How To Master Your Emotions in 90 Seconds & Save Yourself From Regret

How do you usually react when you're angry? Have you ever regretted saying something in the heat of the moment? Today, Jay talks about the transformative power of the "90-Second Rule," a life-changing technique that can help you choose your response in moments of intense emotion. Have you ever acted in the heat of the moment and later regretted it? Jay explores how 90 seconds can be the difference between reacting impulsively and responding with intention. Inspired by Viktor Frankl's quote, "Between stimulus and response, there is a space," Jay unpacks the concept that this small window of time holds the key to our growth, freedom, and ability to create better outcomes in our lives. He shares personal stories, practical tips, and scientific insights to help you harness the power of this technique, including deep breathing exercises, mindfulness practices, and ways to recognize and label your emotions. In this episode, you'll learn: How to control your emotions in stressful moments How to apply the 90-second rule to avoid impulsive reactions How to recognize and label your emotions accurately How to practice mindfulness in moments of frustration How to take a 90-second break to reset your mindset By allowing yourself those 90 seconds to breathe, reflect, and choose your response, you create the space to align with your values and intentions. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 02:17 It’s About How You Respond to Situations 06:27 The 90-Second Rule 11:55 #1: Set a Timer 13:05 #2: Do an Internal Weather Report 13:47 #3: Check-in with Your Body 18:01 Sadness Last Longer than Other Emotions 20:53 We Repeat What We Reward See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Jay Shetty?

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• 0:45Jay Shetty?

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• 1:28Jay Shetty?

  and it's clinically shown to enrich the gut microbiome. For a limited time, save 20% on your first subscription order of AG1 Next Gen or AG1 Pro at drinkag1.com/onpurpose. That's drinkag1.com/onpurpose. This episode is brought to you by Vinted. Value can be found anywhere, even in the clothes sitting untouched in our closets. That's where Vinted comes in. Vinted is a secondhand marketplace app where you can sell clothes you no longer want and get more value out of them. Whether you're running out of space, moving, or simply updating your wardrobe. Listing items is a quick and simple process and once something sells... Vinted creates a prepaid shipping label for you.

• 2:12Jay Shetty?

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• 2:42Jay Shetty?

  Let's be honest, life is stressful. It's work, it's relationships, and the state of the world. But there's a way to bring that stress level down. Calm. It's the number one app for mental wellness with tons of content to manage anxiety, promote concentration, and help you unwind. There's music, meditation, and more. Calm makes it easy to de-stress. You can literally do a one-minute breathing exercise. Personally, I love the soundscapes. Nothing like a little rain on leaves to help soothe my nervous system. I've actually been working with Calm for a couple of years now, and I'd love for you to check out my series on reducing overwhelm. Eight Short Practices, Quick Relief.

• 3:24Jay Shetty?

  Right now, listeners of On Purpose get forty percent off a subscription to Calm Premium at calm.com/jay. That's C-A-L-M dot com forward slash J-A-Y. For forty percent off, calm your mind, change your life. Ninety seconds could be the difference between saying what you mean or saying something mean. Ninety seconds could be the difference between losing someone you love or showing someone how you want to love them. Ninety seconds could be the difference in what the next nine weeks or nine months may look like.

• 4:07Jay Shetty?

  Ninety seconds of sitting with the emotions in your body, allowing them to settle, will actually give you an awareness of what you're actually experiencing.

• 4:17Speaker 01

  The number one health and wellness podcast.

• 4:20Speaker 02

  Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. He won, the only Jay Shetty.

• 4:26Jay Shetty?

  Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the place you come to become happier, healthier and more healed. My name's Jay Shetty and I'm so thankful to be back with you. Now, I recorded this theme for an episode of my daily Jay on Calm. If you're not using calm to find balance, to find meaning, to meditate and practice mindfulness daily, definitely check it out. And it inspired a longer episode over here. So, there's a quote that I absolutely love from Viktor Frankl, the groundbreaking psychologist and Holocaust survivor. And the quote goes like this,

• 5:08Jay Shetty?

