Mastering Emotions: Taking Your Life To The Next Level

Hello,

How is your day coming along? Better, I am sure, than that particular day the crew of the Apollo 13 had as they were on their way Home to planet earth.

The return flight of Apollo 13 will forever be one of the most momentous flights ever recorded in history. And what most people remember most vividly is the single remark: "Houston, we have a problem."

Now, life, and daily living in general, is a process, and an ongoing series of opportunities. Some of these opportunities are pure delight and pleasure and some are of a nature that calls for a different type of flexibility, resilience and persistence. The Apollo 13 crew faced a challenge that threatened their very physical existence on a level that would have defeated most human beings, because most human beings have never learned to master their emotions. What they have learned, instead, is to be led by their emotions, which is another way of saying being mastered by their emotions.

If there is anything that illustrates the importance of mastering emotions, the return trip of Apollo 13 does that. Because, far more important than the million upon millions of dollars that were at stake, human lives were at stake. The Apollo Crew brought themselves Home safely, with the help of the Houston team, because they kept their heads, focused their minds on conscious and unconscious levels and thought and acted effectively.

And you might be thinking, "What does this have to do with me?" I am not an astronaut, and never will be.

I'll come back to that! Switching gears, I am wondering if you watched the first series of "The Apprentice"? If so, you know who Bill Rancic is. He is the one (out of 216,000 applicants) who became Trump's assistant, against all odds. I heard Bill speak recently and he described the experiences and challenges they were put through, including enduring 12 weeks sleeping only 1-2 hours a night, literally pushing them to the edge physically, mentally and emotionally. Perhaps that partially explained Omarosa! As for Bill Rancic, he demonstrated his ability to master his emotions rather than having his emotions master him, as most all of the other candidates did.

Again, you might be thinking, "What does this have to do with me?" I'm not going on "The Apprentice." Fair enough.

Yet every day, people you know, including yourself, encounter situations that call for mastering emotions, for emotional wisdom.

You might be a mom or dad-who in the past while in a store with your child, looked up and? your child was nowhere to be seen! What was your reaction? Now you understand the value of "mastering emotions!" And what about the college student going in for the final exam that is pivotal to her future? Or consider a recent experience of my oldest daughter, Dana, who graduates from the Loyola University/ Chicago this June. She recently worked all weekend on an important paper, only to lose it when her computer crashed. She had to write the paper again, having only a couple of hours to rewrite it. And that is exactly what she was able to do, because long ago she had developed the beliefs and skill sets involved in creating useful emotional and mental states required for such situations. And good that she had such ability, because in the beginning of her program, her class was told that within a year, only about half of them would still be nursing students. The rest would be driven out by the rigors of the program. In short, they were told that the ones washing out would not be able to handle the "stress factor."

What about the person being called into the boss's office, after many rounds of "downsizing?" Or the emergency room physician being confronted with the worst case she has ever seen, and more than that, has never before handled...knowing that a life is in her hands? Or the spouse who has just been informed by their partner that he or she no longer wants to remain in the marriage. And what about someone in your office that you would not wish on anyone else? Someone who does what they can on a regular basis to try to "push your buttons?"

The fact is, that on an ongoing basis, we are called upon to respond to situations, people and circumstances that call for emotional