Last summer I was driving with my super cool nephew (that is he, pictured above, flying an F/A—18F Super Hornet) when he remarked,

“Why are people so quick to step on the brake? They just need to take their foot off the gas.”

Not only has that significantly improved my driving over the past year, it has served as an excellent internal mantra during the world’s recent, sudden downshift.

Now it’s possible some of you read that and rolled your eyes… You might even have thought,

“Is this part of a Saturday Night Live Deep Thoughts skit?”

It can be if you want it to be, but before you write it off consider the overarching benefit of simply taking your foot off the gas as opposed to hitting the brake:

It’s energy-efficient.

Similarly, trusting your forward momentum wastes a lot less energy than fuming, or fussing, or stewing over the collective, worldwide slow down…

Stop hitting the brake just take your foot off the gas.

And—if you’re really feeling feisty—put that extra energy to work streamlining/improving/strengthening your product, idea, or service so that when the world picks up again you are ready to put the gas pedal down.

For more on how to cope when you can’t bend the universe to your will take a look at “Try Softer, Not Harder”