March 10, 2025 • 13 mins
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Let’s be honest: work stress isn’t going anywhere. The key isn't to avoid it, but learn how to manage it in a way that works for you — and the first step is self-awareness. Are you like an egg that hardens under pressure, a potato that softens and becomes flexible, or a tea bag that transforms its surroundings?
In this episode, learn what your stress response says about you and how to manage stress in a way that fosters growth and resilience. Plus, follow along with a simple mindfulness exercise to increase self-awareness, avoid burnout, and make meaningful changes to your workday!
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- Download Mindful in 5 Sample Chapters
- Pick up your Mindful in 5 Book and Journal from Amazon
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Spiwe Jefferson (00:08):
Welcome to Mindful in 5, where busy
professionals find your peacefuloasis to thrive in complex work
environments.
I am Spiwe Jefferson attorney,certified mindfulness
practitioner and author of theMindful in 5 book series, here
(00:29):
to guide you to a clearer,softer and more supported life.
Join me and your fellow mindfulninjas as we explore
science-backed mindfulnessstrategies for successful
leaders that you can implement,starting with just five minutes
a day.
(00:49):
Elevate your work, empower yourlife.
Work higher, live stronger.
Let's go.
Did you know that 83% ofprofessionals say workplace
stress follows them home like ashadow?
Well, okay, not the shadow part, but this statistic was cited
(01:11):
in a 2013 work stress surveyconducted by interviewing over a
thousand employed adults byHarris Interactive on behalf of
Everest College.
On behalf of Everest College,another study found that 54% of
workers report that work-relatedstress negatively impacts their
(01:32):
personal lives.
Younger generations, such asmillennials and Gen Z, are
disproportionately affected,with 71% of Gen Z workers
scoring poorly on work healthmetrics.
And some of these studies wereconducted before COVID, which
just exacerbated all the stressthat we had already.
(01:53):
But here's the question what ifthat heat could be harnessed to
fuel resilience instead ofburnout?
Today, we are exploring aprovocative question Are you an
egg, potato or tea.
Meet Chantal Dubois, generalCounsel at Sunderland Medical.
(02:16):
Every workday she eats the samething for lunch a sweet potato,
a boiled egg and some chickenand a mug of tea.
The ritual isn't monotonous forher, it is a masterclass in
mindfulness.
So let's explain the science ofsimmering.
(02:38):
Chantal's routine hides ametaphor.
The egg hardens under boilingwater.
Like many of us inhigh-pressure roles, eggs
represent guardedness.
Think deadlines, boardroomclashes or your boss or
(03:01):
colleagues unwelcomemicromanaging.
Do you armor up sacrificingflexibility?
Second, the sweet potato.
It softens, absorbing heat tobecome nourishing.
Softness is not weakness.
The potato adapts, turningstress into fuel.
(03:25):
In the Mindful and Five book welearn that Chantel's husband
suffers from PTSD.
When it flares, she leans intothis flexibility, pulling out
her compassion over trying tocontrol his behavior.
And then, third, the teabag InHot Water.
And then, third, the teabag Inhot water.
(03:49):
The teabag transforms itssurroundings into something rich
and fragrant and delicious.
Heat unlocks its hiddenpotential.
Chantal has a mentee, a car VPof sales, who is desperate to
learn how to center himself.
He represents her team momentin that he helps her turn the
workplace stressors and Vukchininto mentorship.
(04:12):
That actually improves not justher life but the life of her
coworker and, by extension, thepeople that they touch every day
.
Okay, so now it's your turn.
(04:33):
Let's practice a mindful infive, five-minute boiling point
reflection together.
If it's safe to do so, closeyour eyes, let's take a deep
breath in, hold it and exhaleAgain.
(04:56):
Deep belly breath, feel yourbelly expanding, hold it and
then exhale, allowing all thattension to release from your
body, with your eyes closed.
Identify your default.
(05:17):
Are you a neck?
Do deadlines make you brittle?
Do you harden?
Do you lash out at yourco-workers?
Or are you a potato?
(05:40):
Are you able to channel thatstress into creative fuel?
Or are you more like thatteabag, altering toxic
environments or just floatingalong and allowing your good
vibes and your good spirit tojust waft out and positively
impact everyone around you?
Now you can rewrite your scriptbased on what you want to be.
(06:06):
I say all the time mindfulnessis about being present in the
moment, without judgment andwithout being overwhelmed by
what's happening around you.
That without judgment piece isso critical but so very
difficult, because we judgeourselves over just about
everything.
