I want to start this episode with sharing a story my mentor told us that really stuck. She’s one of the most successful businesswomen I know and she was the only woman in a multi-millionaire mastermind group.

So, when it was her turn to introduce herself, she said something that blew everyone away: she makes over 50 million dollars a year but only works three days a week. Naturally, the men in the room were speechless. You can imagine the curiosity—they all wanted to know her secret.

Her answer? It wasn’t about working harder or longer hours. She said, “I know the power of emotions and how important they are to running a successful business. Everything we do, or don’t do, is driven by how we feel.  If you’re not managing your emotions, you will not be as happy and successful as you could be.”

Now, don’t get too hung up on the whole 50-million-dollar thing—that’s not really the point. What’s important is how she’s managed to achieve so much by understanding her emotions and using them to her advantage. And honestly? That’s something anyone can do, no matter how much money you make or how many hours you work.

I wanted to share this with you because it highlights something we don’t talk about enough in accounting: emotions. We’re always told to be logical, stick to the numbers, and just get the job done. But have you ever stopped to think that ignoring your emotions might actually be holding you back?

I get it—talking about feelings might seem a little out of place in a profession where data and logic rule. But here’s the truth: whether you acknowledge them or not, you have emotions all day, every day, and those emotions are affecting you. 

For example, stress leads to procrastination, anxiety makes you double-check your work a thousand times, and those feelings don’t just disappear because we try to ignore them.

Here’s the thing – what if, instead of pushing those feelings aside, you learned to use them to your benefit? Your emotions are sending you signals, and when you tune in to them, they can actually help you be a better accountant, make smarter decisions, and feel less overwhelmed.

What if understanding your emotions could be the key to more happiness and success in your career?  I can tell you this – those men in that multi-millionaire mastermind became very interested in the secret behind the happiness and success of my mentor.

That’s why I want to talk about the thing most accountants ignore at a cost to themselves and explore what we can do to change that.

The Thing Most Accountants Ignore At A Cost To Themselves

Emotions are often pushed aside because, well, we’re taught that they don’t belong at work. A lot of accountants believe that feelings just get in the way and might even mess things up.

The unspoken rule is pretty straightforward: if you want to succeed, leave your emotions out of it. But here’s the thing—thinking like that can backfire more than you’d expect.

I totally get it. Accounting is all about being focused and objective. Your clients and your company rely on you for clear, unbiased information. But that laser focus on numbers and data has created this idea that emotions are a weakness. We end up learning to bury our feelings early on in our careers.

But here’s the real issue: ignoring your emotions doesn’t make them go away. They just get shoved aside and, over time, that can lead to even bigger problems.

One of the biggest dangers of ignoring your feelings is burnout. When you keep pushing down stress, frustration, or overwhelm, those emotions don’t disappear. They build up, and eventually, they’ll impact your health, your relationships, and your job satisfaction.

As we all know too well, burnout is a serious risk in accounting. There’s so much pressure to meet deadlines, juggle complex tasks, and keep clients happy. It’s a lot. 

And if you’re not acknowledging your emotions along the way, you can start to feel drained, unmotivated, and disconnected from your work. That’s when you begin to lose that sense of satisfaction, and it holds you back from reaching your full potential.

The truth? It’s tough to excel when you’re barely hanging on.

But that’s not the only problem. Ignoring your emotions can mess with your decision-making, too. We tend to think that by suppressing our feelings, we’re being more logical. 

But emotions actually play a big role in how we process information and make choices. When you don’t recognize what you’re feeling, those hidden emotions are still steering your decisions—whether you realize it or not.

For example, if you’re anxious about a project but refuse to admit it, that anxiety might make you second-guess yourself or avoid risks you should be taking. On the other hand, if you’re feeling overconfident but don’t acknowledge it, you might overlook important details or take on too much.

Either way, your emotions are still driving your decisions, even if you think you’re being completely logical.

The bottom line is, ignoring your feelings doesn’t help. It doesn’t make you a better accountant, and it can actually do the opposite—leading to burnout, poor decisions, and a general sense of dissatisfaction.

By paying attention to your emotions and understanding them, you can use them to make your work better, instead of letting them drag you down.

Since this is the podcast that blends brain science with accounting, I’m now going to talk about the brain science behind happy, successful accountants..

The Brain Science Behind Happy, Successful Accountants

Your brain isn’t just about logic and reasoning. It’s also responsible for how you feel about everything happening around you. Once you understand how your brain plays into your emotions, you’ll see why feelings are so powerful—and how you can actually use them to your advantage.

Let’s break it down simply: your brain handles emotions like a super-efficient computer. Every single thought you have sends a signal to your brain, and your brain responds with a feeling.

