| Building in a pause. If you think you are experiencing a particular emotion, don’t push it to one side. Instead, spend a moment to try and work out why you are experiencing it and what might lie underneath it. This does get easier with practice! |
| Reflecting after the event. If you experience a strong emotional reaction don’t just forget about it. Make a mental (or even written) note of it and set aside a few moments in the following 24 hours to think about what influenced it. |
| Developing your terminology. Spend some time learning more about different emotions, so you have the vocabulary to identify what you are experiencing more easily. A good starting point is the Greater Good Magazine published by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley which contains a lot of information on different emotions (and other related topics, including a quiz on emotional intelligence. |
| Getting input from others. Talk to people who know you well, such as family, friends or even a close colleague. Often they will have a different insight into which emotions you are experiencing and why. |
| Sleep on your feelings: Sleep helps us learn and process our learning. If you are unsure what you are feeling, come back to the situation after a day (and a night’s sleep!) and see if that helps you process what emotions you might have experienced. |