Navigating Your Emotions in the New Normal
Oct 05, 2022
[This is the transcript of Session 1 at the Emotional Intelligence Online Summit 2022 with Grant Herbert.]
Welcome to the Emotional Intelligence Online Summit for 2022. My name is Grant Herbert. I'm here in Sydney, Australia. I am an Emotional Intelligence subject matter expert who has the privilege of travelling worldwide and working with people just like you.
I am a qualified Social and Emotional Intelligence Coach and Trainer, and I have spent the last two decades helping leaders and organisations navigate the human side of performance.
The New Normal
The world has changed dramatically. The pandemic, rapid technological disruption, increasing social polarisation, and the blurring of work and life boundaries have created a level of sustained stress and uncertainty that previous generations rarely experienced.
In this new normal, the ability to navigate your emotions — to understand them, regulate them, and use them intelligently — is not a soft skill. It is a survival skill. And it is a performance skill. The leaders and individuals who thrive in this environment are those with high emotional intelligence.
What It Means to Navigate Your Emotions
Navigating your emotions does not mean suppressing them, ignoring them, or performing positivity you don't feel. It means developing the capacity to experience your emotions fully — to notice them, name them, understand them — without being controlled by them.
It means being able to sit with discomfort without reacting impulsively. To feel fear without being paralysed. To feel frustration without exploding. To feel grief without being consumed. And to feel joy, connection, and gratitude more fully because you are present to your inner experience.
The Four Pillars of Emotional Navigation
Awareness. You cannot navigate what you cannot see. Developing the habit of noticing your emotional state — accurately and honestly — is the essential first step.
Understanding. Emotions carry information. Learning to ask "what is this emotion telling me?" rather than simply reacting to it unlocks the intelligence embedded in your feelings.
Regulation. Once you are aware of and understand your emotional state, you can choose how to respond to it rather than being driven by it. This is the heart of emotional intelligence.
Expression. Healthy emotional expression — sharing how you feel in ways that build connection rather than damage it — is the relational dimension of emotional navigation.
We Are Here To Help
At People Builders, we specialise in Social and Emotional Intelligence development for leaders and organisations. Contact us today for a quick chat.