  "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." Let me say that again. "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." Now, we've heard this principle probably a few times before. The idea that it's not about what happens to you, it's about how you respond. It's not about what's going on around you,

• 5:53Jay Shetty?

  it's what you're able to do with it. It's not about what the world throws at you, but what you decide to do with it. And if you think about it, if someone throws something at you, you have a choice. You can catch it and almost make it a part of yourself. You can dodge it and allow it to flow past you. Or you can catch it and throw it back to try and create pain on the other person's behalf as well. We always have a choice. But what happens is that as time goes on, as we get busier, as we reflect less, as we focus less on why these things happen, what's happening around us,

• 6:38Jay Shetty?

  and as we just feel more overwhelmed, we lose the ability to choose our response. And when we lose the ability to choose our response, we potentially lose our ability to, according to Viktor Frankl, have growth and freedom, two things that I think are extremely important. Now, in the Daily J episode, I talked about an experience I had where I was driving home. It was a beautiful day, the sun was out, and I was playing some awesome music. And then all of a sudden, a car came out in front of me, truly just cut me off by surprise, like I was really scared that we were about to have an accident. I braked really, really hard.

• 7:22Jay Shetty?

  I could feel some anger because it was so, like, I can't tell you how close it was. And I really, really felt like it was, you know, seconds apart, tiniest space from leading to a big accident, which not only would have affected me, but would have affected them as well. And I'm sure you've had this experience, right? I'm sure you've had this experience where someone cuts you off, something happens, maybe in traffic, you get really, really angry, and you're feeling this tension, you're feeling this stress, and you might even wanna, you know, like, get out and talk to the driver. Some of you may get really angry. And maybe you've felt this before, and maybe you've acted on it.

• 8:06Jay Shetty?

  Now, I didn't act on it that day, but maybe you've acted on it. And I find that maybe you've acted on it, maybe you've said something you didn't mean, maybe you've made a comment that you didn't want to say, maybe it was with your partner, maybe it was with your child, right? Maybe your child was just annoying you, and you said something that you wished you didn't say. And then after that, you regret it, you feel bad about it. It's not how you wanted to act, it's not what you wanted to do. But how do we stop that from happening? How many times have you had it where you got angry, passionate, aggressive, and said something you didn't want to, or did something you didn't want to because of the heat of the moment? Because of the emotion you were feeling?

• 8:50Jay Shetty?

  And the emotion felt real in the moment, and it was. But you acted on it, and now you look back and think, "I wish I never said that. I wish I never did that." Maybe some of you have this voice in your head before you go to bed, saying, "Could have done that better, right? Could have been better." Now, neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor describes something she calls "response-ability", meaning we largely have the ability to choose how we respond to what's happening in the outside world. And she says it helped her understand something called the 90-second rule. Now, I love this, and this is what this episode is about, this 90-second rule.

• 9:34Jay Shetty?

  Now, when I was driving and my brain sensed danger, my body released adrenaline, which is designed to help me focus and get ready for action. That's how I was able to avoid an accident. But after I took action, I still felt agitated because my emotions were triggered along with my survival instincts. And all the chemicals associated with those emotions take about 90 seconds to dissipate. As long as I didn't feed the emotion, if I stopped myself from amping it up further, then the chemicals would die down. On the other hand, if I'd started yelling and screaming, my brain would have released more anger signals, and the feeling would have continued.

• 10:18Jay Shetty?

  So what changed for me is I took some deep breaths and allowed the chemicals and the feeling to pass, right? Now, as I dive into this topic, I want to be really clear. This isn't about avoiding emotions. This is about subverting those knee-jerk responses that don't represent the person we want to be. When we say or do things we later regret. This is about buying time so we can be more conscious and intentional. So that the action we do take aligns with our values and beliefs. So here's how I want you to think about it. What we're trying to do in this moment is we're trying to buy ourselves time. So that we don't go and create more pain.

