Mental fitness at work: Keeping emotions at an even keel can be difficult, but doing so is a vital element of productivity and profitability. (Career Intelligence).

People spend a great deal of time and money on physical fitness but sometimes neglect their mental fitness. Yet mental fitness is a critical component of work performance. Recent research substantiates that emotional intelligence is a bigger predictor of workplace success than IQ.

Working as a management professional can involve considerable pressure, not the least of which is created when dealing with staff and clients. Effectively managing emotions is a vital part of workplace functioning and is a major contributor to a harmonious workplace, superior productivity, and increased profitability. Effectively managing your emotions at work means not only limiting negative emotions such as anger, fatigue, worry, and indifference, but also enhancing positive emotions such as contentment, joy, competency and passion.

The first step to achieving greater mental fitness at work is being aware of and acknowledging your feelings. Do a workplace emotional audit by being honest with the degree and frequency of both your positive and negative emotions related to work. Each day next week, take some private time away from normal daily demands and evaluate your feelings. Moreover, you can start to look at how others are feeling around you. This can be a clue to many things, such as organizational issues, but can also provide critical information about how you affect those around you. See how you feel when you're in the presence of others.

The second step is to establish a goal for your own mental fitness. How do you want to feel regarding your professional life? Consider that it is good for you (and your family and friends) to be happy, comfortable, passionate and secure at work almost all the time. Here is an exercise to help. Close your eyes and imagine that you are approaching your 75th birthday and your family and friends have gathered to plan a surprise party for you. During this gathering they begin to tell stories about you and to talk about your personal characteristics, your accomplishments, and your qualities as a parent and friend. What do you want them to say about you? Are you currently living your life to have them talk about you in the way you hope?

Write down your goals. Create your own personal mission statement. Remind yourself of these goals by putting a sign up or a message on your Web browser.

The third step is to identify barriers to the attainment of your goal of successful mental fitness. Ideally, one needs to either eliminate or reduce the barriers to goal attainment. For example, if you have a client that always irritates you or leaves you feeling upset in some manner, you may ask yourself if you really need this client. Is their presence in your firm so necessary that you must endure their behaviour?

The final step is to create opportunities for achieving a positive mental state on a regular basis. Begin by looking for early warning signs that you are getting upset. Although stress manifests itself differently in everyone, you, for example, may find that you start off with a knot in your stomach. Instead of seeing this as a sign of impending problems, use it as a signal for positive action. You may want to do some deep abdominal breathing, take a walk, or do some yoga stretches. Essentially, you are attacking the negative experience directly in any way possible and not letting it get a hold of you. It is important to make an active mental and physical effort not to allow the negative emotions to take hold. Ask a mentally healthy friend how they do it.

But of course, being mentally fit doesn't only mean dealing effectively with negative experiences and emotions. It also means working at having a preponderance of positive experiences. Actively commit to activities that provide you with positive emotions. Surround yourself with positive people who laugh and see the cup as half full. If you are going to have coffee, make sure it is with someone who leaves you feeling great. Do the same for them. Examine your work and make active attempts to do the work that fulfills you, not the work that drains you. Make it your active practice to do the work that you love. Really listen to others and try to understand how they feel about the issue at hand. Give positive feedback to others. Make them feel good. Laugh.

Bob Acton ([e-mail], PhD, is a consulting psychologist who works and trains in emotional intelligence and emotion management in the workplace.