Whether or not this strategy of emotional manipulation contributed to her release eight days later, it certainly empowered her and helped her through the stressful ordeal. And her agile and creative response highlights the third pillar of switch craft: Emotional awareness. 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.

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. On the other hand, those who were happy and thriving were able to think about negative things without experiencing all the other negative biases. In other words, they were more agile in their thinking, leaving them in a more open and flexible frame of mind. A good start is to expose yourself to as many different experiences as possible. The more data you have to draw from, the more useful your response will be in a new or complex situation. Sara added: "It’s always been an aspiration of mine to bring out a book in craft, and it’s something that I’ve been asked about too so I hope you love it!"What can you do to train this mental agility? Try paying attention to when you feel annoyed or upset and see if you can find other ways to interpret these negative situations. Maybe you’re bothered about a friend who is always slow to stay in touch with you. Sure, you can interpret that as her not wanting to see you, but there are always more positive explanations. Maybe she is too busy, or thinks that you are. 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

One way is to simply change the situation. If you are around people who are making you upset, try to get away from them. 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.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. A feeling that turned out to be accurate. A few weeks later the boyfriend came to Elaine’s flat in a fit of rage, demanding to know where Jenny was. He stormed off after punching a hole through the screen door, before disappearing into the night. A few days and police interviews later it was discovered that the charming boyfriend had been on the run after a series of rapes in California. To be able to try new things, you need to realize that your beliefs and opinions might be wrong, and sometimes changing your mind is a good thing. This so-called “intellectual humility” can be nurtured in a number of ways. Firstly, try to listen carefully when you hear something you don’t agree with, without interrupting or ridiculing. Second, keep in mind that your ability isn’t fixed and unchangeable – change and improvement is always possible. Finally, celebrate your failures. Use them as learning experiences, and take those lessons on board. This book provides straightforward valuable tools and processes for people who have their own hurdles to overcome.’

Note: this Switchcraft fandom wiki is run and maintained by fans for fans, and is NOT sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Wooga GmbH. Meet Paddi Lund. Paddi spent 10 years setting up and running an expansive and hugely successful dental practice in Brisbane, Australia. On paper his life should have been perfect – he was financially well-off and his business empire was thriving. Yet, Paddi was profoundly miserable. All emotions are important. Yes, even the negative ones. When you feel angry or scared, for example, that’s your body telling you that you need to focus on a particular issue and make some sort of change. This is essential for adapting to a changing situation. On the other hand, positive emotions like joy, hope, or pride, can leave you motivated and inventive, making you more able to thoroughly think through your decisions, or switch tasks as required.When it comes to successful intuition, context is key. If you are sensitive to what’s going on around you, then your gut feelings are going to be more reliable.

We are surrounded by uncertainty. We are constantly bombarded with choices, then left to wonder how things could have been different. What if we had married a different person? Chosen a different career? Even simple day to day decisions can leave us overwhelmed. Discover how expanding and improving your mental agility can transform your life, bolster your resilience, and foster success. 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 heightened understanding of your surroundings will work to enhance your switch craft, and help you make better, more agile decisions in this complicated world.The research on personality is extensive, though the current consensus is that it should be seen as a spectrum along five broad traits – conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. While all of these are useful to know, it’s this last one – openness to experience – which is particularly important when it comes to switch craft. In the summer of 1984, Elaine Fox was working as a chambermaid in a New York hotel. There, she became good friends with a girl called Jenny. One afternoon, Elaine bumped into Jenny at the beach – along with Jenny’s new boyfriend. She immediately felt that something was wrong. He was very handsome, charming, and friendly, yet Elaine couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable and wary around him. There was a subtle hostility in the way his eyes lingered. He didn’t do or say anything intimidating – it was just a feeling.