• 11:02Jay Shetty?

  So that we don't go and create more stress. Right? If you catch something that someone throws at you and throw it back at them. It continues the cycle. If you catch it and make it a part of you, it continues the cycle. If you dodge it, you allow it to go past you, although it does have an impact on you. So how do we do that in a real life situation? Three deep breaths take about 10 seconds. So in 90 seconds, we can take 27 deep breaths. This is a great number to count up to, to put it in your mind's eye. Count to 27 as you breathe in and breathe out. This 90 second rule allows you to understand

• 11:45Jay Shetty?

  that chemically, if you allow this to pass in 90 seconds. You have the ability now to truly choose how you respond. It's almost like for 90 seconds, you're controlled. You're influenced. You're going to act in a way that may not be you. That may not be aligned with who you are or what you prioritize or what you believe to be valuable. It's just 90 seconds. And so many of us give away amazing relationships. Break or blemish partnerships, friendships, whatever it may be. Because we don't want to wait 90 seconds. That's how I want you to think about it.

• 12:25Jay Shetty?

  90 seconds could be the difference between finding a solution and losing a friendship. 90 seconds could be the difference between saying what you mean or saying something mean. 90 seconds could be the difference between losing someone you love. Or showing someone how you want to love them. 90 seconds could be the difference in what the next nine weeks or nine months may look like. 90 seconds of sitting with the emotions in your body.

• 13:04Jay Shetty?

  Allowing them to settle will actually give you an awareness of what you're actually experiencing. You may find that what was first anger is actually disappointment. You may find that what was first frustration is actually now angst. You may find that was once quite aggressive is actually a still and calm emotion. And when we're able to master those ninety seconds, we can actually cope better with surprises. Now, listen to this. If you're prepared, next time you hear a surprise, something comes along and shocks you, let it settle for ninety seconds. Because chances are, your initial response won't be helpful. Now, this is different in a

• 13:49Jay Shetty?

  in a fight or flight situation, right? In the car accident situation, I'm happy that this kicked in and that I didn't have time for ninety seconds to think through this. Similarly, in a place of physical danger, it's great to avoid this. But when it comes to more mental, emotional challenges, this can save us a lot of headaches. Ninety seconds could save you from ruining the next nine weeks or nine months of your life. Ninety seconds could save you from ruining one of your best relationships. Ninety seconds could protect you from reacting in a way that isn't aligned with who you are and who you want to be.

• 14:35Jay Shetty?

  Now, here's the way I want you to think about how to actually put the ninety second rule into practice. The first thing is set a timer. When you're going through something like this, set a timer and watch that countdown. It's almost like doing a plank, if you've ever done plank position in a workout, and you know you've got sixty seconds, ninety seconds to do it, and you're just waiting there. You might be in pain. You might be sucking in your core and then trying to loosen it. You might be trying to cheat a little bit on the sides, but you're sticking it out for those 90 seconds. Treat it that way. Turn on a timer.

• 15:14Jay Shetty?

  Have a 90 second timer ready to go so that you know you're allowing the chemicals to go down naturally. Because chances are in those first 90 seconds, you call someone up, you tell them how it's going, you now exacerbate it. Right? You start texting someone frantically, you now exacerbate it. So we're constantly extending our overwhelm. We're constantly extending our anxiety, extending our stress, advancing our pain. When actually, we could deal with it in a much more healthy way.

• 15:46Jay Shetty?

  This episode is brought to you by Indeed. I know how important every hire is for a business. If you need to make the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed sponsored jobs helps find quality candidates when you need the most. You can reach who you need based on whatever criteria you're looking for, like skills, certifications, or location. In fact, people are finding quality hires on Indeed right now. In the minute I've been talking to you, companies like yours made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indeed data worldwide. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast.