(06:26):
So you can rewrite your ownscript.
You can decide if you are todayan egg or a potato or tea.
Decide whether you want tocontinue to be, whichever one
you are.
If you are, then keep at it.
(06:48):
If you want to change it,rewrite that script.
You can say something like nexttime my boss or coworker erupts
, I will fill in the blank forhow you would like to react, and
you can apply this approach toanything that you can predict is
(07:12):
going to be a stressor when youget up every day.
You can apply it not just towork, but to your household, to
your kids.
The next time my testy teenagerhas an eruption, I'm going to
decide If you've been doingthings that haven't been working
.
This gives you an opportunityto think clearly, before you get
(07:36):
into the heat of the moment,about how else you might like to
respond, so that you can tryand get a different outcome.
And if it doesn't work, that'sokay.
Keep coming back and sitting inyour stillness and coming up
with other ways to cope, feelingbad and beating yourself up.
(08:07):
If you don't like the way youhave been reacting, simply say
well, hey, you know what, now Iknow better, I'm going to do
better and just try.
Mindfulness is a practice, nota destination.
So as long as you have breathin your body, you have another
(08:30):
day to practice and do betterthe next day than you did the
day before.
So then dive deeper.
I invite you to grab a MindfulM5 journal, available on Amazon
and in the show notes for thisepisode.
You can use a journal to trackyour reactions to life's hot
(08:50):
water moments.
There are two journalsavailable.
There are companions to theMindful in 5 book.
What I call the classic editionis a.
What color is that journal?
It's black.
I had to turn around and lookat it.
It's a black book with apicture of a journal on the
(09:10):
front.
And then the God Lovers editionis a blue journal and it's got,
I think, a picture of thecorners of a number of journals
on the front.
But journaling can increase theclarity of your thoughts and
your convictions and the desiresthat you have for the alternate
(09:33):
behaviors that you would liketo exhibit.
So if you don't already tryjournaling, this is something
that you might find quitehelpful.
One of my daughters actuallypicked up journaling in this
season of her life and she isjournaling.
I think she has journaled everyday, actually for a couple of
(09:55):
months now, and found it to beincredibly, incredibly helpful.
So, however you choose to do it, even if you don't pick up a
Mindful in 5 journal.
If you've got a booklet withsome blank sheets of paper in
your home, just start there.
The Mindful in 5 journals havejournal entries and prompts that
(10:19):
correspond to the stories inthe Mindful in 5 books.
Need a little bit more guidanceon how to think about your
daily life and your thinking.
In particular, with the Mindfulin 5 series it's organized into
three seasons dark, dawn andday to meet you at whatever
(10:44):
season of life you are in, andso the journal is also organized
in that way.
So if you sit down one day andyou're like, hmm, I feel like
today feels like a dawn kind ofday.
I'm excited, I'm learning, I'moptimistic, maybe a little bit
uncertain about what's to come,maybe a little bit over my skis
(11:04):
in terms of the work I have infront of me, then this is the
season.
You can pick a journal entryfrom one of the chapters in that
season and then you can journalto the prompt.
So I invite you finally to takeon this challenge for this week
(11:25):
For three days.
For this week For three days,consider replacing your negative
self-talk with somethingpositive, for example, when you
might say something like this istoo much.
You could instead say somethinglike what is this teaching me?
(11:46):
And feel free to sign up athttps://www.
spiwejefferson.
com/ or in the show notes to theMindful Ninjas email and send
me a note and let me know whatyour aha moments have been.
Sometimes I publish those aseither testimonials or as
feedback that would be helpfulto other members of the Mindful
(12:08):
Ninja community.
So all that to say you don'tcontrol the heat, but you always
control the transformation.
Will tomorrow's fire leave youhardened, softened or infused
with purpose?
That is the question that Iwill leave you to consider for
(12:29):
yourself today.
I would love it if you wouldrate and review to help more
leaders find clarity in theirchaos, and share this episode,
if you found it helpful, withsomebody who could use a
reflection on whether they arean egg or potato or tea.
Maybe resist the temptation totell them what you think they
(12:54):
are, just in case they disagree.
Until next week.
This is Spiwe saying be mindfuland be well.
James@DiscovertheVoice (13:04):
Thank you for listening to Mindful in
5.
If you enjoyed it, share itwith a friend, follow and rate
it on your favorite podcastplatform.
