Going Slow to Go Fast-By Dede Henley

Have you noticed that you begin thinking the moment you wake up?  Often the mental chatter doesn’t stop until we fall into bed at night.  I think we actually pass out from thinking too much!  The more I work with leaders, the more I understand the importance of mental mastery—having power and choice over your thoughts and subsequent emotions. You won’t become a clear leader by listening to the flotsam and jetsam of your mind. You can’t think your way to authenticity and creativity.

Brainwave Activity

Let’s take a moment to reflect on what we are learning about the brain.  We know it operates on four brainwaves – like electrical currents.  The first is what is called the “Beta brainwave” and is emitted when we are consciously alert, as well as when we feel nervous or tense.  “Alpha” is the second brainwave and is accessed when we are in a state of physical and mental ease.   The third frequency is called “Theta”, a state of reduced consciousness that is present just as we are drifting off to sleep.  And finally, the “Delta” brainwave is operating when we are in deep sleep. 

For our purposes, I will focus on just two of these brainwaves: Beta and Alpha. Beta brainwave is a fast wave and indicates agitation. Most of the leaders we work with find themselves in Beta brainwave most of the time.  We are often in this state at work! We are also learning that brainwaves are contagious.  If you were in the room with someone who was “buzzing” at this fast brainwave frequency in just a few minutes your ECG would show the same brainwave frequency!  One person in a meeting could “speed up” a whole room full of people.

Alpha brainwave is a slower frequency.  When our minds move more slowly, we can learn new information, perform challenging tasks, and analyze complex situations, bringing new ideas and intuitions to bear. Alpha brainwave frequency is accessed when we engage in routine tasks such as showering, using the washroom, or going for a walk.  This is why we often have an “aha!” moment when we get up from an intense conversation and take a break.  It can also be accessed intentionally through quieting one’s mind. Quieting the mind produces significant increases in levels of beta-endorphin, norepinephrine and dopamine, which is linked to feelings of increased mental clarity and intuition. It also allows us to have a better sense of humor and be more easy-going.

Going Slow to Go Fast

Accessing Alpha brain waves means slowing down.  I call it “going slow to go fast.” Some of the world’s stickiest problems have been resolved by accessing this part of the brain. Here’s one example: 

Friedrich August Kekule was a German chemist in the 1860’s who was trying to work out the molecular structure of benzene.  He worked at it for years – doing what chemists do: lab work, painstaking experimentation, following procedural steps.  But the answer came in an unexpected way – he dozed off and had a dreamlike vision of a snake swallowing its tail.   When he woke, he knew what it meant – benzene is a six-membered ring of carbon atoms with alternating single and double bonds. This scientific breakthrough came not through deductive reasoning but through an intuitive flash of insight when the mind had quieted down.

Mastering your mind means consciously choosing what to place your attention on, despite the demanding and arbitrary commands of your mind. It involves training and discipline.  I often say that the mind is like an untrained puppy. You know how it goes: you put the puppy on the paper in the kitchen and before you know it, the puppy has wandered off and piddled on the floor.  So, you pick the puppy up and put it back on the paper.  And when you turn your head, it wanders off again.  Yelling at the puppy won’t help, and it may make things worse!  You must just be patient and put the puppy back on the paper time and time again, until it is trained.  

It is the same in our attempts to gain mental mastery.  We sit down to quiet our minds and before we know it, our minds have wandered off to that task we didn’t finish yesterday, worries about the economy, humming a little song that you just can’t get out of your head.  The puppy has wandered off the paper.  So, you pick it up gently and put it back.  You train your thoughts to follow your command.

Five Minutes a Day

The mind is an amazing instrument if used well. Gaining mental mastery means that you begin to use the instrument called your mind for your truest priorities and purpose.  When I work with executives, I encourage them to “sit” for five minutes a day. They set their cell phones to beep in five minutes, so they will know when to stop. For five minutes, they are to focus on their breathing, in and out at the nose.  Whenever the mind wanders, they bring it back to the breath.  In this way, a leader is training her mind to fall silent when commanded to do so.  This will come in handy when she is in an important meeting and needs the full attention of her mind on the conversation right in front of her. 

