🧘♂️Level 3 – Managing emotions🎚️
Table of Contents
How do I stay calm? How do I respond thoughtfully?
Everyone experiences emotions.
They often arise quickly and can sometimes be very intense.
But not every emotion has to lead to immediate action.
There is a crucial moment between feeling and reaction: the decision.
Social competence also means not suppressing emotions, but dealing with them thoughtfully.
Those who can control their emotions remain capable of acting.
Those who cannot control their emotions often react impulsively.
This stage helps you learn:
How do I recognise strong emotions early on?
How do I calm myself down?
How do I consciously decide how to react?
It’s not about getting rid of emotions.
It’s about staying calm and acting consciously.
Exercise: Stay calm and respond thoughtfully
Observe yourself in situations where your emotions become stronger.
What strong emotion am I feeling?
Pay attention to when an emotion becomes more intense.
For example:
Anger
Fear
Nervousness
Impatience
Frustration
Tension
Write down a strong emotion you have experienced.
What happens in this situation?
Briefly describe the situation in which the emotion arose.
For example:
Someone disagrees with me
I am being criticised
I have to wait
Something isn’t working
I feel under pressure
Write down the situation.
How can I respond mindfully?
Think about how you could respond calmly or mindfully.
For example:
breathe deeply
wait a moment
speak calmly
don’t say anything straight away
walk away and speak later
ask questions instead of reacting
Write down a possible mindful response.
Important for your learning
You don’t learn to manage your emotions all at once.
It comes about through small, repeated experiences.
So take your time and observe each step on a separate day.
Day 1 – What strong emotion am I feeling?
Day 2 – In what situation does it arise?
Day 3 – How can I respond consciously?
Inner clarity emerges between these days.
You realise: Emotions arise – but you can decide how to act.
It also helps here to use a mental image.
For example, a quiet place, a moment to breathe, or a situation in which you remained calm.
Such images help your inner self to find peace more quickly.
Example of a 3-day exercise
Example: Strong emotion
Day 1 – Emotion: Anger
Today I felt angry when someone criticised my opinion.
Day 2 – Emotion: Nervousness
Today I felt nervous when I had to speak in front of others.
Day 3 – Emotion: Impatience
Today I felt impatience when I had to wait for a long time.
Example: Situations
Day 1 – Situation: Criticism
I felt anger when someone told me I was wrong.
Day 2 – Situation: Speaking in front of others
I felt nervousness when I had to speak in front of a group.
Day 3 – Situation: Waiting
I felt impatience when I had to wait and it took a long time.
Example: Conscious reaction
Day 1 – Reaction: Breathing and listening
I breathed calmly and listened first, instead of reacting immediately.
Day 2 – Reaction: Speaking slowly
I consciously spoke more slowly and concentrated on my words.
Day 3 – Reaction: Practising patience
I told myself, ‘I can wait,’ and continued to wait calmly.
Reflection
Take a look at your observations.
In which situations do your emotions run high?
Which reactions help you stay calm?
What worked well?
You realise: emotions arise automatically – but behaviour can be chosen consciously.
Learning together (recommended)
This exercise works particularly well in groups.
Each person describes:
a strong emotion
a situation
a conscious response
The group brainstorms further possible calm responses.
This fosters a shared understanding:
Everyone experiences strong emotions – and everyone can learn to respond consciously.
The aim of this stage
You recognise strong emotions at an early stage.
You understand the situations in which they arise.
You learn to stay calm and act deliberately.
This strengthens self-control and social confidence.
➡️ If you’re ready, move on to:
Stage 4 – Respect and Rules
Why are rules important? How do I behave respectfully?