Bruce Law Firm July 2018

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

1601 Forum Pl. Ste. 1101 West Palm Beach, FL 33401

A Trip to the West page 1

How to Tell if Your Kids Are Being Bullied

The 10 Steps to Divorce Strategy Education page 2

Deciphering the 5 Love Languages page 3

Are Your Emotions Preventing Your Success? page 4

Feelings are a good thing. Companies want to hire people who have high emotional intelligence, and emotions are what differentiates you from an electronic device that can even mimic your voice. But what happens when your feelings overwhelm you? Anyone who’s awoken in the middle of the night with a racing heart and panicked thoughts can relate to this. And it may be what’s keeping you from achieving your goals. Brianna Wiest, who writes about emotional intelligence, suggests that by organizing our emotions, we can use them to reach our goals. By using aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy and learning to organize your emotions to reach your goals, you can prevent them from controlling you. As Wiest says, you’ll learn “where they come from, whether or not they serve you, and what they are trying to tell you.” TRACK YOUR FEELINGS Start by making this part of your morning routine: When you wake up, acknowledge how you are feeling. If it helps, write down a bulleted list of your feelings. Use “I feel” statements. You might write, “I feel anxious about everything I have to get done today,” or, “I feel happy that I get to work on the new project today.” IDENTIFY SOURCES Are there certain triggers — people, activities, habits — that always cause you to feel a certain way? Which of those are propelling you to achieve your goals, and which are hampering that progress? The Key to Success: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Make a list of everything that’s causing you stress — going to your doctor’s appointment, talking to your financial planner, calling back your mom — and mark a specific day and time that week to review your list. Chances are, when you come back to it, you’ll find that most of the items on the list weren’t really worth worrying about. For every item that’s still a source of stress, make an action plan for how and when you’ll resolve it. For those worries that can be dealt with immediately, note how much satisfaction you get from taking care of them. LET YOUR SCHEDULE HONOR YOUR FEELINGS Wiest points out that people often have an all-or-nothing mentality. Many think, “I feel great today, so I’m going to get all my work done!” Or, “I’m tired today, so I’m going to put all my work off for tomorrow.” The problem is that this mentality is not sustainable. If you track your emotions, you’ll understand how they influence your behavior. For example, if you notice that you feel a certain emotion during afternoon meetings, see if you can shift them to the morning.

Implement these strategies today and allow your emotions to nurture rather than restrict your goals.

4 • BrucePA.com

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