Warren Buffet famously said, “If you can’t control your emotions, you can’t control your money”. 

There's a lot of truth in those words, especially as our emotions can drive productivity, performance, and profits. 

It’s hard to imagine someone who's constantly on edge, or in a bad mood, being the rockstar leader a team needs, especially with all the curveballs thrown our way lately. 

I've watched leaders whose own anxiety turned them into demanding bosses. It trickles down making the whole team feel like they're walking on eggshells — stressed and pressured – not a good recipe for productivity. Eventually, the team found themselves burning the midnight oil or giving up their weekends to keep up, and losing joy in their work. 

It doesn’t just affect our business, our emotional wellbeing impacts our personal life. 

Imagine coming home, already drained from the day, and then, instead of enjoying some quality time, we end up snapping over the smallest things or zoning out and withdrawing, creating more tension at home. 

Emotional wellbeing and resilience is the ability to tolerate feeling bad while still doing what's important during the course of the day. Resilient people still feel bad and deal with heavy emotions, but it doesn't stop them from showing up and doing what they need to do. This comes naturally when our personal wellbeing is high. 

Modeling that for your team, not only creates a better culture, high-performing team and work environment but attracts staff and clients to your business. 

Emotional wellbeing is the result of personal wellbeing. Our wellbeing (not mood) is the foundation of the quality of our life and work, and provides the resources for overcoming challenges. 

How to strengthen your emotional wellbeing 

Energy 

You need energy to take care of yourself and deal with challenges that come your way. Take action to remove the energy drainers from your life: checking emails every 30mins, saying ‘yes’ to everyone, going to bed late because you're ‘unwinding’ with Netflix, choosing junk food for a quick hit of energy and comfort, spending time with people who drain you. 

Sleep 

Our brain resets overnight, it detoxifies and processes the emotions of the day. When we have a good night’s sleep we wake up feeling more relaxed about our stress from the day before. Get to bed earlier, by around 10pm, to align with your circadian rhythms. Studies have shown that ‘night owls’ are prone to mood disorders like anxiety, depression and seasonal affective disorder. Don’t drink alcohol too close to bed as it increases your body temperature causing poorer sleep. 

Psychological skills 

Learn to tolerate feeling bad without letting it take over your mind and day. The best you can, practice letting go of negative thinking. Break the habit of over-analysing problems. Find ways to be responsive in the moment, rather than worrying about what might happen. Remind yourself that you have overcome many obstacles in business and have developed inner resources to deal with whatever lies ahead. 

Gut health 

An important area for personal wellbeing and resilience. The gut-brain axis is how the gut communicates with the brain (and vice versa) all day long. Poor gut health causes inflammation in the body, including the brain. 

An ‘inflamed brain’ can trigger anxiety, mood disorders, and poor stress tolerance. Restore gut function by cutting out processed foods, improving digestion, and supporting the microbiome through a wide variety of colored vegetables, and supplement with probiotics.  

Our emotional wellbeing is never fixed, use the strategies above to elevate your emotions so you can operate at your highest potential.