Switch Craft: The Hidden Power of Mental Agility

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For eight days Jennifer was held captive. Being a strong, no-nonsense woman, she suppressed her understandable fear and remained calm – closely observing her captors. She noticed an older man who seemed quite intimidating, so she was careful and polite around him. On the other hand, there was a younger man who seemed a bit less confident. Over time you will see yourself develop and grow, and before you know it you will be acting with confidence and agility. About the author This idea of being self-aware – aware of your own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, goals – is the second pillar of switch craft. It is directly related to the first pillar – mental agility – that you learned about in the previous chapter. How can you change to fit the situation if you don’t know your abilities or values? While it may seem like magic, intuition has been shown to be accurate and reliable. Your brain is constantly collecting as much information as possible, and using your prior experiences to make predictions. Even if your conscious mind isn’t aware of it, it is this process that lets you make the right decisions in complex and rapidly-changing situations.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to regulating your emotions, so it’s important to pay attention to the situation and what you are feeling, and then act accordingly. With practice and patience, you can maintain the emotional-awareness required for switch craft. Learn to trust your gut. Professor Elaine Fox, a world-leading psychologist and performance coach has witnessed this time and again. In Switchcraft, she draws on 25 years of scientific research and coaching experience to develop a step-by-step guide to nurturing the skills you need to come out on top in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. This trait relates to how varied and complex your mental life and experiences are, and hence how willing you are to try new things or entertain new ideas. Sound familiar? When dealing with the complicated situation, Jennifer was able to understand and control her own emotions, while also accurately interpreting the emotions of others. It’s in this way that knowing your emotions can give you the agility to take a particular action to achieve the desired goal. Psychology, Personal Development, Health, Fitness, Dieting, Diseases and Physical Ailments, Nervous System Diseases, Behavioral Sciences, Success Self-Help Table of Contents

One way is to simply change the situation. If you are around people who are making you upset, try to get away from them.

But knowing yourself isn’t just about your personality and intellectual humility – you’ll need to reflect on what’s at the heart of your true self: Your beliefs and values. Beliefs are your deepest understandings and views about yourself, others, and the world. If you are honest with yourself, and ask probing questions – about what happened in a particular situation, how you felt and the conclusions you made – you can find your core beliefs. A thought diary helps. Paddi turned his life around by finding a creative and agile response to his stressful situation. This ability – called mental agility – is the first pillar of switch craft. An enjoyable read, with lots of tangible tips for how to become more agile by broadening your experiences and improving your awareness of both internal and external states. As a psychology student, I don't read a lot of 'pop psych' books, but reading this book presented a good opportunity for me to learn more about science communication. Fox has done a great job of integrating psychology theories and research into a book targeted towards a general audience, whilst also including a detailed list of citations/recommended readings at the end for the more academically inclined. It was especially interesting to read the author's summary of research findings relating to 'staying vs. switching' and prediction error, since this relates quite closely to my own research on reinforcement learning. Endless self-help approaches claim to have the answer. It's important to be mindful, we are told, and to stay in the moment. Sometimes, we are advised to keep going no matter what, to be 'gritty'. Others tell us that adopting a 'growth mindset' is key. This heightened understanding of your surroundings will work to enhance your switch craft, and help you make better, more agile decisions in this complicated world. Summary

This book provides straightforward valuable tools and processes for people who have their own hurdles to overcome.’

When you have a good understanding of your beliefs, values, and personality, you can start to truly know yourself. Then when acting with the agility of switch craft, you can be sure that your choices are the best – for yourself. Be in control of your emotions.With that in mind, it is useful to be able to regulate your emotions, so you can react appropriately in a given situation. Sometimes it isn’t helpful to feel a strong emotion, which may cause you to act impulsively. If this is necessary, there are a number of ways you can control your emotions. Jennifer took a calculated risk, and would become angry at this man, shouting and demanding her freedom. She knew that this tactic probably wouldn’t work on the menacing kidnapper, but she figured she could unsettle the softer one. If none of these work, you can adjust your own response. For example, if you find yourself constantly worrying about work, try getting more sleep, changing your caffeine intake, or getting more exercise.

This idea of being self-aware – aware of your own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, goals – is the second pillar of switch craft. It is directly related to the first pillar – mental agility – that you learned about in the previous summary. How can you change to fit the situation if you don’t know your abilities or values? Despite all the external evidence that he was a good guy, Elaine had trusted her gut and gone with her intuition. This kind of situational awareness is essential for making the right decision at the right time, and is hence the fourth and final pillar of switch craft. Values, while related to beliefs, are more of a fundamental moral code that guides you through the world. It’s helpful to visualize values as a direction of travel rather than a goal. What keeps you going? What do you focus on? Think about key themes in your life, such as family, relationships, work, spirituality, and decide what you stand for. When you have a good understanding of your beliefs, values, and personality, you can start to truly know yourself. Then when acting with the agility of switch craft, you can be sure that your choices are the best – for yourself. Drawing on 25 years of scientific research, Fox shares with us her step-by-step guide to what she calls 'switchcraft': the set of skills we need to navigate a complex and uncertain world. Whether it's coping with a difficult boss, overcoming a fear, dealing with hyperactive children, resolving a dispute with a friend or making a difficult choice about where to live or what to do, switchcraft helps us thrive in any situation.

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In these summary, you will learn how to hone your switch craft by building and maintaining its four basic pillars. Through mental agility, self-awareness, emotional control, and intuition you can learn to flourish in this complex and rapidly-changing world. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to regulating your emotions, so it’s important to pay attention to the situation and what you are feeling, and then act accordingly. With practice and patience, you can maintain the emotional-awareness required for switch craft. Discover how expanding and improving your mental agility--your ability to flex your thoughts, feelings, and actions--can transform your life, bolster your resilience, and foster your zest for living. It’s useful to have a good idea of what is considered “normal” in a given situation. In a cafe, for example, you might expect people to be sitting around, relaxing, and drinking their coffee. So if you suddenly realize that the patrons are looking around nervously, you may need to prepare for action. Craft Your Year is my very first craft book, full of loads of different projects to take you all the way through the year covering all of the important occasions that loads of [you] like to celebrate such as Mother’s and Father’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas, plus loads of other things like ideas for cards, home décor bits and decorations.