This article is a guest post from our partner Dr. Jay Chopra of Making Shift Happen
Humans are creatures of habit. It’s been over a year since COVID-19 became an all-encompassing threat to our health and wellbeing, and working online has become our new normal. Where we were alert and careful at the beginning of the pandemic, we now view the virus as part of everyday life – a dangerous development, which Bloomberg identifies as the new “COVID Challenge” that we face. The virus might not constantly be at the forefront of our minds. Our bodies and our unconscious, however, are in a state of continued alarm.
How does this alarm manifest? Psychologist Daniel Goleman coined this phenomenon the Amygdala Hijack, the fight-or-flight reflex that is activated in response to a threat. While this is really useful for acute situations (think tiger attack), our brains are not designed to handle prolonged bursts of stress, like the constant danger of COVID-19. The continued overflow of stress hormones, such as cortisol or adrenaline, are dangerous to our physical health, and leaves us in a negative and reactive, survival-oriented mindset.
With our minds and bodies preoccupied in this way, negativity takes hold, and without even us realising it, drains more and more of our personal energy. This is why it is important to raise our awareness of the inner workings of our brain, and become proactive in controlling our mindsets, and thus our energy.
But how can our thinking habits preserve our energy? The key is to increase the positive vs. negative ratio of our thoughts. This may sound a little vague at first. However, we can break it down into hands-on practices that help us take back control of our mind and focus more on positivity, instead of getting swept away by stress and negativity:
1: The Emotional Shift Square
- Shift Your Language
- Shift your Focus
- Shift your Physiology
- Shift to Helping Others
2: The STOP Model for Thinking Habits
- Stop.
- Take a deep breath.
- Observe what is going on.
- Proceed with something useful.
3: The Ladder of Thinking
The ladder of thinking is of help here: When stuck with a negative thought, ask yourself: “What is the next best thought I could have?” So instead of going from “I feel unmotivated today” to wanting to change the world in an instant, take smaller and more sustainable mental steps.
Coaches Corner Action Steps:
The Emotional Shift Square, The STOP Model for Thinking Habits, or the Ladder of Thinking – which one is your favourite tool? Take your pick and get started using these questions:
- What is the next action you will take?
- Why will you take this action?
- How will you implement this action?
- Who will help you implement this action?
Reprinted in part with permission from Jay Chopra, PhD, co-founder and Managing Director of Making Shift Happen and a Herrmann Master Certified Facilitator: Read His Full Blog Here.
Interested in learning more about Whole Brain® Thinking and how it can help your team and business reach its full potential? Get in touch with Herrmann today.
This article was originally published on our US site. It has been updated and republished here to ensure our readers don’t miss out on valuable information.