For example, imagine you’ve got an upcoming meeting with a challenging client. Your brain might view that as a threat, which could trigger feelings of anxiety or stress. On the flip side, when you think about finishing a big project, your brain might interpret it as a win, giving you a sense of pride or satisfaction.

What’s happening here is your brain is taking your thoughts—whether you are aware of them or not—and turning them into emotions. So, the truth is that your feelings aren’t random. They’re directly tied to what’s going on in your mind.

And here’s the important part: every emotion you feel is linked to a thought, even if it’s a split-second one.

Now, let’s dig a little deeper. Your brain is incredibly adaptable. One of its superpowers is its ability to form what we call “neural pathways.” Think of these like well-worn trails in your brain. The more you think a certain way or react to something, the stronger that trail becomes. Eventually, it becomes a go-to response for your brain.

For example, if you’re always stressed about deadlines, your brain has probably built a strong connection between deadlines and stress. So, the next time a deadline is looming, your brain automatically triggers those stress-related emotions because it’s used to going down that path.

This is why the same emotions tend to pop up in familiar situations, even when things aren’t exactly the same.

The good news is, once you understand how these pathways work, you can start to change those emotional habits. By becoming more aware of your thoughts and deliberately choosing different ones, you can start creating new pathways that lead to more positive, productive emotions.

One more thing to keep in mind—your brain loves efficiency. It’s wired to respond quickly based on past experiences. This can be helpful, but it can also mean your brain reacts before you’ve had a chance to fully process what’s going on. It’s like your brain is on autopilot, trying to protect you from stress or uncertainty.

But here’s the better news: by understanding this, you can interrupt those automatic responses and start taking control over how you feel and react.

The bottom line is, your brain plays a huge role in how you experience and manage your emotions. It processes your thoughts, builds patterns based on your experiences, and works to keep things running smoothly. But once you’re aware of how your brain operates, you can use that knowledge to get a handle on your emotions and make them work for you.

So here’s a quick tip you can try this week: every morning, take a few minutes to check in with yourself. Ask yourself, “How am I feeling? Am I stressed about something coming up? Nervous about a meeting?” 

Once you identify the emotion, ask yourself what thought is driving it. This simple practice will help you understand how your thoughts affect your feelings—and how to manage them better.

Now that we’ve unpacked how your brain handles emotions, let’s talk about how you can use this understanding to improve your work and your overall career in accounting.

Using The Secret Weapon 

My mission with this episode is to help every accountant rethink how they see emotions. Instead of treating them like obstacles, start thinking of them as tools. Emotions aren’t just random feelings; they’re signals, like little messengers giving you important information.

Once you get that, emotions can actually become a powerful asset—a secret weapon in your accounting career.

So again, at their core, emotions are physical reactions to your thoughts. When you think something, your brain sends signals through your body, creating the feelings we label as emotions.

For example, thinking “I’m not prepared for this” might make you feel nervous or tense, while thinking “I’ve got this” makes you feel calm and confident. These emotions are your body’s way of reacting to your thoughts, giving you real-time feedback on what’s happening in your head.

Why does this matter? Because once you realize emotions are tied directly to your thoughts, you get way more control over how you feel.

This understanding lets you use your emotions as a guide. Instead of seeing them as random or disruptive, you can start viewing them as valuable cues about how you’re handling whatever’s going on around you.

The real power comes from being aware of your emotions. When you’re tuned in to how you feel, you can make more thoughtful choices instead of just reacting automatically.

For example, let’s say you’re feeling uneasy before a big presentation. That’s a perfect opportunity to ask yourself why. What thoughts are behind that unease?

Maybe you’re worried about how the presentation will go or afraid you’ll forget something important. Once you identify those thoughts, you can address them—maybe by rehearsing more or reminding yourself of past presentations that went well.

In this way, your emotions become a tool to help you prepare and do your best.

Here are some simple steps to make the most of your emotions:

Step 1: Pinpoint the Emotion. Start by figuring out exactly what you’re feeling. Are you stressed, excited, frustrated? Naming the emotion brings clarity and helps you understand what’s really going on.

Step 2: Trace the Source. Once you’ve identified the emotion, ask yourself, “What thought is causing this feeling?” It might take some digging, but by linking your emotions to your thoughts, you can get a better understanding of what’s driving them.

Step 3: Leverage the Insight. Now that you know the thought behind the emotion, think about how you might shift your thinking. This isn’t about forcing yourself to be positive all the time, but choosing thoughts that support your goals. For instance, changing “This project is too much” to “I can break this down into smaller steps” can totally change how you approach it.

By looking at emotions as valuable feedback, you can use them to make better decisions and be more effective at work. Emotions aren’t just something you manage—they’re something you use.

When you understand and work with your emotions, you’re not just reacting to everything around you. You’re actually shaping how you experience life and how you respond to it.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Becoming a Happy, Successful Accountant

Let me share a story from one of my coaching clients. She was a Tax Manager who seemed successful on the outside but was struggling big time behind the scenes. She was constantly stressed and overwhelmed, especially with all the tight deadlines and pressure that come with her role.

