When I was about 10 years old, I got in trouble for not cleaning my room. My mom had asked me over and over again to do it, but I was preoccupied with other things and didn’t feel like it. She was a stickler about showing me that every action had an equal and opposite reaction (gentle parenting had not yet hit the scene in 2003), so she came up with a creative consequence. She took a big refrigerator-sized box and put every one of my toys, most of my clothes, and whatever else was in my room inside it. She was set on showing me that if I didn’t take care of my things, I’d lose the privilege of having them.

But her lesson didn’t land the way she hoped. I walked upstairs, looked at my empty room and my stuff in the box, laughed, and decided I didn’t need that stuff anyways. I knew that whatever was in that box wasn’t my source of happiness, so I kept living, unbothered.

“Maybe I was a monk in a past life, because detachment came naturally to me.”

Maybe I was a monk in a past life, because detachment came naturally to me. I wasn’t the kid who stomped her feet and yelled “I DON’T CARE!” while secretly fuming. I’d find the resources within myself to choose happiness regardless. And that quality turned out to be one of the most valuable things I brought into adulthood, in my career and my personal life.

Even in high school, when I got caught sneaking out or going to a party and was “grounded,” banned from seeing friends and talking on the phone, I saw it as a break to recharge my social battery, and threw myself into having fun with my family at home. Eventually, my mom realized she couldn’t really punish me. Whatever she took away, I figured out how to live without.

What I really learned is that whatever obstacle life throws my way, I love finding a creative way around it. Whether it’s a roadblock or a societal requirement, if I don’t want to do something the way I’m told I have to, I find a solution that works for me. 

“What I really learned is that whatever obstacle life throws my way, I love finding a creative way around it.”

In college, I had no interest in a one-size-fits-all degree, so I created a “special major.” And when I joined the workforce, instead of fitting my multi-hyphenate nature into a small title and salary, I quit and went full-time freelance.

After enough projects, I realized that beyond my hard skills, one of the most important things I brought to the table was my agility: My ability to think, adapt, and problem-solve quickly across new projects and different types of businesses. Even though self-employment can seem uncertain, I felt confident I could rely on that agility to always find more work and provide for myself.

I didn’t have words for this until I read “AQ” by Liz Tran. She calls it the Agility Quotient: your ability to navigate change, uncertainty, and disappointment. And with AI reshaping work faster than any of us can predict, it might be the most important quality we can cultivate right now.

When we can only see as far as our headlights shine, we have to understand and trust our innate agility, and our unique style of it, so we can navigate whatever life throws our way. This isn’t only true in our personal lives — companies are navigating the same uncertainty, which makes agility one of the most important skills we can bring to our work. And to get clear on your agility style, so that you can embody it, Tran created four AQ archetypes. You can take the quiz to find yours at her website. She even sends you a mini podcast with your results so you can dive deeper! (I’m a Novelist: “A visionary, skilled at crafting structured, imaginative futures and driving proactive change.”)

“When we can only see as far as our headlights shine, we have to understand and trust our innate agility, and our unique style of it, so we can navigate whatever life throws our way.”

If you’re feeling uneasy about the future, Tran’s book is both comforting and empowering. Publishers Weekly called it “a practical guide to navigating uncertainty,” and I personally walked away feeling energized and ready for change. Tran is an author, executive coach, speaker, and the founder of the AQ Learning Lab, and she’s worked with organizations like Apple, Google, and AstraZeneca. I also loved her other book, “The Karma of Success: Spiritual Strategies to Free Your Inner Genius.”

After reading both books, I was delighted to discover that she and I had both been guests on my dear friend Katie Dalebouts’s podcast, “Let It Out.” Katie introduced us, so I got to ask Tran some questions about AQ. Her answers are brilliant and hopeful, and they give us such a clear path forward, even if we don’t know where life will lead us… which could be the most fun part, if we let it be!

GA: In your words, what is AQ? And why does it matter so much right now?

LT: AQ is the new superpower for a world that’s always changing. IQ measures cognitive ability. EQ is about emotional intelligence. But on their own, neither is enough to guarantee happiness, success, or fulfillment.

Through six-plus years of research and coaching with over 300 founders and executives, I’ve found what matters most to our achievement and well-being. It’s AQ, or the Agility Quotient: your ability to navigate change, uncertainty, and disappointment. It matters now more than ever. We’re living through massive geopolitical, climate, and technological upheaval, and we all feel it.

GA: You’ve brilliantly created four core AQ archetypes, which categorize our style for handling change, uncertainty, and the unknown. How did you come up with them?

LT: I’m addicted to personality tests. I love how they let us understand ourselves with real precision. I’m trained in corporate assessments like the Hogan and MBTI, as well as more spiritually centered frameworks like the Enneagram and astrology. When I conceived of AQ, I knew immediately that we needed a new language for personality, especially for this new form of intelligence.

