The Power of Feeling:
Why Emotions Matter in Leadership and Life
We often talk about emotions in terms of good and bad, with the positive emotions like joy, excitement, and gratitude being “good” and the negative emotions like anger, frustration, and sadness being “bad.”
But that framing can be misleading.
Emotions aren’t moral categories.
They’re information.
And just like a battery, we need both the positive and the negative ends to make things work.
Being fully human means feeling the full range of emotions.
Trying to live only in the “positive” is like expecting sunshine without any rain; it’s unrealistic and ultimately unsatisfying.
Negative emotions have their own purpose and power. Anger, for example, can fuel action and help us set boundaries. Fear can sharpen our focus. Even grief can deepen our capacity for empathy.
On the flip side, positive emotions aren’t always helpful. Love, for instance, can sometimes blind us to patterns of behaviour we might otherwise see clearly.
The goal isn’t to avoid or suppress what we feel.
It’s to recognise our emotions, acknowledge them, and respond with awareness rather than reaction.
A simple but powerful way to start doing this is by shifting our language. Instead of saying “I am angry,” try “I feel angry.”
This subtle shift reminds us that while the emotion is present, it is not all of us.
We are not our feelings. We have feelings. And that puts us back in the driver’s seat.
This kind of emotional awareness becomes especially important when we notice recurring patterns or emotional triggers.
For example, if you find yourself regularly losing patience during the morning rush, snapping at your partner, yelling at the kids, feeling wound up before your day has even begun, it’s worth digging a little deeper.
Trying to “stay calm” in the heat of the moment rarely works.
But setting yourself up the night before might.
Think: What can be prepped in advance? What’s realistic for you to expect of yourself (and others) at that time of day? What can you let go of?
Understanding your triggers doesn’t mean eliminating all emotional responses.
It means giving yourself the space and structure to respond with more intention and less reactivity.
Emotions are data, not directives.
They give us insight, but they don’t have to dictate our behaviour.
The more fluent we become in the language of our own emotional landscape, the more effective, compassionate, and grounded we become in business, in leadership, and in life.
Reflection: What is one of your emotional triggers? What could you change, upstream or in the moment, to minimise its impact?
If you would like strategies to manage your triggers, please use the link below to find a time for us to talk.