How often do you allow someone else's behaviour, opinions or decisions to dictate how you feel?

One of the most important skills you can develop in life is emotional control. Yet so many people spend their days giving other people control over their emotional state. Someone makes a comment, criticises you, disagrees with you or treats you poorly, and suddenly your mood, attitude and behaviour change.

The reality is that nobody has the power to control your emotional responses without your participation.

You cannot control what other people say, think or do. You cannot control whether they respect you, agree with you, appreciate you or treat you fairly. You can, however, develop the ability to recognise your emotional reactions, understand what is driving them and decide how you respond.

This requires self awareness, emotional intelligence and personal responsibility.

It also requires you to stop making other people responsible for your happiness, frustration, anger or disappointment. When you constantly blame someone else for how you feel, you surrender control over something that should remain your responsibility.

This doesn't mean accepting unacceptable behaviour, tolerating disrespect or allowing people to walk all over you. It means recognising that you can establish boundaries, make decisions and take action without allowing someone else's behaviour to dictate your internal state.

In this episode of The Strong Life Project, Shaun O'Gorman explores the importance of emotional ownership, personal accountability and developing the psychological strength to respond rather than react.

If you want to become a stronger leader, build healthier relationships and perform at a higher level, learning to manage your emotional responses is essential.

You cannot always control what happens around you. You