Mindful in 5 Podcast

Egg, Potato, Or Tea?

• Season 5 • Episode 167

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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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Introduction to Mindful in 5

Spiwe Jefferson

Welcome to Mindful in 5 , where busy professionals find your peaceful oasis to thrive in complex work environments . I am Spiwe Jefferson attorney , certified mindfulness practitioner and author of the Mindful in 5 book series , here to guide you to a clearer , softer and more supported life . Join me and your fellow mindful ninjas as we explore science-backed mindfulness strategies for successful leaders that you can implement , starting with just five minutes a day . Elevate your work , empower your life . Work higher , live stronger . Let's go . Did you know that 83% of professionals say workplace stress follows them home like a shadow ? Well , okay , not the shadow part , but this statistic was cited in a 2013 work stress survey conducted by interviewing over a thousand employed adults by Harris Interactive on behalf of Everest College . On behalf of Everest College , another study found that 54% of workers report that work-related stress negatively impacts their personal lives . Younger generations , such as millennials and Gen Z , are disproportionately affected , with 71% of Gen Z workers scoring poorly on work health metrics . And some of these studies were conducted before COVID , which just exacerbated all the stress that we had already . But here's the question what if that heat could be harnessed to fuel resilience instead of burnout ? Today , we are exploring a provocative question Are you an egg , potato or tea .

Spiwe Jefferson

Meet Chantal Dubois , general Counsel at Sunderland Medical . Every workday she eats the same thing for lunch a sweet potato , a boiled egg and some chicken and a mug of tea . The ritual isn't monotonous for her , it is a masterclass in mindfulness . So let's explain the science of simmering . Chantal's routine hides a metaphor . The egg hardens under boiling water . Like many of us in high-pressure roles ,

Workplace Stress Statistics and Impact

Spiwe Jefferson

eggs represent guardedness . Think deadlines , boardroom clashes or your boss or colleagues unwelcome micromanaging . Do you armor up sacrificing flexibility ? Second , the sweet potato . It softens , absorbing heat to become nourishing . Softness is not weakness . The potato adapts , turning stress into fuel .

Spiwe Jefferson

In the Mindful and Five book we learn that Chantel's husband suffers from PTSD . When it flares , she leans into this flexibility , pulling out her compassion over trying to control his behavior . And then , third , the teabag In Hot Water . And then , third , the teabag In hot water . The teabag transforms its surroundings into something rich and fragrant and delicious . Heat unlocks its hidden potential . Chantal has a mentee , a car VP of sales , who is desperate to learn how to center himself . He represents her team moment in that he helps her turn the workplace stressors and Vukchin into mentorship . That actually improves not just

The Egg, Potato, Tea Metaphor Explained

Spiwe Jefferson

her life but the life of her coworker and , by extension , the people that they touch every day .

Spiwe Jefferson

Okay , so now it's your turn . Let's practice a mindful in five , five-minute boiling point reflection together . If it's safe to do so , close your eyes , let's take a deep breath in , hold it and exhale Again . Deep belly breath , feel your belly expanding , hold it and then exhale , allowing all that tension to release from your body , with your eyes closed . Identify your default . Are you a neck ? Do deadlines make you brittle ? Do you harden ? Do you lash out at your co-workers ? Or are you a potato ? Are you able to channel that stress into creative fuel ? Or are you more like that teabag , altering toxic environments or just floating along and allowing your good vibes and your good spirit to just waft out and positively impact everyone around you ?

