Taylor Swift Just Did Something She’s Never Done Before. It’s a Powerful Lesson in Emotional Intelligence

Taylor Swift performs during “The Eras Tour” at SoFi Stadium on August 09, 2023 in Inglewood, California. PH๏τo: Getty Images

Taylor Swift is reaching new heights.

Swift officially tops the charts as her newly re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), lands at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. This is Swift’s 13th No. 1 album, and her third top album this year.
But this album is special, because it has accomplished something no other Swift album has done: It sold 1.63 million units in its first week.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) is Swift’s best album debut ever, having handily beaten out the first-week total of the original 1989, which sold just under 1.3 million units).

If 1989 (Taylor’s Version) sounds familiar, it should. It’s the fourth album Swift has re-recorded, following Fearless, Red, and Speak Now, all of which climbed to No. 1, just like the originals.
But if you’re not a Swiftie yourself, you may wonder: How did Swift come up with the brilliant idea to re-record her albums?

The story reveals not only a brilliant business move but a major lesson in emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage emotions. Let’s take a closer look at the backstory, and what you can learn from it. (If you find value in this lesson, you might be interested in my free course, which teaches you how to build emotional intelligence in yourself and your team.)
How to face adversity and move on
To fully understand Swift’s brilliance, we have to go back to 2019. That’s when powerful music executive Scooter Braun purchased Swift’s former label, Big Machine Records, along with the master recordings for Swift’s first six albums.
Swift described the scenario as one she could have never imagined, even in her worst nightmares. She identified Braun as the culprit who, together with his client Kanye West, bullied her online at her “lowest point.”
“Now Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy,” Swift wrote on Tumblr. “Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.”
At this point, though, Swift could have sulked. Or she could have channeled her disappointment and frustration into a song, or maybe even an album.

Instead, she went much further.
Swift quickly came up with a plan: She would record new masters of her old albums, and re-release them. This would enable her to have full control and ownership over her complete musical catalogue.
Additionally, the new albums would include songs from “the vault,” original, never-before-released songs Swift had composed for each album that didn’t make the cut.
In doing so, Swift demonstrated a major principle of emotional intelligence:
She used the difficulty.
When you use the difficulty, you do more than try to live with a challenging situation. Instead, you leverage that situation to produce a positive result–one you likely wouldn’t have come up with otherwise.

Swift didn’t dwell on the fact that years of hard work had gone to the person she considered her victimizer. Rather, she took action. She used her difficult circumstances as a catalyst, as motivation for designing a plan that would allow her to own her music, once and for all.
That plan resulted in mᴀssive value.
If Swift had been able to simply buy out the rights to her original albums, she may never have had the idea–or desire–to re-record those albums and release the original songs from “the vault.”
So, how can you apply these lessons to running your business, or life?
First, a simple “rule” phrase, like “Use the Difficulty,” can help you remember this important principle when it’s most challenging to do so, like when you’re under stress or pressure.
Next, use that framework as a catalyst to answer the following questions:

1. What don’t I have control of in this situation? Of what do I have control?
2. How can I use this perceived disadvantage, setback, or challenge to my advantage?
3. If this were happening to a good friend of mine right now (instead of me), what advice would I give?
4. What can I do right now to move forward?
Take time to really think about these questions. Then, use the answers to guide your next steps.
So, the next time you face a crushing challenge, remember this story, take a page out of Taylor Swift’s book, and use the difficulty.
Because nobody likes adversity. But manage it right, and that adversity can give birth to your greatest ideas–and take you higher than you would have gone without it.