Group stress seems to be spreading like a bad cold. People seem on edge. Tempers are shorter. There's more honking at the green light. Conversations often turn to resigned regret about the division in the country. And the other day, someone I hadn't seen in 35 years left a surprisingly snarky comment on a social media post, an act out of character for the person I once knew.
On the surface, the following seems ironic in the Information Age. So many people these days grasp simplistic beliefs about complex issues and then double down on those beliefs in the face of contrary evidence. This isn't surprising at all from a psychological perspective. Rather, it's a result of too much information and too little time. Under stress, we typically adopt more rigid perspectives.
You've had a long, stressful morning. But before you step into that meeting, you pause for just a minute and a half. By the time you open the door, you're calmer, lighter, and surprisingly, you're already changing the atmosphere inside. Sometimes we carry the weight of our moods into rooms, whether at home or work. This makes emotional self-regulation especially important in leadership, caregiving, and social settings.