Like exercise done consistently can produce fitness, so will five minutes of sitting a day produce greater mental mastery.  It takes discipline and a commitment to the great benefits that Alpha brainwaves make available.  

Get Up! Written By Derek Olsen

On top of what we already knew about the benefits of exercise, plenty of new evidence is indicating that being more physically active throughout the day contributes to a healthier, longer life and costs the organization fewer sick days. Research continues to highlight the long-term effects of physical inactivity. Since mastery of the physical domain is an important competency for effective leadership, this is a relevant topic for leaders.

On average, we spend 9.3 hours a day sitting down, and I don't think it's because we're uninformed. Data alone isn't enough to motivate us to change our habits; something else gets in the way of us doing what we know is best for ourselves.  

We value our health, yet when it comes to our work, productivity often trumps all else. What holds me in my chair is the thought that I have too much to do to be stretching or taking a walk. "I'm too busy" is a particularly stubborn belief to uproot, because I validate myself every time I look at my to-do list and add up the hours left in the day. The data seems to indicate that I am too busy, and I get to be right again--even at the cost of my own health.

I started writing this blog the way I usually do, by surfing the internet for current and relevant articles, feeling the pressure to get this done in the time that I allotted. As usual, there's an infinite amount of information to sift through, which takes a lot of time. I wanted this to be written to the best of my ability, based on credible information, and to be original and thoughtful so as to inspire my readers to make new choices. I wanted this to be as good as the other blogs that my partners at The Dede Henley Group are writing. I soon started to feel overwhelmed, because if only I had more time, I could accomplish all these goals. 

So I closed my laptop and went outside for a walk. When I came back, I simply sat down and wrote this. I did have enough time, after all. 

How about you?

Gaining Mental Mastery

by Dede Henley

Mental mastery is one of the hallmarks of a leader. Our minds can be like untrained puppies – we put them on the paper to pee and they wander off, just like that. We pick them up, put them back on the paper and they wander off again! It wouldn’t help to yell at the puppy or be angry. Our job as loving beings is to pick the puppy up over and over again and put her back on the paper, until she gets the hang of it and learns to stay on the paper at your command. We are training our minds, just the same.

This is a critical skill for leaders. We must have well-trained minds. I heard a saying recently, “The mind is like a wild animal. It is a wise man who takes the time to tame it.” We must be able to still ourselves in the midst of anything in order to listen deeply, to intuit meaning, to know what action would move a conversation or a project forward.

“Sitting” helps you gain this mastery. Sitting is simple, and because of that it can be difficult to do – sometimes we want to make it harder than it is. It is impossible to do wrong, if done with sincerity. And it is very tempting to continually assess ourselves, or harshly judge ourselves. Sitting is a practice of observation, in acceptance, in compassion, in stillness, and in discovering our true nature. You do not have to believe anything to sit – it does not exclude any religion.

When sitting, just notice your thoughts and let them go, bringing your attention back to the breath at either the tip of your nose, the rise and fall of your chest, or the expansion and contraction of your belly. Sitting allows us to quiet down the mind, the body, the heart, and to focus on only one thing – the breath.

This practice comes from my friends at New Ventures West Coaching School. Here's how to do it:

1. Sit up straight in a chair with your feet flat on the floor.

2. Either close your eyes or gaze at a spot on the floor 6-8 feet in front of you.

3. Bring your awareness to your breath – either in your abdomen as it rises and falls, or at the tip of your nostrils where the air enters and leaves your nose. Select the area you are most aware of. Do not change your breathing, just begin to observe it. Do not change areas of attention. Pick one and stick with it.

4. Say quietly to yourself “in” when you inhale, and “out” when you exhale. Between breaths, bring your attention to the points where your body touches the chair, and where your feet touch the floor.

5. Focus all of your attention on your breath. If you find your attention wandering, simply say “thought” to yourself and bring your attention back to your breathing. You may wish to label the thoughts as “planning,” “remembering,” “imagining,” “worrying,” and so on.

6. Acknowledge any sensations in your body, saying the word “sensation” and returning your attention to your breathing. Do the same with any emotions that may occur.

Begin by sitting just five minutes a day. See if you can build up to sitting for up to 20 minutes a day and reap the rewards of mastering your mind.