We had just gotten a new job in a local store and were busy trying to make a good impression – cleaning up the shop, organizing the merchandise, and solving the challenges our boss gave us. We made our way into the back room, and suddenly things turned a little darker. It didn’t appear that our boss expected us to find a way into the back room and discover some of the weird stuff he had going on. We even found a secret tunnel, which we had to crawl through to see what was on the other side. Unfortunately, it was dark, and we couldn’t quite tell where it led. We did feel around and noticed that there were bars encircling us. Did we trap ourselves?

Suddenly, a lighter lit up the room, and there he was – a man that looked very Freddie Krueger-like sitting on the other side of the bars, lighting a cigarette. Yikes! We had allowed ourselves to be lured right into a cage by a madman who wanted our skin for a “pet project.” We could have freaked out as most people would in this situation; however, after lots of practice from other harrowing experiences, we knew that this was a critical moment to be aware of our emotions and manage them in such a way that we could be calm and focused on getting through the challenge before us. We escaped the madman with mere seconds to spare before he made our skin as part of his latest project. We also could see how far we’ve come in emotional awareness and management. How aware are you of your emotions, and how to manage them when they arise to get in your way? We should all consider our level of emotional intelligence and how we can work to improve it continually. The simplest way to do this is to be aware of our emotions as they arise and respond calmly. This is simple, but not easy, as this takes time and effort through each interaction with others.