How to Master Your Emotions

"Marc Brackett, Ph.D., founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and leading scholar in the field of emotion regulation, illuminates the power that lies in the space between stimulus and response in his latest book, Dealing with Feeling. While we can't always control what life throws our way, we are in charge of how we respond. The way we choose to navigate our emotional responses shapes what happens next."

"Emotion regulation impacts our physical and mental health, quality of life, and functioning (Kozubal et al., 2023). But learning emotion regulation skills alone isn't enough—we must have the ability to discern how and when to use them. Research suggests that the ability to monitor your emotions and choose the emotion regulation strategies that work best for you is just as important as learning the skills themselves (Wenzel et al., 2025)."

Emotion regulation occurs in the space between stimulus and response and determines how individuals react to life events. Effective emotion regulation predicts better physical health, mental health, quality of life, job performance, relationship satisfaction, and longevity. Poor emotion regulation produces conflict, emotional withdrawal, and reactive behaviors that erode trust. Mastering emotion regulation requires both learning strategies and the ability to monitor emotions and select appropriate strategies for each situation. Practical strategies include mindful breathing, labeling emotions, and cognitive reappraisal. Leaders who regulate emotions foster trust and reduce organizational turnover, and effective regulation accelerates recovery from stress-related illness.

Read at Psychology Today