KAIZEN FOR LIFE

Our emotions have a 90 second automatic response. 90 seconds. When we react to something or something happens, our automatic, habitual emotional response only lasts 90 seconds. After 90 seconds – it’s on us. After 90 seconds, we’re choosing to hold onto whatever emotion it is. We’re choosing to let that emotion win, to rule over us, to be in charge.

For example, let’s say you just got home from work and go to eat a piece of your leftover birthday cake, but it’s not there – your partner ate the last slice. You become angry and frustrated. The first 90 seconds of this response is your natural, automatic reaction. After that – you are holding yourself in a state of anger and frustration and only you can be the one to get yourself out of it.

Now this is much easier said then done. In the moment, when you’re experiencing said emotion – it is a lot harder to be present and realise that you are experiencing this emotion and causing yourself to hold onto it. But over time, with practice we can learn to not let it control us – to give ourselves the 90 seconds to be angry that our precious birthday cake is gone. Then once those 90 seconds are up, we can choose to move forward, to realise that there is no point holding on to this anger or frustration as it is already done and cannot be changed. The cake cannot become uneaten. But there will always be another cake in the world.

Using and observing ourselves with the 90 second rule not only helps us to see and realise the things that truly matter in life, but it also helps us to acknowledge and give ourselves time to feel our emotions and then helps us to let them go so that we can move forward and accept them or do something about them.