02 Apr Tactical vs Strategic: Which Emotions Are Running Your Day?

🚨 High performers, listen up 🎯

Stress comes with the territory. You constantly face tight deadlines, emergencies, crises, and so on. They are part of life… You can’t avoid it—but you CAN defuse it.

How? Find hacks. One hack? Pay attention to your emotions.

Tactical emotions trap you in the moment. Strategic emotions free you to act for the long-term.

⚡ TACTICAL EMOTIONS

(= Short-term reactivity)

1. Hijack your focus: frustration, anxiety, irritation.

2. Urge you to act fast (even if it backfires).

Example: Snapping at a colleague to “fix” a problem now… but burning trust later.

They whisper: “Just get this over with!”

🌄 STRATEGIC EMOTIONS

(= Big-picture fuel)

1. Rooted in clarity: patience, curiosity, calm.

2. Help you ask: “What can I learn?” or “Does this align with my goals?”

3. Transform stress into a checkpoint, not a roadblock.

🛠️ HOW TO SHIFT GEARS

1️⃣ Label the emotion

“Is this overwhelm? Fear?” Naming it weakens its power.

2️⃣ Ask “WHY?”

Move from “What’s wrong?” to “Why does this matter?”

3️⃣ 10/10/10 Rule

Will this matter in 10 minutes? 10 months? 10 years?

4️⃣ Pause ritual

Breathe, walk, or journal to reset.

💡 The takeaway:

1. High performers don’t avoid stress—they outthink it.

2. Next time stress hits, ask: “Am I being tactical or strategic?”

3. Your answer reshapes your day AND your future.

📌 Save this for your next stress flare-up! Tag a high performer who needs this ↓

#EmotionalAgility #StressHacks #LeadershipMindset #MindsetMatters #HighPerformers