Where do you put your cool?

We’ve all experienced the stress of losing our car keys only to realize they’ve gone missing when we go to grab them as we walk out the door.

Similarly, many of us have experienced “losing our cool” in the heat of a conflict only to become present to the fact that we misplaced our mindfulness after noticing ourselves do or say something that we know is counterproductive.

To prevent losing keys or losing your cool, the strategy is the same.

Put your keys in the same place every day so they’ll be there when you need them.

Put your cool in the same place every day so you don’t lose it in a moment that matters.

Forming any new habit takes a high quantity of high quality reps. For the mind, the equivalent of putting your keys in the same place is to practice daily meditation or regularly take stock of what ease feels like in your body during low stress moments. This builds a familiarigy with ease and cultivates a sensitivity to the moments when tension patterns in your body change.

The more often we do this, the more engrained the habit is and the less conscious the process.

If we notice ourselves regularly losing our keys or losing our cool, we are wise to adapt the habits before we lose our minds.