Imagine you have an important meeting tomorrow. When you wake up, an unexpected situation arises that makes you anxious. Arriving at the meeting, you are irritated. You have trouble concentrating when reading documents and miss something important. You sign the contract and two days later you realize there are some conditions you shouldn’t have accepted. But it’s too late. And you know it’s going to cost you money.
The root cause of this is biology.
Feeling on edge puts us in survival mode (fight or flight). Stress hormones and emotions kick in, and the amygdala takes charge, cutting us off from the prefrontal cortex responsible for rational thinking. So, your thoughts become foggy, tunnel vision sets in, perception is distorted, and you make a mistake you normally could have spotted and avoided.
This is my story, and I have experienced different versions of that scenario many times. In business and in my personal life.
Without the ability to identify and manage our nervous system’s state, our perception is clouded, leading to poor choices. And with business decisions, one mistake made in a dysregulated state may cost thousands.
But when you can recognize your state, because you know how your body feels and reacts, and you know the accompanying emotion, then you have options to act differently and a chance to prevent costly errors. Then you’re not a hostage to your biology.
Because if you find yourself in a dysregulated state, you know what’s happening and have the tools to come back to regulation and be at your best on demand.
60 seconds practice
Like any other skill, it takes practice to learn, but it’s doable and it doesn’t demand life overhauls to be fluent enough to experience a change in how you deal with stress, how you decide, a change in your inner stability and resilience.
The first step is to build awareness of your nervous system state, which starts with noticing:
Breathing: slow and full, or fast and shallow?
Jaw: relaxed or clenched?
Shoulders: soft or raised toward your ears?
Belly: soft and relaxed, or tight and constricted?
Thoughts: clear and calm, or racing and foggy?
It is important not to judge or fix anything. Just notice.
This simple practice is a great and effective tool to begin with. I call it The State Check. Every time you tune in, you strengthen your vagal tone and build the foundation for lasting change.
The nervous system changes states because it’s trying to keep you safe, based on what it learned in the past. The point is to build awareness of your state and retrain your nervous system to act differently. It learns through repetition.
This simple tool will allow you to notice and learn to understand what happens in your body. Repeat it daily, and your nervous system will transform through lived experience, which is the only way it works.
Give it a try today. Consider setting a recurring event in your calendar to tune in three times a day. Just 60 seconds to pause and notice.
I’d love to hear from you: when was the last time a dysregulated state cost you a good decision, a conversation, or peace of mind? Or what’s your go-to way to ground yourself when stress hits?
Just hit reply and let me know. I read every email and respond to each one personally.
Best,
Wojciech
P.S. If you want to make this habit stick, try tying "The State Check" to an existing daily trigger, like taking your first sip of morning coffee, opening your laptop, or right before jumping on a high-stakes call. Building awareness doesn't require extra time, just intentional focus.