Growth Instigators Hotline
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Growth Instigators Hotline
#468 A Tree. Bend in the wind
Picture a palm tree leaning into 180 mph winds, bending so far you think it might snap, then rising tall the moment the air settles. That image reframes what strength really looks like when life throws sudden force at us. We explore why flexibility outlasts rigidity, how resilience is built before the storm, and what simple tools let you respond instead of react when pressure surges.
We start with the palm-versus-oak contrast to make resilience tangible. Oaks are imposing but brittle in extreme conditions; palms flex, absorb, and recover. That difference mirrors how our nervous systems work under stress. When adrenaline spikes, breath shortens and the heart races. Rather than muscling through, we walk through a practical approach: use the body to calm the mind. You’ll learn a straightforward box breathing sequence—four seconds in, four hold, four out, four hold—that stabilizes oxygen levels, lowers heart rate, and helps your brain exit panic mode. With a calmer physiology, choices return, perspective widens, and you can act with intention.
From there, we build a simple resilience toolkit you can reach for when the winds pick up: noticing early signals of overload, naming the feeling to cut through mental fog, and reframing the next ten minutes around what you can influence. We offer grounding ideas like five-sense check-ins, a short centering phrase, and a pause rule before responding in heated moments. None of this removes the storm, but together these habits let you bend without breaking and stand back up when calm returns.
If the winds are rising in your world, try the breathing practice with us and start your own list of go-to tools. Then share what works for you. Subscribe for more Growth Instigators Hotline messages, rate the show to help others find it, and send us your favorite resilience techniques—we’d love to hear them.
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Welcome to message 468 of the Growth Insigators Hotline, where we examine an everyday normal object and assign it a deeper meaning. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach. What can a tree remind us of today? Palm trees look like nothing special until Hurricane Force winds test them. Oak trees, nah, they're tall, they're beautiful, they're glorious and all their grandeur, but they will snap in winds. Palm trees though. Oh, we've all seen videos or pictures of how much they bend and sway when tested. When 180 mile an hour winds hit them, they just bend and groove. Looks like they're having a little fun, like a little dance. They pop back up when the atmosphere calms down. Standing straight and tall, proud. Is that you? I mean, we all have our breaking point. The point where our fibers just can't stay bonded together anymore and we snap. Hopefully, though, life has taught us resiliency, the ability to stand the tests and not to find our end. Some tests we don't think we're gonna make it through. We're like, how are we gonna make it through it? Yet here we are. Here you are, my friends. So when the winds come, and they do, they will, how have you learned to find calm or at least your center? What are a couple techniques that you have developed to help mit navigate the hurricanes in life? When we see a tree today, may remind us that we are strong and we have the tools and experience to ride out the next storm. Ah, one of the tools I have is box breathing. It's one of my techniques. Breathe in for four seconds. Pause for four seconds. Exhale for four seconds and pause for four seconds. Something about controlling oxygen controls your heart rate, and yeah, probably controls your blood pressure, keeps us sharp and focused and calm in the 180 mile an hour winds. What are a few tools you've learned to help navigate the winds of life? Thank you for tuning in today. You can listen to any of our past podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. If you have thoughts you'd like to share with me, I'd love to hear them. Contact me at growth instigators.com or leave me a message after the beep. My friends, keep instigating growth in all you do.