Groundhog Day & Emotional Intelligence

Just last week we all waited for Punxsutawney Phil to come out and either see his shadow or not. For some reason unknown to us, this action supposedly predicts whether spring will be early or late this year.

The term “Groundhog Day” has also come to mean when we feel as if the same thing happens repeatedly for what is seemingly no good reason.

I’m not sure about you, but I feel as if we are living in a perpetual Groundhog Day during the pandemic. I keep thinking I am going to wake up to Sunny and Cher singing “I Got You Babe,” like Bill Murray did in the iconic movie back in the ‘90’s.

How are you doing with all the starts and stops we’ve lived through the past two years? There have been dark and challenging times, and then, like when the vaccines were approved, we felt hopeful.

But that didn’t last. Now we are in the middle of a highly infectious variant, and we’re having to adjust one more time. Is this the way life is going to be from now on, we ask?

Looks as if, at least for the short term, we better produce a coping strategy for ourselves, and also to help the people we work with or the people we live with.

One of the ways we can cope with all the uncertainty around us is to draw upon our emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions. First, we need to express and control our own emotions, and then those of others around us. Managers rely on their emotional intelligence to guide the people they lead.

Here are some ways to build on the emotional intelligence we already have or to help us improve so we can navigate these “Groundhog Day” moments:

• Pay attention to how your staff members are feeling—take time to ask how they are doing personally, and really listen to what they tell you.

• Watch for body language or other nonverbal clues as to learn more about their stress levels.

• Empathize with what they share with you.

• Reflect on how your own emotions influence your behavior and your actions. Use that reflection to help your team members deal with their own emotions.

This is the time to be kind to yourself and those around you. Together, we will get through this.