“My Demon”: Want To Achieve Do DoHee’s Undefeated Aura? Try These 4 Strategies of Her When Facing Setbacks

Admit it. Whenever you’re emotions are about to burst in a situation where it’s inconvenient to show your feelings, you wish to know how to control them so you can have an undefeated look. You’re not alone; we’ve all been there. Although there are positive benefits when we allow ourselves to feel our negative emotions, it’s not always practical to express those emotions on the spot in some situations. 

Also, giving too much freedom to our emotions can fuel more negative emotions when, for instance, we say hurtful words that we don’t really mean. If we had thought this through, then things might have been different. Sounds like we need strategies the next time setbacks visit us again. Do DoHee’s (Kim YouJung) style of facing problems can definitely help.

Letting your achievements introduce you

When someone negatively judges us, it feels natural to follow our urge to explain. But doing that may spoil the fun of seeing (if not possible, learning) their reaction once they find out the evidence that makes their judgment false. That’s what DoHee did when someone had a wrong impression of her during the CEO of the Year award. 

Letting your achievements fight for you will not only save your time, energy, and voice, but it can also provide you with a look of ‘Prohibiting other people to determine your worth.’

Controlling your reaction to setbacks

Like how DoHee gracefully handled disappointment after learning that Jung GuWon (Song Kang) did not intend to give her a birthday cake. That’s great! So, how can we be graceful in the face of setbacks? According to John Hatcher, content director at State Anxiety, there are four ways to do that. 

First, constantly remind ourselves to accept the news. Second, practice self-compassion to chill out. Third, shake our bodies to soothe our nervous system, and lastly, find people who can support you. These and more can be found via Psychology Today’s “How to Receive Bad News” by John Hatcher.

Refusing to blame yourself and others for the setbacks that you’re experiencing

Gaining the ability to protect yourself from mental traps and the emotional manipulation of negative people must be the sign that you already achieved an undefeated aura. As DoHee said – to her secretary, “I don’t want to become a weak person who blames myself and those around me. That would mean that creep got to me.”

To resist the temptation of blaming, start by working on what you want to feel rather than what you’re feeling; then practice improvement, compassion, and kindness to yourself. These were the advice that Dr. Stosny, a consultant in family violence, shared in Psychology Today.

Fighting negative emotions by doing productive things

“It felt as if I’d get swallowed up if I didn’t work hard. By things like sadness, guilt, self-pity, and so on.” These were DoHee’s answers after she was asked by GuWon, “Why do you work so hard?”

According to neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki, moving our bodies is one of the science-based tools to fight anxiety. DoHee must have really liked its positive effect that she tends to neglect her basic needs (i.e. to sleep, eat, and feel her emotions). We should know that too much disregard for our basic needs can harm our health, as explained in Time Magazine’s “Ignoring Your Emotions Is Bad for Your Health” by Hilary Hendel.

All in all, DoHee’s strategies are rooted in self-love and self-compassion. So we can start there.