Masterclass has become one of those conveniently cool online resources. An expert teacher — a “master” in a given field — helps by sharing what he or she knows to be true and effective. People who pay for a Masterclass seek to become more competent and to explore their capabilities by practicing master-proven activities. Faith in the master is linked to the payer’s hope of becoming more skilled.

In matters of health, I’ve worked with thousands of people who’ve chosen to put their faith in a variety of masters: people, theories, fads and pills, among others. 

Here’s the thing: When it comes to health, the one true and effective expert teacher is your body. Your first step really need to be attuning to your internal environment. Emotional regulation is a master-proven skill to build competence of what’s going on under your skin, as well as what’s surrounding it.

Internal environments are vastly personal. The events that involve an emotional outburst, conflict, or any unwanted behavior is a situation rich with unique information that is specific to you. Start by observing and exploring through the practice of noticing and naming. Here are three steps to becoming a curious observer:

1. Without judgment, explore the emotion triggers and behavior patterns linked to it. 

2. Identify possible ways to change that sequence in the future. 

3. Consider the options and prepare for the next time.

Settling strong emotions surrounding an activity is a foundational part of changing your nutrition, sleep, work, or any lifestyle activity for that matter. It’s crucially important and unique based on your values, past experiences, life stage, and expectations. 

Think about a situation you’ve experienced and explore it as a curious observer. What did you feel? What did you do with those feelings? What specifically might be better? Or different?