Left to its own\ndevices, the human brain will find negative uncertainty as stressful as actual\nnegative outcomes. Although the statistical probability of falling prey to the\nCovid-19 pandemic may be a low number, this will not be enough for an\nindividual person to feel safe. The normal access to social support (for most,\nan effective stress relief) is currently limited by Social Distancing, adding\nto the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assuming that everyone\nis just a bit more worried than normally, and with days in our own company at\nhand, now is a good time to train how to get rid of worries and keep calm. The\nskills are always, and they will remain useful when we return to the anthill of\nmodern working life; to overcome challenges more easily and learn more from\nthem; to collaborate more effectively with people we don\u2019t like; to stay cool in\nthe face of provocations; in sum, to not get bogged down by the unexpected\ncrisis, mistake or unwelcome surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In general, humans\nhave a great ability to adjust to new circumstances and become happy (again). This,\ntoo, shall pass – but for those able to mobilize their brain\u2019s \u201cdiscovery\u201d\nstate, the bouncing back will happen with less effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our brains are constantly\nscanning the environment for threats and rewards \u2013 to avoid\/defend against or\nseek out\/discover, respectively. Defensive state is comparable to the knee-jerk\nreaction causing you to respond to emails (too) quickly or sneer at the\ncolleague cutting the line at the coffee machine. It is also keeping you safe\nin traffic and around predators. The neurological basis is the familiar fight-or-flight\nresponse, automated and very fast but also inflexible and not always useful. Thinking\nback through the thousands of email responses I have seen; I can\u2019t think of a\nsingle one that couldn\u2019t wait 10 minutes. The colleague skipping the line could\nbe someone you\u2019d like to have a favorable impression of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discovery state is\nengaging your deliberate self, noticing what is going on and letting you connect\nwith your best behaviors, goals and intellect. This engine is slower but more advanced,\nstimulated by feelings of pleasure and reward. Research shows how we\u2019re able to\nsolve more complex issues (most social issues are complex btw) and make more\nadvanced analysis in discovery state, with our minds not being cluttered by the\npanicky fight-or-flight neurotransmitters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defend or discover?\nAs with most functions of the brain, it\u2019s not an either-or; it\u2019s not even a sliding\nscale from defend to discover or vice versa. It\u2019s two completely different and\nseparate reaction patterns, present at the same time to deal with different\ntypes of situations, but with shifting command over your attention. You may\nopen a call prepared and with all the best intentions, but a comment challenging\nyour professional capability instantly activates a defensive reaction pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defensive state is\nnot good for business, ever! No sneering at the coffee machine, no snappy email\nresponses (no matter how fast), no surly skype comments, etc etc. Letting off\nsteam should only happen in 100% friendly environments, and only upon prior\nexplicit agreement with everyone involved. Not very likely to be part of anyone\u2019s\nworking environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, back to the\ntraining of coolness skills. Evidence-based interventions you can rehearse on\nyour own come in different varieties, and can help you improve how to manage your\nreaction to a sudden unwelcome surprise, to move on from unpleasant feelings\nthat have been nagging you for a while, and improve your ability to manage\nuncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of these tactics require a bit of time and thinking, which is why I am suggesting you practice them now, in the safe harbor of your home office. Others, like the breathing exercise, is a response that will help instantly and only requires you to remember that you have it at your disposal. This is harder than it sounds, and requires willpower (which can also be trained, check out this previous post<\/a> for more about how to do that).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wishing everyone less worries and more discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Findings in this\npost are sourced from the brilliant book \u201cHow to have a good day\u201d by economist\nand former McKinsey Partner Caroline Webb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Left to its own devices, the human brain will find negative uncertainty as stressful as actual negative outcomes. Although the statistical probability of falling prey to the Covid-19 pandemic may be a low number, this will not be enough for an individual person to feel safe. The normal access to social support (for most, an … <\/p>\n