How to Understand the Hidden Power behind Emotions

Have you ever caught yourself overreacting to a coworker’s email that started with, “Per my last message…”?

Or felt like crying during a meeting and had no idea why?

Welcome to the wild (and weirdly predictable) world of emotional patterns.

Your emotions aren’t random.

They’re not mood swings from the emotional gods.

They’re data.

Signals.

Clues.

And most importantly…they follow patterns.

By the end of this video, I’ll provide you with strategies to better understand your emotions and ways to avoid letting them hijack you.

Emotions Are Habitual, Not Accidental

According to neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, your brain isn’t reacting to the world…it’s predicting what’s going to happen based on your past experiences. This means many of your emotions are learned scripts playing out over and over again.

So that spiral of stress before every performance review? It’s likely a pattern rooted in an early experience…not just the "pressure of corporate life." (Although... yeah, that too.)

Here’s a Fun fact: The average person experiences about 400 emotional events every day…but less than 36% of people can accurately identify what they’re feeling in the moment. [Source: Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley]

Unfortunately, most of the time, Your Emotional GPS Is Often on Autopilot

The problem? When you can’t name your emotions, you can’t reframe them.

And when you can’t reframe them, you’re stuck in the same feedback loop.

Research from Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence shows that people with greater “emotional granularity” (a fancy term for being able to label emotions precisely—like distinguishing between “anxious” vs. “overwhelmed” vs. “frustrated”) are better at managing stress, communicating effectively, and bouncing back from setbacks.

So yes, building a better emotional vocabulary isn’t just for poets—it’s for power players.

Spot the Pattern, Shift the Response

If you're noticing you always feel defensive with your boss, tense before team meetings, or drained after working with that colleague—don't just push through.

Ask:

• What’s the first sensation I feel in my body when this happens?

• When else have I felt this before?

• What’s the story I’m telling myself here?

Nine times out of ten, you’ll uncover a hidden emotional loop—one that probably has very little to do with your current situation and a lot to do with past programming.

Emotional Mastery = Professional Advantage

In today’s fast-paced, conflict-prone workplace, understanding your emotional patterns is a competitive advantage.

Research from TalentSmart EQ shows that 90% of top performers have high emotional intelligence, and EQ accounts for 58% of performance in all types of jobs.

In short…The better you are at decoding your own emotions, the better you’ll be at navigating office politics, building trust, and leading under pressure.

Try This: Your Emotional Pattern Decoder

Next time you feel “off,” pause and try this 3-step check-in:

1. Name it. (“I feel irritated.”)

2. Frame it. (“I usually feel this when I think I’m being dismissed.”)

3. Reclaim it. (“This is a pattern. I can choose a different story.”)

That’s how emotional reactivity becomes emotional clarity.

Bottom line…

Your emotions aren’t irrational…they’re informative. Once you understand the why behind your emotional patterns, you can stop getting hijacked by them and start using them as your smartest leadership tool.

This is something I specialize in and cover this inside [The CLEAR Method™]—designed to help high-achieving professionals show up, speak up, and stand out (even in toxic environments). I offer coaching, consulting and have upcoming courses. 

Visit my website for coaching and upcoming courses! https://www.jrsrmanagement.com/

 Grab my free eBook, Discipline Made Simple: 5 Proven Steps to Transform Your Life in the Next 30 Days— https://www.jrsrmanagement.com/signup-f3ab2053-5e66-4f03-8c95-a0e65717abec

Stay curious,
Jennifer
Coach | Consultant | Creator of The CLEAR Method™

Three things to ALWAYS remember:

Be CONFIDENT!

Be EMPATHETIC!

AND ALWAYS HAVE PASSION!!!!