Under stress, our ability to think almost vanishes, even for the most experienced among us.

Originally posted on LinkedIn on 04 Sept 2025

Under stress, our ability to think almost vanishes, even for the most experienced among us.

In leadership and in life, we like to believe we will rise to the occasion. In reality, stress strips away clear thinking, and we fall back on the habits we have built.

That is why habits matter. When pressure mounts, the mind does not rely on clever ideas or quick problem solving. It relies on what has been practiced.

As a SCUBA diver, I have learned this in a very real way. Imagine being 20 meters underwater when your mask gets knocked off. Panic floods in as quickly as the water. In that moment, no amount of quick thinking will save you. But if you have practiced the habit of calmly clearing your mask again and again, your body just does it. You breathe, you stay calm, you stay alive.

Divers who have been through emergencies often say the same thing afterward: what saved them was not quick thinking, it was a habit drilled into them through practice.

Good habits save you under pressure. What habits are you building today that you can count on when stress takes away your ability to think?