It’s the Season of Awe and Wonder...and Better Performance
- Julie Jones
- 57 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The holiday season has a way of holding two truths simultaneously. It can feel meaningful and warm, yet fast, loud, and emotionally full.
It’s the season of wonder…and AWE…if we’re smart!
In psychology, awe isn’t just a pleasant emotion. It’s a measurable state that changes how our brain and body function. Research by Dacher Keltner and colleagues shows that awe arises when we experience something larger than ourselves and our brain has to stretch its understanding to take it in. That mental stretch quiets internal noise and widens perspective.
Here’s why awe matters, especially right now.
Awe reduces stress at a biological level. Studies show it lowers inflammatory markers associated with chronic stress and emotional overload. It helps the nervous system settle without forcing ourselves to “calm down.”
Awe also interrupts rumination. When our attention is stuck on problems, pressure or what’s next, awe gently pulls us outward. Researchers describe this as the “small self” effect. This doesn’t mean feeling smaller in worth, but feeling less consumed by what’s stressful right now!
Awe even changes how we experience time. People report feeling less rushed and more spacious in their thinking after moments of awe. During a season when everything feels urgent, that shift matters.
And awe increases connection. It makes us more patient, more generous and more compassionate. We feel part of something bigger than the moment we’re in…and this is so important…because far too often, we become too important…in our own minds!
Here’s the part that really hit me this week.
As I was presenting a session in our Future Plans 360 Wellness Program (a biweekly program provided for employees and constituents of the non-profit group Future Plans. Look them up. They do amazing stuff, working to eradicate poverty one person at a time), I constructed an “Awe Walk” transcript. I pulled ideas from experts in the field and as I was reading, one line stood out in the literature. It said something like this: “Let the world show itself to you.”
***If you’d like a copy of the Awe Walk…or a recording, shoot me an email and I’ll send it your
way!***
As coaches, athletes, leaders and competitors, we are trained to pursue, drive, manage and control. We’re taught to go get it, make it happen, impose our will and stay on top of everything around us.
That mindset is valuable.
But it’s incomplete.
Awe requires the opposite posture.
Awe asks us to stop chasing for a moment and receive. To observe instead of direct. To notice instead of fix. To let the world show itself to us without trying to control the outcome.
That doesn’t make us passive. It makes us perceptive.
When we allow the world to show itself, our attention widens. Our nervous system settles. Our thinking becomes clearer. We reconnect with meaning, which is exactly what strong leadership and high-level performance require.
The good news is that awe doesn’t require a mountain, a cathedral or a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It lives in small moments when we allow ourselves to notice, not navigate!
This week, try this simple practice:
Pause for 20 seconds.
Breathe.
Look closely at something you usually rush past.
Listen fully to a song, a voice or the quiet.
Revisit a memory that once stopped you in your tracks.
Step outside and let the world show itself to you. (I must really need that, because each time I think about it, i think "that's beautiful!")
Christmas already gives us natural awe triggers…the lights, music, traditions, acts of kindness, stories of hope and moments with people we love.
The skill isn’t creating more. The skill is paying attention.
Awe doesn’t erase stress. It changes our relationship with it. It reminds us that even in demanding seasons, there is something steady, meaningful and bigger holding us.
This week, let yourself be amazed…even just a little.
That shift might be exactly what your mind, body and leadership need.
Merry Christmas!
Julie
P.S. My 2026 calendar is filling fast! If your team could benefit from practical, research-backed tools to slow the game down, manage pressure and perform at their best, let’s get you on the books. Teams, coaches, leaders and camps are all in play.
Reach out now and let’s design something that fits exactly what you need. Shoot me an email or text – juliej@ssbperformance.com or 234-206-0946
Julie Jones
Mental Performance Coach
SSB Performance
juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946
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