Her way of dealing with it? She tried to push those feelings aside. She figured that as an accountant, emotions just weren’t part of the job. But that mindset led her straight to burnout. She was exhausted, unmotivated, and feeling totally stuck in her career.

When we started working together, we focused on changing how she viewed her emotions. Instead of treating them like obstacles, she began to see them as important signals that could actually guide her actions.

We worked on identifying what she was feeling and the thoughts behind those emotions. She realized that she was telling herself things like “I’m not capable” or “What if I fail?”—and those thoughts were driving her stress. By acknowledging those thoughts, she could start challenging them and replacing them with more helpful ones.

This simple shift made a huge difference. Instead of letting stress take over, she began to see it as a sign to manage her thoughts. Once she realized that paying attention to her emotions was the key to feeling happier and more successful, she could spot those unhelpful thoughts her brain was throwing at her and shift them.

As she started feeling better, she noticed her actions became more effective. Her stress levels dropped, and her confidence went up. She started taking on bigger responsibilities and making real progress in her career.

It wasn’t long before she broke free from the burnout cycle and regained her motivation. By learning to use her emotions as a tool, she was able to make better decisions and find more fulfillment in her work.

So, if you think emotions don’t belong in accounting, think again. If you want a career that’s not only sustainable but also makes you happy and successful, you need to pay attention to how you’re feeling.

This is the secret weapon no one else is talking about—but I am.

At the end of the day, emotions aren’t a weakness. They’re a huge part of what makes you both human and effective at your job. You already have the skills to be a great accountant, but mastering your emotional awareness is what’s going to take you to the next level.

Before we wrap up, let me leave you with this: Don’t underestimate the power of your emotions. They’re not something to push aside—they’re your body’s way of telling you what matters.

Start paying attention to how you feel, understand the thoughts behind those feelings, and use that awareness to guide your actions. When your emotions are aligned with your goals, you’ll start achieving more with less effort.

Remember, success isn’t just about working hard—it’s about working smart. And that starts with understanding yourself.

Now, let’s wrap this up with a key takeaway and a quick action step to help you start applying this today.

Key Takeaway and Action Item

Here’s the big takeaway: understanding and embracing your emotions can be a total game-changer for your success in accounting. Instead of ignoring or pushing your feelings aside (which, let’s be honest, we’ve all done), start recognizing them as valuable pieces of information. 

Your emotions are telling you something important—something that can guide your decisions, improve your performance, and ultimately help you feel happier and more fulfilled in your career.

Think of it this way: your emotions are like your internal GPS. If you pay attention to them, they can help you navigate challenging situations, figure out where you might need to adjust, and keep you on track toward your goals. But if you ignore them, you might end up feeling stuck, stressed, or like you’re constantly spinning your wheels.

So here’s your action step for this week: take a few minutes each day to check in with yourself. Ask, “How I am feeling right now and what thoughts are driving those feelings?” It could be stress, excitement, frustration—whatever comes up. Once you identify the emotions, dig a little deeper and figure out the thoughts behind them.

Maybe you’re stressed because you’re thinking, “I’ll never get this done in time.” Or maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed because the thought, “I can’t handle all of this,” is running through your mind. Whatever it is, just notice it.

Then ask yourself, “How do I want to feel and what thoughts can I think on purpose to feel that way?”

By doing this simple check-in, you’ll start to see how much power your emotions have to help you, rather than hold you back. You’ll begin making decisions that feel more aligned with who you are and what you want to achieve, and you’ll notice that your work starts feeling a little easier, a little more manageable.

The more you practice this, the more you’ll see how understanding your emotions isn’t just something “nice” to do—it’s essential for working smarter, not harder. So give it a try this week and see how tuning into your emotions can shift the way you work, and also make you a happier accountant.

Well, that’s what I have for you.  Thank you for joining me as I discussed the hidden secret behind happy, successful accountants.  I hope you’ve learned something that you can begin to apply in your career or in your personal life.

As I share all the time, you worked hard to become an accountant; it’s time to make it easier to be one.

So if you are struggling with any aspect of being an accountant, you can simply go to www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar and book a free session with me.

And make sure you check back each week as I help you go from being a stressed accountant to a Smarter Accountant.

Make sure you go to www.thesmarteraccountant.com and take The Smarter Accountant Quiz. You’re going to want to know if you’ve been underutilizing your accountant brain so that you have a starting point for becoming a Smarter Accountant..

Also, I would appreciate it if you could get the word out to other accountants about this podcast.  The more accountants find out about it, the more we can begin to change the narrative in the accounting profession.

The truth is that you’re already smart, but this podcast will show you how to be smarter.