known submodalities across the three primary sensory channels. Visual Submodalities Brightness: Is the image bright or dim? Color: Is it in color or black and white? Distance: Is it close or far away? Size: How large or small is the image? Focus: Is it clear or blurry? Auditory Submodalities Volume: Is the sound loud or soft? Pitch: Is it high-pitched or low-pitched? Tempo: Is it fast or slow? Location: Where is the sound coming from? Tone: Is it harsh or gentle? Kinesthetic Submodalities Location in the body: Where do you feel the emotion resides somatically? Temperature: Is it warm or cool? Texture: Is it smooth or rough? Pressure: Is it light or heavy? Movement: Is it still or moving? (check my newsletter this weekend for a downloadable PDF) Here's what's possible: When you look at a situation that is dire and desperate... rather than amplifying the deperation with -negative self-talk -loud internal volume -focusing only on the desperation You're likely to amplify the idea that you are at wits end. Conversely, even if that situation is dire and desperate, you can -shift to a calm mental voice -regulate the internal volume and -focus on ways you can turn this around. These adjustments alter your emotional response. I'm Stuart Tan and have been licensed by NLP founder Dr. Richard Bandler to certify NLP Practitioners, Master Practitioners and Coaches since 1997. Learn more in my newsletter this weekend, where I'll dive deeper into practical techniques within Perception Dynamics for personal wellbeing and executive presence.

Do you ever feel a disconnect in a conversation? That's a signal to try practising emotional intelligence. Before arriving in India, I’d been working closely with a team of German colleagues. We were always direct and transparent with each other. Soon after joining a fast-growing mobile apps company in Delhi, I was discussing possible marketing activities with a colleague. The conversation proceeded along these lines: ‘’How about we organize a customer round table?’’ ‘’It might be difficult.’’ ‘’What do we need to do to make it work?’’ ‘’There’s quite a lot to consider…’’ ’’Is there a budget issue?’’ ‘’It's not that we wouldn't be able to get sign off…’’ It proceeded along these lines for 10 minutes (at least it felt like that). I was asking questions and receiving what I felt were vague, non-committal answers. I was beginning to feel a little frustrated. What precisely was I not grasping? And then, it clicked. ⚡💡 ‘’You think this is a bad idea!?’’ ‘’It’s not that it’s a bad idea….’’ I laughed. Clearly, my new colleague thought it was a bad idea - at least at this stage in the company’s growth. ‘’I need your guidance. If you think it’s a bad idea, can you tell me?’’ We worked closely together for over 7 years. If I hadn’t paused and wondered what was really going on there, I might have allowed my frustration to escalate. It was a lesson in emotionally intelligent self-leadership. But it was also a sharp reminder that though I logically understood cultural differences, I wasn’t tuning in and practicing that awareness in that moment. When I chose to pause, I was able to derive the wisdom from the emotion. If you want to improve your leadership, practice emotional intelligence. 🧠 ❤️ That means taking a pause and asking: 🔦 What is the data in the emotion you are feeling? 🔦 How is it trying to guide you to make better decisions? It only takes 6 Seconds to tune into your emotions and know what you’re feeling. And then you need to do the necessary work of pausing and deciding how best to show up in that situation. Emotional intelligence means being smarter with your feelings. 6th June is Emotional Intelligence Day. How will you use the data in your emotions to make smarter decisions? (Preferably not just today, but every day.) The colleague was Monisha Sahu, a wise, strategic marketer with a fantastic track record of high impact marketing - and a leader with significantly stronger emotional intelligence skills than me. 🙏🏻 #eqleadership #emotionalwisdom #emotionalintelligence #sixseconds #sixsecondsmeai Jayne Morrison Lize Rech  

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 Last week, during my evening walk, I noticed how hard I can be on myself. I have high standards for everything I do, and even the slightest mistake can lead to frustration. In those moments, I remind myself: “Matthew, you really have tried your best. Learn from the mistakes and move on.” 1️⃣ Self-compassion is being kind to yourself ↳ How you treat yourself influences your resilience. ↳ Be kind to yourself, like you would to a close friend. 2️⃣ Maladaptive perfectionism drains us ↳ Chasing perfection keeps you stuck and frustrated. ↳ We strive to become better, never perfect. 3️⃣ Watch your inner chatters ↳ How you talk to yourself influences how you move through life. ↳ Replace self-criticism with understanding. 4️⃣ Emotions are temporal and they don’t define us ↳ Feeling disappointment or frustration is alright! ↳ Acknowledge your feelings, make sense of them but don’t let them control your narrative. 5️⃣ Growth comes from embracing mistakes ↳ We all mess up, and that’s okay. ↳ Learn from it and move forward with grace. It’s Monday. The blues are kicking in for some of us. Maybe you’re already feeling frustrated with work or yourself. Before you get too hard on yourself, let’s take a moment to practice some self-compassion. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: How do you practice self-compassion in your daily life? Drop it in the comments 👇 #positivepsychology #claritycoach #thepositivearena #selfcompassion 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘢𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘯 🔔 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦. P.S. By the way, how does video content work for you? It’s been a while since I’ve done video content. Time to start rolling the ball again! 😆

90 seconds: That's all it takes for most emotions to run their course. When we react to something, there's a 90-second chemical process in our body. The physiological response—adrenaline surge, flushed face, rapid heartbeat—arises, peaks, and naturally dissipates within this brief window. So why do some emotions seem to linger for hours or even days? The answer lies in our minds. We tend to replay and reinforce emotions through our internal narratives, essentially hitting the 'repeat' button on that 90-second process. Understanding this offers a powerful tool for emotional regulation: - Observe the 90-second wave as it comes. - Allow it to pass without judgment. - Choose your next thought carefully, leading your mind toward a chosen path. In the fast-paced world of startups, emotional agility can be your secret weapon. This isn't about suppressing emotions—it's about recognizing their transient nature and understanding our role in sustaining them. By acknowledging this pattern, we can separate immediate reactions from prolonged states, leading to more balanced decision-making. That said, emotions can be more complex for many, especially those dealing with mental health challenges. This framework might not apply universally, but it can be a helpful starting point for cultivating emotional awareness. 🙏🏾 While the initial emotion is inevitable, how long it lingers is often a choice. Feel wisely. #EmotionalIntelligence #FounderMindset #PersonalDevelopment