Pick up your signed copy of thebook and journal from
https://www.
spiwejefferson.
com/, or unsigned copies fromAmazon, Barnes and Noble or
wherever you get your books.
Visit https://www.
(13:25):
spiwejefferson.
com/ to download sample chaptersof the book, watch videos and
become a mindful ninja.
Join us on the LinkedIn Mindfulin 5 group and share your
thoughts.
Until next time, be mindful andbe well.
Welcome to Mindful in 5, where busy
professionals find your peacefuloasis to thrive in complex work
environments.
I am Spiwe Jefferson attorney,certified mindfulness
practitioner and author of theMindful in 5 book series, here
(00:29):
to guide you to a clearer,softer and more supported life.
Join me and your fellow mindfulninjas as we explore
science-backed mindfulnessstrategies for successful
leaders that you can implement,starting with just five minutes
a day.
(00:49):
Elevate your work, empower yourlife.
Work higher, live stronger.
Let's go.
Did you know that 83% ofprofessionals say workplace
stress follows them home like ashadow?
Well, okay, not the shadow part, but this statistic was cited
(01:11):
in a 2013 work stress surveyconducted by interviewing over a
thousand employed adults byHarris Interactive on behalf of
Everest College.
On behalf of Everest College,another study found that 54% of
workers report that work-relatedstress negatively impacts their
(01:32):
personal lives.
Younger generations, such asmillennials and Gen Z, are
disproportionately affected,with 71% of Gen Z workers
scoring poorly on work healthmetrics.
And some of these studies wereconducted before COVID, which
just exacerbated all the stressthat we had already.
(01:53):
But here's the question what ifthat heat could be harnessed to
fuel resilience instead ofburnout?
Today, we are exploring aprovocative question Are you an
egg, potato or tea.
Meet Chantal Dubois, generalCounsel at Sunderland Medical.
(02:16):
Every workday she eats the samething for lunch a sweet potato,
a boiled egg and some chickenand a mug of tea.
The ritual isn't monotonous forher, it is a masterclass in
mindfulness.
So let's explain the science ofsimmering.
(02:38):
Chantal's routine hides ametaphor.
The egg hardens under boilingwater.
Like many of us inhigh-pressure roles, eggs
represent guardedness.
Think deadlines, boardroomclashes or your boss or
(03:01):
colleagues unwelcomemicromanaging.
Do you armor up sacrificingflexibility?
Second, the sweet potato.
It softens, absorbing heat tobecome nourishing.
Softness is not weakness.
The potato adapts, turningstress into fuel.
(03:25):
In the Mindful and Five book welearn that Chantel's husband
suffers from PTSD.
When it flares, she leans intothis flexibility, pulling out
her compassion over trying tocontrol his behavior.
And then, third, the teabag InHot Water.
And then, third, the teabag Inhot water.
(03:49):
The teabag transforms itssurroundings into something rich
and fragrant and delicious.
Heat unlocks its hiddenpotential.
Chantal has a mentee, a car VPof sales, who is desperate to
learn how to center himself.
He represents her team momentin that he helps her turn the
workplace stressors and Vukchininto mentorship.
(04:12):
That actually improves not justher life but the life of her
coworker and, by extension, thepeople that they touch every day
.
Okay, so now it's your turn.
(04:33):
Let's practice a mindful infive, five-minute boiling point
reflection together.
If it's safe to do so, closeyour eyes, let's take a deep
breath in, hold it and exhaleAgain.
(04:56):
Deep belly breath, feel yourbelly expanding, hold it and
then exhale, allowing all thattension to release from your
body, with your eyes closed.
Identify your default.
(05:17):
Are you a neck?
Do deadlines make you brittle?
Do you harden?
Do you lash out at yourco-workers?
Or are you a potato?
(05:40):
Are you able to channel thatstress into creative fuel?
Or are you more like thatteabag, altering toxic
environments or just floatingalong and allowing your good
vibes and your good spirit tojust waft out and positively
impact everyone around you?
Now you can rewrite your scriptbased on what you want to be.
(06:06):
I say all the time mindfulnessis about being present in the
moment, without judgment andwithout being overwhelmed by
what's happening around you.
That without judgment piece isso critical but so very
difficult, because we judgeourselves over just about
everything.
(06:26):
So you can rewrite your ownscript.
You can decide if you are todayan egg or a potato or tea.
Decide whether you want tocontinue to be, whichever one
you are.
If you are, then keep at it.
(06:48):
If you want to change it,rewrite that script.
