The 90-Second Secret That Could Transform How You Handle Stress

Have you ever felt hijacked by your emotions—like a wave of frustration, fear, or shame that seems to take over your body before you even realize it’s happening? It's easy to feel that way with all the chaos in the world right now.

But what if there was a way to interrupt these patterns before they set in create a mood?

An opportunity for choice

There’s good news. Neuroscience tells us that emotions, in their purest form, only last about 90 seconds. After that, if the emotion continues, it’s because we’re feeding it with our thoughts.

That’s the essence of a powerful insight shared by neuroscientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and featured in this excellent article from Psychology Today: The 90-Second Rule Builds Self-Control.

This 90-second window is not just fascinating—it’s empowering. Think about the implications! It means we can train ourselves to pause, observe, and interrupt the mental spiral before it becomes a full-blown emotional storm. This awareness and choice is what creates emotional intelligence and helps us take an active role in what we want to create and how we want to show up in our lives. The breath is a great way to access the pre-frontal cortex instead of the primitive brain. The more you repeat this, the less reactive you are to your triggers—resulting in lower stress levels and greater resilience.

Awareness is one of the key tenants in our UnshakableMe® programs, we don’t bypass hard emotions—we learn how to meet them with awareness. We explore how our thoughts shape our reality and how we can choose again, even in the midst of chaos, uncertainty, or old patterns.

Give it a read, then take a deep breath—and remember: it only takes 90 seconds to hit the reset button and come back to yourself.

This practice is powerful and is just the tip of the iceberg of what's possible for you.

If you are interested in finding out more about our UnshakableMe programs, click the link below to learn more.

I Want To Respond To Life Instead of React!