Spiwe Jefferson

Now you can rewrite your script based on what you want to be . I say all the time mindfulness is about being present in the moment , without judgment and without being overwhelmed by what's happening around you . That without judgment piece is so critical but so very difficult , because we judge ourselves over just about everything . So you can rewrite your own script . You can decide if you are today an egg or a potato or tea . Decide whether you want to continue to be , whichever one you are . If you are , then keep at it . If

Five-Minute Boiling Point Reflection Practice

Spiwe Jefferson

you want to change it , rewrite that script . You can say something like next time my boss or coworker erupts , I will fill in the blank for how you would like to react , and you can apply this approach to anything that you can predict is going to be a stressor when you get up every day . You can apply it not just to work , but to your household , to your kids . The next time my testy teenager has an eruption , I'm going to decide If you've been doing things that haven't been working . This gives you an opportunity to think clearly , before you get into the heat of the moment , about how else you might like to respond , so that you can try and get a different outcome . And if it doesn't work , that's okay . Keep coming back and sitting in your stillness and coming up with other ways to cope , feeling bad and beating yourself up . If you don't like the way you have been reacting , simply say well , hey , you know what , now I know better , I'm going to do better and just try . Mindfulness is a practice , not a destination . So as long as you have breath in your body , you have another day to practice and do better the next day than you did the day before . So then dive deeper .

Spiwe Jefferson

I invite you to grab a Mindful M5 journal , available on Amazon and in the show notes for this episode . You can use a journal to track your reactions to life's hot water moments . There are two journals available . There are companions to the Mindful in 5 book . What I call the classic edition is a . What color is that journal ? It's black . I had to turn around and look at it . It's a black book with a picture of a journal on the front . And then the God Lovers edition is a blue journal and it's got , I think , a picture of the corners of a number of journals on the front .

Spiwe Jefferson

But journaling can increase the clarity of your thoughts and your convictions and the desires that you have for the alternate behaviors that you would like to exhibit . So if you don't already try journaling , this is something that you might find quite helpful . One of my daughters actually picked up journaling in this season of her life and she is journaling . I think she has journaled every day , actually for a couple of months now , and found it to be incredibly , 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 with some blank sheets of paper in your home , just start there .

Spiwe Jefferson

The Mindful in 5 journals have journal entries and prompts that correspond to the stories in the Mindful in 5 books . Need a little bit more guidance on

Journaling Your Hot Water Moments

Spiwe Jefferson

how to think about your daily life and your thinking . In particular , with the Mindful in 5 series it's organized into three seasons dark , dawn and day to meet you at whatever season of life you are in , and so the journal is also organized in that way . So if you sit down one day and you're like , hmm , I feel like today feels like a dawn kind of day . I'm excited , I'm learning , I'm optimistic , maybe a little bit uncertain about what's to come , maybe a little bit over my skis in terms of the work I have in front of me , then this is the season . You can pick a journal entry from one of the chapters in that season and then you can journal to the prompt . So I invite you finally to take on this challenge for this week For three days .

Spiwe Jefferson

For this week For three days , consider replacing your negative self-talk with something positive , for example , when you might say something like this is too much .

Spiwe Jefferson

You could instead say something like what is this teaching me ? And feel free to sign up at https://www . spiwejefferson . com/ or in the show notes to the Mindful Ninjas email and send me a note and let me know what your aha moments have been . Sometimes I publish those as either testimonials or as feedback that would be helpful to other members of the Mindful Ninja community . So all that to say you don't control the heat , but you always control the transformation . Will tomorrow's fire leave you hardened , softened or infused with purpose ? That is the question that I will leave you to consider for yourself today . I would love it if you would rate and review to help more leaders find clarity in their chaos , and share this episode , if you found it helpful , with somebody who could use a reflection on whether they are an egg or potato or tea . Maybe resist the temptation to tell them what you think they are , just in case they disagree . Until next week . This is Spiwe saying be mindful and be well .

James@DiscovertheVoice

Thank you for listening to Mindful in 5 . If you enjoyed it , share it with a friend , follow and rate it on your favorite podcast platform . Pick up your signed copy of the book and journal from https://www . spiwejefferson . com/ , or unsigned copies from Amazon , Barnes and Noble or wherever you get your books . Visit https://www . spiwejefferson . com/ to download sample chapters of the book , watch videos and become a mindful ninja . Join us on the LinkedIn Mindful in 5 group and share your thoughts . Until next time , be mindful and be well .