Deal with your Emotions

Last weekend’s NASCAR race had a spectacular finish with cars piling up and sliding across the finish line. Kyle Busch was leading the race but ended up getting loose and wrecking when he tried to block Tony Stewart. After slamming into the wall and getting hit from behind by Kasey Kahne, he ended up falling to 14th place. To go from leading with less than a half mile to go to finishing in 14th place because you got spun out would make anyone upset. The problem for Kyle was that the replay showed clearly that it was not Tony Stewart’s fault.
Kyle did not have the opportunity to view the replay before climbing out of his car, visibly upset. He went stomping down pit road toward victory lane, stripping off his gloves and his helmet because he was going to give Tony a piece of his mind . . . and maybe then some. About halfway down pit road the NASCAR officials corralled him. It took about eight of them to force him into a truck to be taken to the infield care center, where he could be checked out and persuaded to cool his temper.
I have been watching racing, involved in racing and behind the wheel of a race car long enough to have seen this scenario played out many times. In this case it didn’t lead to a fight or the loser slamming his car into the winner’s car like it usually does. In this case NASCAR officials got to Kyle first and gave him a chance to cool down and maybe even see the replay so he knew that he was not wrecked on purpose.
How many times in our lives have we let our emotions control our decision making and our actions? I am as guilty of this as anyone. But I have gradually come to realize that as emotions go up, intelligence goes down. We all need to concentrate on leaving emotion out of major decisions in our lives. When we are emotionally attached to the outcome of something, it is like we have blinders on to the rest of the world.
I have seen people so emotionally attached to a relationship that they stay in it even though it is suffocating them. I have seen people so emotionally attached to a business or investment that they refuse to see its failing until they are completely broke and sometimes buried in debt. The point: if you want to change your life, change your thinking. Leave your emotions at the door.
Remember: when emotions go up, intelligence goes down!
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com