Coaching Videos & Tips - April 13 2018 No. 553
Reacting Under Pressure
Pressure is a fact of life for many - too much to do, too little time to do it; too many competing demands - and it can trigger all kinds of responses. The problem is, however, if we're not mindful, those responses are nothing more than mindless automatic reactions and, once you head in that direction, you're heading for trouble.
Do you have a habit that you'd like to break? I regularly hear about all kinds of bad habits... from internet or email addiction to, well, much worse!
If you feel the need to do something you would prefer not to do today, pick on something attractive in your line of vision - it could be something as innocuous as a coffee cup - and admire it... let it sooth you, take a couple of deep breaths and get back to what you should be doing.
Everything around us affords us the opportunity to come to our senses!
I talked about mission last week - not in the way in which we see corporations pretending to have high aspirations by putting a mission statement behind the Reception Desk - but being on a mission. There's a world of difference - when you're on a mission, you're driven, you're single-minded, you'll walk through walls.
Sadly, that doesn't sound like most people's lives... lots of people are driven (by some perceived driver like the boss or the mortgage) and psychology tells us that most people's minds are all over the place - the exact opposite of single-mindedness. And, even though you might fancy the idea of being exhilerated by being on a mission, we often feel lethargic, unable to stir ourselves up sufficiently to change whatever it is we would like to change.
The simple truth - the truth is often simple! - is that our apparent lethargy or inability to thrust off in some bold new direction is inbuilt - we're wired that way! By that I mean that we are actually neurally wired in a manner that prevents us from doing anything too adventurous - it's a defence mechanism, a hangover from evolution. In other words, we can scheme and dream all we want about changes that we'd like to make in our life but, when push comes to shove, we're OK being OK.
To change anything, you have to change your mind - that's what subconscious goal-setting is all about, that is why mindfulness is vitally important (it overcomes mindlessness). But, in my experience, many of us are even too lethargic when it comes to the little discipline and commitment we need to mentally exercise for just five minutes in the morning.
The solution? Build your morning meditation into your morning routine... whilst meditation itself should never be routine, it needs to be part of yours.
Talking about mission statements (I am in today's Reflection) puts me in mind of a call I received from one of the big consulting firms a couple of years ago. They were working with a corporate client which was suffering from a major fall-off in business as a result of - and I quote - "deplorable customer service". And, despite all the consultant's best efforts, the leadership of the organization kept "reverting to type"! They asked me could I help change behaviours.
In preparing myself to provide the consultants with my proposal, I set about learning more about their corporate client. My first port of call was their website which had, emblazoned across the top of its main page... their Mission Statement: Our Mission is to Delight Our Customers.
See what I mean about mission statements?