“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius, Joint 16th Emperor of the Roman Empire.
In his book, Get Out of Your Own Way: The Five Keys to Surpassing Everyone’s Expectations, Dr. Robert Cooper argues that a number of interests compete for our brain’s attention. This competition and the tension it creates are the reason we have a hard time recognizing our own mental patterns and changing our behaviour. Interestingly, these competing interests are inextricably tied to the level of performance we will have in our careers.
Some research has indicated that the human brain can be too busy processing information to carefully categorize incoming thoughts and behaviours into functional versus dysfunctional, and productive versus unproductive, categories. There is also evidence that a mis-alignment in thinking, goals, and motivation also creates an opportunity for under performance as well. Our thought habits do in fact drive our behaviour, so when you are seeing dysfunctional and unproductive behaviours, it is nine times out of ten, a case of inappropriate thought habits and lack of individual self-awareness that is in play.
This connection between our brain and our behaviour explains the process of being on autopilot: The brain makes a one-time choice of behaviour and then continues the choice for a long time, allowing the brain to avoid having to reflect on, or consider, any other alternatives (almost always due to a lack of self-awareness). Being on autopilot is a common approach to a time-limited life. When we operate on autopilot, we abdicate personal accountability for our choices, our actions, and their consequences. Worse, it gives us a false sense of reality: that we have no control over our performance, processes, or outcomes.
Simply stated, being on autopilot takes away our own personal wilful choice. This perception of reality then becomes part of our mental model, discouraging us from taking risks, exploring possibilities, or being innovative. In this sense, we are stuck, unable to break away from the rigid, false structure our brain has created.
If your desire is to achieve performance excellence you must take your brain off autopilot. You must choose to be intentional and purposeful about aligning your goals and actions with the desired outcome you expect to achieve. Learning the skill of Positive Presence is an excellent way to acquire the self-awareness, techniques, and exercises that will create the necessary thought habits for performance excellence. One simple way is to set your goals, visualize your goals, and then create the necessary thought habits that are needed to achieve your goals – anything is possible!
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.