• 16:29Jay Shetty?

  That's indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. We talk a lot about intentional decision making, and that extends to the practical stuff too. Like making sure your coverage actually works for your life. State Farm is there to meet you where you are, and they know how sweet it is to feel good about your decisions. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with a personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings, and eligibility vary by state.

• 17:12Jay Shetty?

  This episode is brought to you by Whole Foods Market. If you're talking about quality food, you can't forget Whole Foods Market, who've been holding themselves to the highest standards since they opened in 1980. That means you'll see thousands of organic products across their stores, from the produce department to the aisles. It also means you'll never see certain ingredients. They've banned artificial sweeteners and colors, high fructose corn syrup and more, so you can shop with peace of mind. Shop Whole Foods Market in-store or online. The next thing is take a moment to do what I call an internal weather report. Right? Where's it feeling cloudy?

• 17:56Jay Shetty?

  Where's it feeling rainy? Remember, we're not avoiding our emotions. We're feeling them, we're letting them be there. We're just not acting on them, that's the difference. Right? We're just not reacting. We're allowing time to go past so that we can respond. If you act straight after experiencing something, that is a reaction to what happened. If you allow the 90 seconds to pass, you now received it and now you're responding. I think another great tool is to check in with your body. It's asking yourself, "What's going on in my body right now? What am I thinking about?

• 18:39Jay Shetty?

  Right? How am I feeling?" You're almost learning to observe your body and mind. This also allows us to not make it personal. Often, the reason why we react so frantically, aggressively, passionately is because we take everything very personally. These 90 seconds allow for you to not make it personal and just observe yourself experiencing these emotions. And especially, notice the physical and mental emotions you experience. A lot of us don't realize, when we pretend like we're not experiencing anything, it actually gets stored in the body.

• 19:21Jay Shetty?

  And we don't want that to happen. We don't want stress to get stored in the body.

• 19:27Jay Shetty?

  I've already mentioned inhaling and exhaling can actively relax tense areas of the body and mind. And this is probably one of my favorite ways. Noticing and naming the emotion is a really important thing. I found that being able to label how you feel, especially things that come about more often than others, is a really healthy way. Like, for example, I know that before I go on stage, I often feel nervous. But I call that my stage nervousness. I know that that's my anxiety that I'm experiencing because I care about what's happening. So I've labeled it care anxiety. Anxiety for when I care. People always ask me, Jay, do you still get nervous before you go on stage?

• 20:11Jay Shetty?

  And I say, yes, always, because I care. I get nervous when I care. So when I get nervous now, I know it means I care and I've labeled it that way. And that way, I know that I'm safe because I care about what I'm doing. I believe in what I'm doing, and that's a beautiful thing for me to remember. It's the same feeling, but the labeling has helped me understand it differently. And I want you to think about how you can label your emotions differently as well. Now, notice how these 90 seconds require a lot of stillness. If you're driving fast, you can't spot anything on the road. You may miss a sign. You may miss the animals in the field. You may miss a billboard. When you're driving fast, you miss everything.

• 20:58Jay Shetty?

  When we're moving fast, when we stay busy, when we ignore these 90 seconds, we keep moving fast, you will miss so many signals from your body. Every day, we miss so many signals from our body. Every day, we miss so many signals from our mind.

• 21:19Jay Shetty?

  Because every day, our body and mind is trying to protect us, trying to help us, and trying to encourage us to learn. But we miss out on all of that because we're moving fast. Because we're moving at a pace where we believe we can't slow down. And for this ninety seconds, when you choose to just slow down for ninety seconds, you stop yourself reacting from a fast car. And instead, you learn to respond in slow motion. It's almost like when you're in slow motion, you can actually see things for what they are.

• 22:02Jay Shetty?

  Right? If you're driving slowly, you can see what's in the distance. You can see what's in the foreground.

• 22:10Jay Shetty?

