There are episodes in my career I’m not proud of. Most have something in common: I lost my cool. More accurately, I let myself be driven by an emotional response to a stressful situation.
I’m not alone. Harry kicked off episode 31 of Traction Heroes with a story from his career where he did something “graceless” (his word!) that — if given the chance — he wouldn’t do again.
We’ve all been there. But I believe Harry and I have become better at managing these situations. How? That was the focus of our conversation. Harry brought a short reading from Henry Shukman’s Original Love:
We have become more adept at grounding ourselves in the here and now. If emotions come up, then we disentangle the threads of inner experience more deftly. Thoughts and feelings can be overwhelming when they come braided together, especially when they proliferate.
It’s easier to bring attention to body sensation, to contractions in the torso, and to sight, sound, and breath, in order to return to the here and now, rather than being lost in stories and emotions. To do this requires a lowering of defenses: a small but significant opening of the heart.
If the reading doesn’t give it away, the secret is meditation. Shukman is an American Zen Master who teaches mindfulness through various channels, including books and an app called The Way.
As I mentioned during the episode, meditation is one of the most important skills I’ve learned. My longstanding meditation practice has changed how I attend to whatever is happening — and that’s fundamental to gaining traction.
Check out our conversation for more.