In these uncertain times never has there been a more important moment to INTENTIONALLY manage your state of mind.
For the leaders and managers among us we need to be conscious that state, both positive and negative, are contagious and can spread very rapidly in the workplace. We call this emotional contagion. We know from research that we regularly catch each others’ moods when working in groups.
As the author of Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl once said,
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
In his next video blog Ben shares three things that affect our state and some useful examples:
Ben highlights for us the practical elements in our control that affect our state and shares with us his key to inspiring model:
1 The power of language
‘The words that we use have a huge impact on our state, regardless of whether we say them out loud or in our own heads’.
How we use language, what we say to ourselves and our language choice has an impact on how we feel. Understanding the power of language and choosing language that is helpful will change our state. Ben shares some great examples in his video which will resonate with many.
2 Focus
‘In order to shift our state, we simply need to pay more attention to what we are focussing on’.
Everything that we spend our time on, and what we choose to focus our attention on is important.
We see and get more of what we choose to pay attention to. If we focus on problems or the risks and reasons for things, eventually we may find ourselves in an unresourceful state which Ben explains in more detail in the video.
3 Physiology
‘It’s far better to take a break, move, grab a glass of water and a healthy snack before continuing with the task in hand’.
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of sitting at our desks for hours on end trying to get something finished. But as we do so we find our brains starting to slow down, becoming less constructive. Ben shares his insight on how we fuel our bodies and explains the way we move, sit, stand and breathe can also impact our state.
Associated references
Connect with Ben www.ben-morton.com
Listen to Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Sigal Barsade HBR article.
As part of the #YESvember series, Ben also offers his insight on shifting mindsets to create a happier you which features more information on emotional contagion.