  You can make out the distance between things. Just slow down for ninety seconds before you react or respond. Maybe get a message and it triggers you. You get an email and it makes you feel nervous and anxious. Instead of responding immediately, instead of reacting, instead of taking a screenshot and sending it to someone and reacting to it, take ninety seconds. That's all you need to do. Take ninety seconds and let it slowly dissipate organically. Now, some emotions are different than others. I saw a study on the Mail Online that said sadness lasts two hundred and forty times longer than other emotions.

• 22:54Jay Shetty?

  In this recent study that I read on the Mail Online, researchers surveyed two hundred and thirty-three young adults from a Belgian high school with an average age of seventeen and found emotions vary widely in duration. They said of the twenty-seven emotions studied, sadness lasted the longest, whereas shame, surprise, fear, disgust, boredom, feeling touched, irritation, and relief were the shortest duration emotions. Emotions that lasted longer were associated with more important event triggers as well as more reflection about the feelings and the consequences of the event that prompted the emotion. Now, why am I sharing this?

• 23:39Jay Shetty?

  I'm sharing this because I realized this a while ago. When something bad happens, we cry for a month. When something good happens, we celebrate for a night. Remember to share your wins as much as you share your losses. If something goes bad, you're likely to tell ten people. If something goes well, you might tell one. There's a reason why we submerge ourselves in sadness more than we immerse ourselves in greatness. It's because we've practiced over and over and over again to dive deep into our pain

• 24:21Jay Shetty?

  and swim shallow in our pleasure. Right? We actually swim shallow when it comes to amazing experiences. Maybe you'll post on social media, maybe you'll share one line. You have a very shallow experience with the good things in your life and a very deep experience with the bad things in your life. Try to take a moment to acknowledge today the good that you've done. I'm sure it was so easy at the end of the day to judge yourself, to shame yourself and to guilt yourself at the end of the day. I'm sure it was so easy to make yourself feel bad. I wish I did that better. I could have done that better. I made a mistake on that.

• 25:05Jay Shetty?

  I should have been smarter, I should have been faster, I should have been quicker. Why didn't I know that? Right? This is how we talk to ourselves. We're so good at making ourselves feel bad. But making yourself feel bad will never lead to you doing good. Right? Let me say that again. We're so good at making ourselves feel bad. But making ourselves feel bad will never create good in our lives. We repeat what we reward.

• 25:39Jay Shetty?

  We repeat what we reward. If we reward ourselves for good action at the end of the day, we'll repeat it. If you recognize that today you made it to forty-five seconds before responding, you'll repeat that. You're moving in the right direction. But if you make it all about the mistakes you made today, and how you're so far behind, guess what? You'll repeat that because we become familiar with that emotion. We become familiar with that action. So what I want you to do when you're having a tough conversation, tell your partner, hey, let's just take a ninety-second break. If you receive an email from your boss and you're struggling how to respond, take a ninety-second break.

• 26:26Jay Shetty?

  If you woke up in the morning and you're feeling a certain way, give yourself a ninety-second break. A ninety-second break could be the difference between you breaking and responding with ease. That's literally all it will take, and I really, really hope that you'll try out the ninety-second rule.

• 26:49Jay Shetty?

  I want you to reflect on how you normally respond to a stimulus that stirs up challenging emotions. Do you usually just rush into a reaction? Do you allow those emotions to build? What could you do to create more space so you can respond with intention? I think this will make a huge difference in your life. It will make a huge impact on what's possible, and it will save you from so much stress and pain. Remember, I'm forever in your corner and always rooting for you. If you loved this episode, you're going to love my conversation with Matthew Hussey

• 27:30Jay Shetty?

  on how to get over your ex and find true love in your relationships.

• 27:35Speaker 03

  People should be compassionate to themselves, but extend that compassion to your future self. Because truly extending your compassion to your future self is doing something that gives him or her a shot at a happy and a peaceful life.

• 27:49Speaker 01

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