Emotion Management: Using Mindfulness to Keep Your Crazy in Check

Admit it: You have stressed-out, nutso, I-can’t-believe-I’m-this-upset moments. (If you never feel the crazy, then you might as well move on to the next adorable cat video; I've got nothing to offer you.)

With all of the nuttiness in this year’s election cycle, the intense socio-economic challenges that we face both locally and globally, and our omnipresent pressure to do more with less (all while staying healthy, happy and helpful to others), sometimes we find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of an unplanned hissy-fit. By the way, guys can have hissy-fits too; they just come out as grunts, groans and manic rubbing of the temples.

How can we consciously manage our emotional state just as we do the other facets of our professional and personal lives? I can’t pretend to know what your exact recipe for permanent residency in ChillTown is for you, but I can share some of the most effective mindful practices I have used over the last decade or so to be less of a raging hose-beast and more of a thoughtful, balanced, and calm person (mostly).

When you find yourself slipping into a major funk that threatens to derail your entire day, here are a few proven strategies that may help you quickly move out of the darkness and back into balance.