Life and business overlap. We bring who we are to our business and our business reflects the nature of us, the business owner. It’s reminds me of a dance, one leading the other…learning to work together. There are missteps and we step on each other’s toes. But with time, it becomes more fluid. For me, business has been a journey of learning about myself.

 I recently came across this quote: “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” by Pearl S. Buck. That got me thinking about moods and the role they play in life. Moods are created out of emotion. For better of worse,  emotion is intertwined in everything.

Emotion is the invisible undercurrent. The unspoken we sense and take our cues from. It speaks louder than words. It propels us forward with hope and excitement. It also causes us to cower in fear and shame. Happy moods are contagious. Bad ones are too. Sometimes we use emotion to control. Emotion tells us truth and tells us lies. Emotion can be used to create unity or discord. It causes us to win and also lose. Emotion warns us that something is amiss. Sometimes we use emotion to justify our actions. Oftentimes we assume emotion is truth. Surface emotion is often connected to deeper ones. It allows us to be real and genuine. It is the foundation of life changing conversations. Emotion creates fierce love and devotion. It is purifying and renders clarity. Emotion is a language everybody understands intuitively. Emotions are ugly, scary, soft, and beautiful.

Our emotions swing like a pendulum, taking us from highest of highs to lowest of lows. Emotion shapes our world. What we are feeling becomes our perspective. Our perspective causes us to act in a certain way creating our reality.

When I need perspective on emotion and reality, here are things I have learned that help me:

1. Seek wisdom from those more experienced.
2. Ask for honest feedback from those around me.
3. Time away from whatever has been controlling my emotions.
4. Confide in a close friend or spouse.
5. Go back to “Why am I doing this?”
6. Trust my gut instead of my emotions.
7. Don’t make decisions when tired or overwhelmed.
8. Maintain a balanced lifestyle – work, play, and rest. We need it all to succeed.
9. Make relationships a priority.
10. Take time for those things that make me feel alive.

Emotions are powerful and impacts our life whether we are aware of it or not. While emotion may bring out our worst, it also beings out our VERY BEST. I am learning to find the rhythm somewhere in the middle of feeling life while having a clear perspective on real life. And I am thinking, therein lies the ability to do life and business well.