Try jumping on a trampoline, on concrete, and on a sofa. You’ll quickly see different results, even with the same effort. Those are conditions. 

Each condition helps you achieve something different. Is your goal to get as high as possible, as steadily as possible or to create the safest landing?

As you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you’re already trying your best. Of course, you see ways you can improve, but you’re not sure how you can get there yet. Here are some conditions that can help you make your efforts go further:

Stories: There is always more than one side to a story. How can you tell a useful story about your experience? When you’re getting closer to a useful story, you’ll know it because you’ll feel more open-minded, energized, light, expansive, and action-oriented. You can’t change the facts about a situation, or other people’s opinions of it, however you can change what it means to you. Sometimes, a good first step is finding a better question to ask.

Focus: Once you’ve found a useful story, how can you remind yourself of it? If you’re mindful, you can choose what to focus on. Even just a few seconds of space can snap you out of distraction, and into focus. Bonus: One way to snap into focus is to change your physical environment.

Agreements: What agreements have you explicitly and implicitly made with the people around you? What have each of you trained the other to do? The more intentional you are with the agreements you make and re-make with other people, the more things will start to work. For example, deciding to work as a full-time employee or as an independent contractor are two different agreements. 

Systems: What rituals, routines, and practices do you maintain? What work relies on you to get done, and what doesn’t? How can you get other people involved to help you? What tools are you using? How can you increase the output with the same input, or achieve the same output with less input? How can you feel more energized? A chore’s only a chore until you tell a useful story about it.

Relaxation: What can you do to push yourself to the limits as little as possible (i.e., create more slack)? Stress is inevitable, how can you find and practice a sense of calmness? Fear, anger, and paranoia are not sustainable sources of fuel. When in doubt, bring yourself to the present moment, and focus on what is in front of you.