Finding Calm in the Storm: Lessons From the Field and the Boardroom
Most people think resilience is about working harder, grinding longer, and pushing through until the pressure finally breaks.
But here’s the paradox: the harder you push against pressure, the more it pushes back.
I used to believe the answer was more hours, more coffee, more grit. Until I learned the real trick wasn’t to wrestle with pressure at all—it was to stay calm right in the middle of it.
Meditation isn’t about silence. It’s about chaos.
NFL quarterback Baker Mayfield was once spotted meditating before kick-off. Not in a quiet yoga studio. Not in a retreat with incense and chanting.
He was sitting cross-legged in a stadium, with 70,000 fans screaming their lungs out.
That’s the point. Meditation isn’t about candles and quiet rooms. It’s about training your mind to stay sharp when the world is at its loudest.
Elite athletes use it because it gives them an edge:
Laser focus when it matters most
Access to flow state on demand
Less choking under pressure
Faster recovery, stronger resilience
And truthfully? Anyone in a high-pressure job needs the same thing.
Because whether it’s the stadium, the ER, the trading floor, or the boardroom—it’s just another arena.
How I manage myself when the storm hits
I don’t have 70,000 people screaming at me, but I do know what it feels like to walk into a room where the stakes are high and every eye is on you.
In those moments, my best weapon isn’t my preparation or my slides. It’s my breath.
One tool I lean on is called The Breathing Ladder:
Exhale → count “one”
Next exhale → “two”
Keep climbing to 10… then back down.
Lose track? Start again.
It’s simple. It’s brutal. And it works.
The first few rounds, my mind fights it—thinking about what’s next, what’s at risk, what could go wrong. But as the numbers rise and fall, the noise starts to settle. My body follows. My thoughts sharpen.
Suddenly, I’m not battling the storm anymore—I’m right in the middle of it, calm.
The takeaway
If you can’t control your breathing, you can’t control the room.
It’s not about being unshakeable. It’s about having a way back to center when life shakes you.
The field. The boardroom. The operating theater. The classroom. Whatever your arena looks like—remember this: pressure doesn’t break you. Losing focus does.
So the next time the chaos is loud, count your exhales. Climb the ladder.
Calm isn’t the absence of pressure. Calm is performing through it.
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