Big Emotions Happen - Like a Hurricane or a 100 Year Storm

Have you noticed that “emotionally charged” situations can sometimes be more precipitous than you first expected. Sometimes a metaphor is a powerful way to think about an idea. The notion of a Hurricane or “100 Year Storm” is interesting.

Typically they occur infrequently, but when they do the sense of how they overwhelm us is undeniable. To all of our dismay, these kinds of storms are occurring more frequently and more intensely.

And in life, more often than we might expect, the scenario is actually like the “perfect storm”…  with simultaneous overwhelming conditions in play (ex. a new move, a new school, a new baby)  So, with that notion, are you in your own whirlwind at home or at work? Are situations you might naturally expect to “go more smoothly” hijacked by either your emotions or your counterparts in such a way that either one or both of you become overwhelmed and unable to manage the storm?

Big emotions are overwhelming and they are also debilitating. Interestingly enough, when they pass, they can sometimes be forgotten, like amnesia…however what ever cause was at their origin in the past likely will become a factor in the reappearance and impact that you know will put you into fight or flight behaviors. What sort of sensor system can you set up as an early warning system for these undesirable exchanges? When you do detect them, what can be done to move from a hyper-aroused state to one of equilibrium and sensibility comprised of constructive problem solving? Isn’t every situation like this an opportunity to change your behavior so that you get an equal and positive opposite response?