Staying Cool, Calm, and Collected

Posted on March 10, 2021

Emotions are us; we feel them intensely, and how we react to them can impact our life situations. Anger, happiness, sadness, or even feeling nothing are all states that we can influence our state of being. Handling those emotions is not always effortless. This month, I would like to talk about how I regulated my feelings and tactics utilized along the way to control them and produce positive outcomes for myself. Hopefully, you, the readers, will be able to take something from this blog! 

Anger is one of the strongest emotions that we can feel. It’s a state that can make us feel hot, like a volcano ready to erupt, but if that happens, it can make us say things in the heat of the moment that makes it hard to take things back. Anger is also a feeling that can be a reaction to injustice or against people who have wronged us but effectively channeling that state into something productive is easier said than done. When I’m feeling frustrated, I ask myself two things, “Is this the worst thing that could happen?” “What will happen if I react with haste to a situation that causes me to boil over?” By asking myself those two questions myself, I can think about those actions’ repercussions, which helps me stay calm. It’s also never a bad idea to excuse yourself and walk away from a stressful situation. 

Sadness is another strong emotion that we encounter. It’s a somber feeling that can overtake us and make us feel like the world is collapsing in on us. It’s also a state where we could choose specific coping mechanics that will make us feel worse in the long run. As someone who has dealt with both of my parents’ passing, I learned that feeling blue comes and goes. Time and individual therapeutic interventions can assist you when going through a hard time. Still, it’s often best to be patient with ourselves as we take the time to process major or even minor events. 

One important lesson that I learned is not to make significant decisions when I’m upset. In an elevated emotional state, I could be making a choice I would regret if I only thought it through. Outside pressure from other people can be another factor as well, and in a case like that, it’s essential to set a boundary and ask to revisit that discussion another time. If you need time to think something over, then take it and weigh the pros and cons before making a decision. 

Experience is the most outstanding teacher when it comes to handling situations with ease. Practice makes perfect, as they say. When you overcome a problematic event, the next one allows you to build resiliency from that experience and apply it to the new one. No one will make the ideal choice every time, but you can learn by evaluating how you reacted after an event moving forward. 

I believe that there is a way to solve most problems if you have enough time to think about them. Staying cool, calm, and collected is not about ignoring emotions; it’s taking inventory of them and reorganizing them in a way that is most likely benefit you and others. With age comes wisdom if you are keen enough to pay attention to past behavior. If you have any tips on how you stay calm in a critical situation, I would love to hear from you!