High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 687: Lead Your Emotions, Don’t Let Them Lead You

Episode Date: July 2, 2025

In this episode of the High Performance Mindset, we dive into the power of emotional agility—the skill of being present with your emotions without letting them take the wheel. Backed by cutting-edge research, we explore how processing and labeling emotions can reduce distress, enhance performance, and improve your ability to lead and live with purpose. You’ll learn: Why emotional agility is a key to resilience, leadership, and well-being. The three essential steps to becoming emotionally agile: noticing, labeling, and choosing action aligned with your values. How to shift from “I am anxious” to “I’m noticing I feel anxious”—and why that subtle reframe matters. Why emotions are data, not directives—and how that mindset gives you back control. Whether you're an athlete, leader, or high achiever under pressure, this episode will help you respond with intention, not reactivity, and become the kind of person who leads with clarity and confidence. Power Phrase: “My emotions inform me, not define me.” Quote of the Week: “You don’t have to believe everything you feel.” — Dr. Susan David REQUEST A FREE MENTAL BREAKTHROUGH CALL WITH DR. CINDRA AND/OR HER TEAM TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MENTALLY STRONG INSTITUTE Love the show? Rate and review the show for Cindra to mention you on the next episode.

Hi, friends. My name is Dr. Syndra Kamboff, a national leader in the field of sport and performance psychology. Every week, I'm on the local radio sharing my top tips on exactly how to develop the mindset of the world's best so you can accomplish all your dreams. Get ready for a jammed packed episode focused on practical tips to help you get after your goals and step out of your comfort zone. Let's go!

It is time to check in with Dr. Cindra Campoff today and we've got a good topic. Lead your emotions. Don't let your emotions lead you. Cindra, start us off with a quote. I love this quote by Dr. Susan David and she said you don't have to believe everything you feel. Okay, what inspired what we're going to talk about today for you? Well, I was recently reading a research study published in the Lancet Public Health Journal, and these researchers found that individuals who regularly process and label their emotions rather than suppressing them, experience a 30% reduction in psychological distress and improved, you know, performance under pressure. And so today we're talking about

being emotionally agile. And it turns out it's really good for your mental health but also really important for high performance. Now wait a minute, what does that mean to be emotionally agile? Awesome question. We're gonna use the definition by Dr. Susan Daymond who coined this term and she said it's being able to be flexible with your thoughts and your feelings, that you can respond optimally in everyday situations. And what we know, Lisa, is that being emotionally agile is connected to better, more success and well-being. It's also a skill we can develop.

And you can think of it's not being emotionally rigid, which means getting hooked on or getting stuck on your thoughts and your feelings that don't serve you. And so we know emotional agility helps us be grittier, you know, stay with our goals and stick with our goals because we're able to get unhooked from our difficult emotions so we can manage setbacks and obstacles even better. Okay, well that sounds like a good plan. Why is it so important to be emotionally agile? Well as humans, our thinking can be really rigid and repetitive, and that's why it's really important to the first step of being emotionally agile is to gently notice and

not judge your emotions. So that way we don't get hooked on or get stuck on these thoughts or emotions that we have. And at the heart of being more emotionally agile is really seeing all emotions as valuable. So really your emotions of curiosity and compassion really helps you understand that you don't have to act on or believe every thought or emotion that you have. So that's the first step is just noticing. And the second step is to really label your thoughts and your emotions and when you just ask yourself you know what is this I'm feeling right now with the

purpose of this emotion, you know labeling what is this I'm feeling right now? What's the purpose of this emotion? You know, labeling your emotions can really help you see your feelings and thoughts just as they are valuable and sources of data that show you what's really important to you and what you really care about. Okay, so once we've labeled those emotions, what do we do with them? What's the next step? Well, I really like this idea when you label your emotions, cannot say, you know, I am mad, just saying like, I'm noticing that I'm mad right now. And this is helpful because you're not your emotions.

So just be mindful of that. And the second step after you label them is to really think about what kind of values do you want leading you right now. And so what I mean by values is that that's just your way of being or believing. Values help you show up closer to the way that you want to live and help you be aligned with your true self. So just asking

yourself, you know, what principles do I want to live by? What matters to me right now? And that can help you act according to your values so you can get unstuck even more quickly. Okay, so what's the benefit of what we're talking about today? The real benefit for us? Yeah, you bet Lisa. I would say like there's three real benefits. Number one, you are stronger leaders. We know that emotionally agile leaders make better decisions under pressure. They foster more trust and create what's called psychologically safe environments. Number two, it helps you increase your resilience. So we know mentally strong people don't suppress their emotions or let their negative thoughts spiral consistently.

So it helps you unlock greater confidence. And number three, it helps you boost your performance. So we know research shows that labeling your emotions can reduce stress and enhance innovation, especially during uncertainty and change. Well, Cinder, how would you summarize today for us? I would say your mindset drives everything you do, you know, how you live, the stress you feel, how you lead. So remember all your emotions are valuable, they are not good or bad, and their information, they show you what you really care about. So

labeling your emotions can help you understand what led to that feeling so you can be just more open and curious and just remember you can show up and act despite how you're thinking or feeling. I really liked that part where you said it's not I am your emotion I am I am mad but I'm noticing that I am so it separates you from that so remember that I guess, so it separates you from that. So remember that, I guess. And do you have a power phrase for today? The power phrase is, my emotions inform me, not define me.

All right. Now if people want to read more about this or get any more information about any other topics that you talk about, where's the best place to follow you? Best place would be to go to Dr.Syndra Drcindra.com and you can find more information about our coaching and my speaking and my books over there. Way to go for finishing another episode of the High Performance Mindset. I'm giving you a virtual fist pump. Holy cow, did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, remember to subscribe and you can head over to Dr. Syndra for show notes and anyone else?