Have you ever wondered why 65-degree air feels comfortable but 65-degree water feels cold?
Water is a better conductor of heat than air — about 25 times better. It pulls warmth from your body much faster than air does at the same temperature.
So what do you do if you’re going to swim in cold water for an extended period?
You wear a wetsuit.
The neoprene material is a poor conductor — it insulates you from the temperature around you while still allowing you to move and function.
Most of us operate in conditions that are challenging — not physically, but emotionally.
We face tests from other people:
- Someone gets angry and calls you out
- A colleague cuts corners and expects you to do the same
- Your team is stressed and looking to you for answers
- A client pushes back on your recommendation
- Everyone around you is rushing and you feel pressure to match their pace
These situations have a temperature. And if you’re not mindful, you absorb that temperature immediately. Their stress becomes your stress. Their urgency becomes your pressure. Their anger becomes your defensiveness.
But we all come equipped with a wetsuit. It’s called responsibility. The ability to respond to your surroundings consciously, not just react instinctively.
When you recognize your responsibility, you can observe the pressures around you without being overtaken by them. You can sense the temperature without letting it pull the warmth out of you.
Your wetsuit helps you:
- Keep listening calmly when someone gets upset with you.
- Speak clearly and confidently even when you know it might bother someone
- Maintain composure when everyone else is panicking
- Hold to your standards when others are cutting corners
- Stay curious when someone challenges your thinking
It doesn’t make you cold or unfeeling. You still sense what’s happening around you. You just don’t conduct it straight into your core.
This is more than a defensive layer. It’s a membrane…connecting you to the world around you, so you can honor your values especially when you’re in the thick of the action.
Where in your life would you benefit from a thicker wetsuit? What will it take to develop this layer?
