Think about it. When you’re upset about something that happened before you got to work, how do you then perceive things or people at work? Do you think your emotions affect your decision making? Even if we don’t think they do, research shows, in fact, that they do.

A study by the Yale Center on Emotional Intelligence showed that teachers who were in a bad mood were more likely to give students lower grades, than those who were in more positive moods. Ever had a to give a performance review on a bad day? Or received a review on a day when your boss was having a bad day or week? Hmmm.

Emotions, research shows, actually spread like a virus…that goes for either negative and positive emotions (except that we are more wired to see the negative because we are predisposed for what’s known as negative bias – survival comes first). So choosing positivity actually takes more effort for some of us. What emotion do you want to spread?

I recently attended the Mindful Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, my second time at this inspiring and informative conference, where I saw old and new friends and colleagues bringing mindful awareness and emotional intelligence to organizations and businesses all over the world. The high value of mindful awareness, emotion in work and life are more obvious than ever. Did you know that high school students experience negative mood states 75% of their day? Or that only 30% of North American workers feel engaged at work? Workers report feeling stressed, anxious, tired, helpless, irritated. Does this resonate for you?

How can you manage your emotions to be a better leader and influential contributor no matter where you work and what you do for a living? It starts with being aware of, and knowing the nuances of, your emotions. This is difficult for most of us.

Well…there’s an app for that! The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence created an easy to use, very valuable way for us to determine our emotions, and consequently what we need more or less of in or lives. Take a look atMoodMeter *. It’s .99 to download. If you do decide to use this app I hope to hear what you think of it, and how it affects your day-to-day experience. *I have no affiliation with this app.

As I do more work to help us with our intersection of mindful awareness and work, I have decided to (finally) update my website to reflect even more of who and what I’m about. I’d love your feedback on my new website, and logo, as it develops! I’ll be posting updates on my Daisy Swan & Associates facebook page, which has been rather low energy of late. I hope you’ll hop on and stay tuned for more information and community activity there.

I wish you peace and calm even in the midst of this remarkably turbulent time. Finding the way to be steady, open, kind, and genuine while being busy and achievement-oriented is a tall order. But it is possible.