We all make plans, and we have goals and dreams. We create targets and aim forward with full steam. But, even when we have the best intentions and carefully scripted action plans, stress, anxiety, and pressure often still make their way in. No amount of planning can stop the unexpected from happening. We don’t know what will come to shake our ground.

Good or bad, change is imminent, and it is emotional. We can rationalise our way through change and unexpected obstacles, but we often cannot control how our physical and emotional bodies react. This is where emotional agility lies.

Today, joining us is Danni Haig. Danni is an organisational psychologist and coach, working with senior leaders and CEOs constantly to help them manage not just their minds but their emotions when things don’t go to plan. On top of that, she is working with different teams in organisations to help them develop better emotional agility in their day-to-day interactions with their colleagues, their personal relationships, and when the unexpected comes in.

Episode Questions:

1. What is emotional agility and why is it important in today’s world?
2. How can we work with our emotions when going through intense ups and downs, and also when feeling quite ‘meh’ (numb) about them?
3. What can we do to create emotional agility?
4. How can we calm down quickly and have emotional agility in those moments when they matter?
5. If external circumstances put a tremendous emotional load on us, and rationally we know we will be OK, but emotionally we cannot calm ourselves down – what do we do then?
6. What if we are working to regulate our emotions, but we have a colleague or a family member repeatedly disrespecting our boundaries and making us reactive – what do we do then?
7. Are there times when it’s best not to listen to our emotions or when our emotions are wrong?

Bonus:

1. Dannielle Haig talks us through 4 common emotions (anger, sadness, fear, jealousy) we all feel, what they may actually be signalling, and how we can respond to them.

Quickfire Question:

1. What is the one thing you would have liked to know more about emotional agility earlier in life that impacted you?