From vigilant firefighter to serene surfer.

I attended a CAMA (Canadian Agri-food Marketers Alliance) workshop last week hosted by Dave Hardy and David Lazarenko from Think Shift called How to Succeed When Chaos Is the Only Constant.

There was a lot of good material in it, but the idea that really stuck with me is the shift from a control mindset to an agency mindset.

I’ve realized that I naturally default toward control. (And I’m not sure if that’s a cause or result of my anxiety…feels a little “chicken or egg?”)

A few years ago, my coach Susan Doerksen Castro pegged me as operating like a “vigilant firefighter.” Always scanning for problems. Anticipating threats. Reacting quickly. Trying to prevent sparks before they became fires.

My goal, she said, was to become more like a “serene surfer.”

At the time, I wanted it…but I wasn’t so sure it was going to make me successful. Now, I’m bought in.

Because a control mindset isn’t very curious or flexible. It gets rigid. Defensive. It flares when something feels threatening. And the problem is, if your nervous system is wired that way, everything eventually starts to feel threatening.

An agency mindset feels different. It recognizes that you can’t control markets, people, uncertainty, politics, algorithms, or outcomes. But you can control how you respond within them.

You can stay curious instead of rigid.
Flexible instead of locked in.
Responsive instead of reactive.

You can ride the wave better.

And honestly? It’s just so much better for your nervous system.