The power of quick transitions.

Our default programming is for our emotions to rule us, and it is destructive.

I get it—life is hectic. My family is single-income, we've got a toddler with another on the way and I'm juggling a business + a 9-5. Here's the non-negotiable, though…

We can't afford to let our emotions be guided by the pressures of the different areas of life.

Think of this stress like mud on your boots—without care, you end up trudging through life, leaving muddy footprints everywhere. We owe it to our peers, families & selves to be able to bounce back fast.

How do we do that, though? It can be exhausting wearing our many hats: parent, leader, worker, lover, friend, human, etc..

The art of quick transitions happens through mastery of awareness and practice. They allow us to sit on a call, dealing with a dumpster fire project & angry stakeholders. Or, on a job site working with a site superintendent hellbent on blaming you for every little thing.

When we leave that meeting, or close the door of our car to go home… we pause. We take a moment to process these thoughts, and through mastery, we set them aside. Then, we swap our hat from worker to whatever-comes-next.

Awareness

Our first job is to be aware, and it's a tricky business.

The more clever you are, the more likely you are to fall prey to intellectualization. You think because you can grasp a concept, it's the same as living it.

Not so, my friend.

This won't be a short journey either, but when has anything worth doing been easy?

My favourite pair of research-backed methods to cultivate awareness are journaling & mindfulness. As these gain popularity, it's easier than ever to find the perfect book, teacher, app or prompt to guide you. No need to struggle through it alone.

Journaling

This simple act gives your mind a signal that you're actively paying attention to what it wants to show you. If you're new to the practice, here's a simple way to get started:

Grab your Notes app, a Google Doc or your trusty old pen and paper.

• Morning. Write down 10 thoughts. Whatever you want, emotions you're feeling or ideas you want to explore, maybe tasks. Just dump your brain onto the paper.
  
  

• Evening. Rate the day from 1-10. Write down three wins from today, three things to work on tomorrow and one lesson or takeaway.

Want to go a level deeper?

Review & curate these once a week, then curate the weeklies once a month, and the monthlies once a year. You'll be floored by the changes in your thoughts & your writing ability.

We can change nothing about how our emotions rule us, without first being aware of them. I know of no greater tool than journaling, because of it's simplicity and effectiveness!

Mindfulness

Evidence is mounting, study after study, that paints a vivid tapestry—the art of being mindful is the highest return-on-investment activity we can make. It teaches us to be present, aware & grateful. At the same time, it teaches us to not judge our emotions, but rather witness them and see what we can learn from them.

I like to think of mindfulness as three distinct pieces: intention, attention & attitude.

• Intention. If you're reading this, welcome to intention. This is our desire to grow and become the best version of ourselves. Choose to be present, to put your phone down, to close the door on past & future thoughts. Choose to cultivate awareness.
  
  

• Attention. Attention is when we put our intention into practice. Make a conscious effort to get off auto-pilot and master your mind. This is the key to quick transitions - you choose to step away, rather than to dwell.
  
  

• Attitude. Through the practice of intention & attention, we can change our perspective. It's shifting our thoughts from "I have to go to work today..." to "I get to do x y z today." or "I get to build this cool thing today." Otherwise known as practicing gratitude.

The goal is to be able to recognize triggers and stressors. We begin to act with intent, not allowing ourselves to waste the present moment by dwelling on what was, or what will be—these things have their time in the spotlight, and it's not now.

For the beginner, there's no better place to start than with the app Headspace.

If I thought I could build a better "mousetrap", I'd do it… but Headspace is simply phenomenal. Guided, short exercises to teach you to be mindful, in a structured & easy-to-digest format.

Mastery comes with time

It's impossible to master our emotions, with all the stresses we juggle daily, without putting in practice.

Practice is how we choose to live, the things we focus on, and the work we put in to life. These words—awareness via journaling + mindfulness, even exercise & diet—these aren't trophies to earn. You can't win, there's no such thing as being done. The journey becomes the destination, via practice.

These things are the undercurrents of all else we do, whether you're building an app, starting twelve micro-businesses or juggling a 9-5 while building a coaching business and raising a family.

They give us the foundation to succeed, by grounding us with perspective, contentment and focus.

A warning: tomorrow means never.

I spent a few years starting and stopping my fitness routine, & my meditation practice. It was all too easy to have a bad day and say, "tomorrow, I'll give it another go."

If we don't practice on the bad days, we won't be able to benefit from these tools on the bad days.

The secret I've since found is to focus on incremental gains—what baby step can I take towards my goal? For adopting mindfulness, it's often a quick bullet journal or tuning into a 10-minute Headspace session. Low friction, low commitment and immediately impactful.

Nothing will happen by accident, or overnight... but it wouldn't be worth it if it did. Before long, a warm light will follow you everywhere you go, and the clouds will part before you!

Maybe not that last bit, but still, give this a go. It's the best tool in my belt for mastering resilience—something we all desperately need in 2024.