STOP BEING EMOTIONALLY HIJACKEDKEY FACTS
The human brain hasn’t had a hardware upgrade in about 100,000 years.
Daniel Goleman, a world-renowned emotional intelligence expert explains
most of us are still acting out of the ancient fight-flight-freeze responses whenit comes to dealing with stress and fear.
The fight-flight-freeze responses (FFFR) are our body’s ancient automatic
survival reaction when faced with life-threatening adrenaline-pumping
situations, such as being attacked by wild animals. Back in the day it waseither hunt to eat or be hunted to be eaten. We either had to fight to survive,
flee to survive or freeze and be still until the danger passed or we were killed.
The FFFR saved lives and got the tribe fed most of the time. So here we are
now in the 21st Century and to the brain a child throwing a tantrum, fear offailure, going to the dentist, being late for work, arguing with your partner, adeath in the family, losing in sport, a looming work deadline, feeling anxious
about meeting new people, speaking in public and a hole in your stocking …
are symbolically another wild animal which is about to attack you.
In the world of your brain, your amygdala registers all these physiologicalstresses and threats as dangerous and life threatening.
Its job is to get you out of there and fast, fast, fast! Your emotional brain is
now running the show and your neocortex, or thinking brain, becomesdisabled and hijacked.

2

Have you noticed that when you are scared, stressed, tired, bored or sick yourthinking, decision-making and behaviour can become quite reactive, irrational,and destructive? You may even think, say and do things you normally would
not, and then on reflection after the event you may have feelings of regret or
shame? It’s like you turn a stupid switch on inside your head as the emotional
hijack is happening.

KEY MESSAGES
Learning healthy ways to manage disruptive and toxic emotions is an
important key to effective and sustainable leadership.
Leaders who are able to reshape the emotional landscape of a potentiallytroublesome situation know that emotions are contagious. They’re skillful andrespectful in the ways in which they are able to manage their own emotions
and those of the teams they work with.
One of many emotional intelligent skill-sets we train people in at the STARS
Institute of Learning and Leadership is a skill we call the Emotional HijackInterrupt©.
It is an elegant strategy that is easy to use even though it may occur as weird
at first. It’s just like wearing in a new pair of running shoes…you have to walkand run in them a while until they feel just right. But once they’re worn in theygive you and your body all the support you need…
The Emotional Hijack Interrupt© has empowered me in all areas of myleadership and life including keeping my marriage strong, being a great Mum,being a rock for my family and actually experiencing a deep compassion andempathy for people even when they challenge me.

HIJACK INTERRUPT – CALMS THE BRAIN
Attached is a diagram called ‘Emotional Hijack Interrupt’ which walks you through;a) What happens during an emotional hijack, andb) How you use the Emotional Hijack Interrupt to;I.

Bring your body back into a state of calmness, relaxation and balance;

II.

Regain control of your neocortex,; the thinking brain, so you have thecapacity to think straight and act in rational ways.

3When you are experiencing an emotional hijack the secret is toSTOP and GET PRESENT to what is happening within yourbody as soon as possible.
Deep breathing is vital to the effectiveness of the Hijack
Interrupt as it has you be present to what is happening.

The Emotional Audit is a set of questions which helps you staypresent, focused on your breathing, supports the relaxation
response to activate and regain your capacity to think rationallyagain.
1. What am I thinking right now?
2. What am I feeling right now?
3. What do I want?
4. How am I getting in my own way?
5. What do I need to do differently now?

We all get hijacked at times, and as leaders we need to get to know ourselves well,
anticipate situations that may be stressful and take preventative measures. In thestressful moments, it is to our advantage to know what we are feeling and thinking then have multiple constructive solutions and skills to handle the emotional highjackand maintain our performance and that of our teams (including family).

Work your way through the Hijack Interrupt and use it daily for the little stresses,
such as being caught in traffic. This consistent action will form a habit and build up
your confidence, resilience and social-esteem. Oh and when the big stuff hits, youwill already be better equipped to manage yourself and others.

4

FURTHER READING
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
Leaders Playbook: How to Apply Emotional Intelligence - Keys to Great Leadershipby R.S. Nadler
Working With Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

Enjoy…

Wendy and Vicki