You can say something like nexttime my boss or coworker erupts
, I will fill in the blank forhow you would like to react, and
you can apply this approach toanything that you can predict is
(07:12):
going to be a stressor when youget up every day.
You can apply it not just towork, but to your household, to
your kids.
The next time my testy teenagerhas an eruption, I'm going to
decide If you've been doingthings that haven't been working
.
This gives you an opportunityto think clearly, before you get
(07:36):
into the heat of the moment,about how else you might like to
respond, so that you can tryand get a different outcome.
And if it doesn't work, that'sokay.
Keep coming back and sitting inyour stillness and coming up
with other ways to cope, feelingbad and beating yourself up.
(08:07):
If you don't like the way youhave been reacting, simply say
well, hey, you know what, now Iknow better, I'm going to do
better and just try.
Mindfulness is a practice, nota destination.
So as long as you have breathin your body, you have another
(08:30):
day to practice and do betterthe next day than you did the
day before.
So then dive deeper.
I invite you to grab a MindfulM5 journal, available on Amazon
and in the show notes for thisepisode.
You can use a journal to trackyour reactions to life's hot
(08:50):
water moments.
There are two journalsavailable.
There are companions to theMindful in 5 book.
What I call the classic editionis a.
What color is that journal?
It's black.
I had to turn around and lookat it.
It's a black book with apicture of a journal on the
(09:10):
front.
And then the God Lovers editionis a blue journal and it's got,
I think, a picture of thecorners of a number of journals
on the front.
But journaling can increase theclarity of your thoughts and
your convictions and the desiresthat you have for the alternate
(09:33):
behaviors that you would liketo exhibit.
So if you don't already tryjournaling, this is something
that you might find quitehelpful.
One of my daughters actuallypicked up journaling in this
season of her life and she isjournaling.
I think she has journaled everyday, actually for a couple of
(09:55):
months now, and found it to beincredibly, incredibly helpful.
So, however you choose to do it, even if you don't pick up a
Mindful in 5 journal.
If you've got a booklet withsome blank sheets of paper in
your home, just start there.
The Mindful in 5 journals havejournal entries and prompts that
(10:19):
correspond to the stories inthe Mindful in 5 books.
Need a little bit more guidanceon how to think about your
daily life and your thinking.
In particular, with the Mindfulin 5 series it's organized into
three seasons dark, dawn andday to meet you at whatever
(10:44):
season of life you are in, andso the journal is also organized
in that way.
So if you sit down one day andyou're like, hmm, I feel like
today feels like a dawn kind ofday.
I'm excited, I'm learning, I'moptimistic, maybe a little bit
uncertain about what's to come,maybe a little bit over my skis
(11:04):
in terms of the work I have infront of me, then this is the
season.
You can pick a journal entryfrom one of the chapters in that
season and then you can journalto the prompt.
So I invite you finally to takeon this challenge for this week
(11:25):
For three days.
For this week For three days,consider replacing your negative
self-talk with somethingpositive, for example, when you
might say something like this istoo much.
You could instead say somethinglike what is this teaching me?
(11:46):
And feel free to sign up athttps://www.
spiwejefferson.
com/ or in the show notes to theMindful Ninjas email and send
me a note and let me know whatyour aha moments have been.
Sometimes I publish those aseither testimonials or as
feedback that would be helpfulto other members of the Mindful
(12:08):
Ninja community.
So all that to say you don'tcontrol the heat, but you always
control the transformation.
Will tomorrow's fire leave youhardened, softened or infused
with purpose?
That is the question that Iwill leave you to consider for
(12:29):
yourself today.
I would love it if you wouldrate and review to help more
leaders find clarity in theirchaos, and share this episode,
if you found it helpful, withsomebody who could use a
reflection on whether they arean egg or potato or tea.
Maybe resist the temptation totell them what you think they
(12:54):
are, just in case they disagree.
Until next week.
This is Spiwe saying be mindfuland be well.
James@DiscovertheVoice (13:04):
Thank you for listening to Mindful in
5.
If you enjoyed it, share itwith a friend, follow and rate
it on your favorite podcastplatform.
Pick up your signed copy of thebook and journal from
https://www.
spiwejefferson.
com/, or unsigned copies fromAmazon, Barnes and Noble or
wherever you get your books.
Visit https://www.
(13:25):
spiwejefferson.
com/ to download sample chaptersof the book, watch videos and
become a mindful ninja.
Join us on the LinkedIn Mindfulin 5 group and share your
thoughts.
Until next time, be mindful andbe well.
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