<p>Now, it would have been really easy for me to allow my boss’ negativity to drain my energy and enthusiasm, but because I had no doubt in my skills and had received plenty of feedback that I was doing a good job, I decided to view his harassment not as an obstacle to fulfilling my vision of becoming a coach, but as added fuel to my growing internal fire.</p> <p>Had it not been for his incessant opposition, my desire to work for myself in a field that empowered and inspired people may not have gathered the traction that I needed to successfully make the jump. I may not have found focus required to continue building my business at each important stage of its development. I am grateful for this invaluable on-the-job training. The one-on-one coaching practice that I left my cushy corporate job to pursue has since blossomed into a thriving, multi-million-dollar international business — not because I never encountered adversity, but because I gained the ability to maintain my emotional center in spite of it.</p> <p>In the same way that a radio station or news channel broadcasts&nbsp;on a certain bandwidth that each of us has the ability to tune into, we also have the ability to control the tone and quality of the energy field that we surround ourselves with, no matter how stressful or toxic the environment. So, how do you go about learning this skill?</p>” readability=”73.914893617021″>

Fulton John Sheen once said, “Each of us makes his own weather, determines the color of the skies in the emotional universe which he inhabits.”

Most people would agree that it’s easy to feel good — to have enthusiasm, to be inspired and to find clarity — when the proverbial sun is shining. If you walk into your work environment to discover everyone is working efficiently and cooperatively together, it’s likely that this positive environment will evoke from you a positive response and you, in turn, will find yourself feeling more productive and at ease.

But what if you walk into an environment where others are distracted, unmotivated, mean-spirited or gossipy? Well, if you permit the environment alone to set your emotional tone, your creative energy could easily get derailed, and instead of marching steadily forward toward the realization of your own objectives, you may find yourself putting out fires or allowing the behaviors of others to kill your momentum.

Becoming a leader who takes responsibility for making your own weather — that is, maintaining your own emotional environment — takes some deliberate focus, especially in the presence of those who seem like they will stop at nothing to pull you off track. Roughly twenty years ago, just as I had decided to transition out of a successful career in corporate America to pursue full-time my passion for coaching, I received a crash course in just what it takes to maintain a strong internal focus, even in the face of compelling external opposition.

At the time, I was responsible for training a large sales staff in the skillsets and distinctions that would ensure their success and that of the company. And while I loved my job and received rave reviews from trainees and superiors alike, my boss — who was well known by the others for his micro-managing prowess — seemed bent on making my life at work a living hell. He constantly wrote me up for the pettiest of infractions, rifled through my desk when I wasn’t around, and even revoked vacation time that had been approved months earlier just days before it was to begin.

Now, it would have been really easy for me to allow my boss’ negativity to drain my energy and enthusiasm, but because I had no doubt in my skills and had received plenty of feedback that I was doing a good job, I decided to view his harassment not as an obstacle to fulfilling my vision of becoming a coach, but as added fuel to my growing internal fire.

Had it not been for his incessant opposition, my desire to work for myself in a field that empowered and inspired people may not have gathered the traction that I needed to successfully make the jump. I may not have found focus required to continue building my business at each important stage of its development. I am grateful for this invaluable on-the-job training. The one-on-one coaching practice that I left my cushy corporate job to pursue has since blossomed into a thriving, multi-million-dollar international business — not because I never encountered adversity, but because I gained the ability to maintain my emotional center in spite of it.

In the same way that a radio station or news channel broadcasts on a certain bandwidth that each of us has the ability to tune into, we also have the ability to control the tone and quality of the energy field that we surround ourselves with, no matter how stressful or toxic the environment. So, how do you go about learning this skill?