GA: After I take the quiz and understand my type, how can I develop my strengths to become the most evolved version of my archetype?

LT: A mentor once told me: there’s no such thing as weaknesses, only strengths we overuse. The Archetypes help us see exactly how our own superpowers, pushed too far, quietly turn into derailers. The secret is in knowing your growth edge, so your natural strengths don’t turn on you.

  • Novelist, the master planner. Your growth edge is leaving room for the unexpected. Just because it didn’t turn out according to your plan doesn’t make it a bad outcome.
  • Astronaut, the big dreamer. Your growth edge is the follow-through. You grow by leaning into details and a little drudgery. Visions don’t build themselves.
  • Firefighter, the crisis expert. Your growth edge is planning before the fire starts, not just fighting it. You may thrive in chaos, but that doesn’t mean you have to chase it. 
  • Neurosurgeon, the precision master. Your growth edge is getting comfy with “good enough.” Perfect is the enemy of AQ. 

GA: Your theory is that great teams, and even friend groups, function better when all types are present. Tell me more about that!

LT: Great teams are like a toolbox, not a drawer full of the same wrench. Novelists plan, Firefighters improvise, Astronauts dream big, Neurosurgeons perfect the details. Put four of the same type in a room, and you get one strength on repeat and the blind spots totally exposed. Mix them, and every gap gets covered by someone else’s strength. The same goes for friend groups: someone designs the trip’s itinerary, someone saves it when the flight gets canceled, and someone else remembers the passports.

GA: You’re clear that AQ isn’t fixed the way IQ is. Can your archetype change over the course of your lifetime?

LT: We all have a “default” archetype that we’d be forever if the world were changeless, but the world is always moving underfoot, and High AQ people are able to flex into other archetypes based on what their situation or environment calls for. 

I’ve seen Astronauts shift into Neurosurgeons when the stakes are high at work and they can’t afford a mistake. Or maybe you’re a Novelist who suddenly becomes a Firefighter because your family is facing a crisis. 

We always return to our default archetype, but it’s a gift and a skill to be able to inhabit the others from time to time. 

GA: I love the section on “anchors” in the book: the people, places, and routines that ground you. What are some of yours, and how can people find theirs?

LT: Whenever I’m overwhelmed by change or uncertainty, I take the few things I can control and make them as boring as possible. I go on autopilot with my outfits, my food, my bedtime routine. My highly predictable routines become my anchor. I was inspired by Barack Obama, who famously wore the same clothes and ate the same foods as the President to reduce cognitive load.

GA: AQ has a lot to do with resilience. How can someone develop theirs?

LT: It’s far easier than you might imagine. AQ is actually our birthright. Our ancestors were nomadic hunter-gatherers with the most unpredictable lives, roaming the plains in search of food and shelter. AQ was their key to survival. The first step to reclaiming your own agility is knowledge. Know that IQ and EQ aren’t enough, then place AQ at the center of your choices and actions. 

GA: You talk about recovery rate mattering more than success rate. What does that look like? (i.e., bouncing back after a challenge)

LT: High-AQ people take more chances, which naturally means they’ll fail more, too. So we need to change how we measure success. Stop asking, “Did this turn out how I planned?” Instead, ask, “How quickly did I bounce back?”

This looks like shaking off a tough conversation, not letting disappointment ruin your day, or extracting lessons from a failed project without reliving the mistakes.

GA: If everyone could adopt AQ, the future of work would feel a lot less scary in the face of AI. What are your thoughts on that?

LT: This is exactly why I wrote AQ. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t grok what my career would be like in five years, let alone how to set my daughters up for success, too. The truth is, the career ladder no longer exists. What we have instead is a spiral staircase: you’re going somewhere, but you can’t see past the next step. That might sound terrifying, but it’s actually freeing. There’s more uncertainty, but also more possibility. High-AQ people look at the future and think, “Anything can happen” — and to them, that’s a good thing. ✨

Looking back at my 10-year-old self, I guess I truly didn’t need that box of stuff, but I did need my agility. So, my mom actually ended up teaching me a powerful lesson — even it was different from the one she intended.

“I truly didn’t need that box of stuff, but I did need my agility.”

If the future feels uncertain right now, and if something familiar feels like it’s being taken away, see that as your invitation to build your agility. I’ll be doing it with you!

Grace Abbott is a LA-based freelance Brand & Marketing Strategist and a Contributing Editor at The Good Trade. She has a degree in Graphic Design from Parsons School of Design and is the founder of How To Go Freelance — a brand dedicated to empowering creatives to monetize their skills and build personal brands. Beyond work, she’s always studying a new spiritual modality, painting her bedroom a new color, practicing Pilates, hosting friends, or going on a nature walk with her chihuahua, Donnie. Find her on Substack or Instagram.