We will all have long-lasting memories of the 2020 Summer. It has been a very strange summer break with no tourists and peculiar actions (wearing face masks, rubbing elbows rather than shaking hands, consuming news and content compulsively over different media platforms, practicing individual sports, etc.). However, there is one activity that only leaders have implemented: finding themselves, look inwards to reflect a bit more on who we really are. Introspection.
This is really good news, because introspection is the first step towards consciousness. In these difficult times, we need to be more present than ever before. Paradoxically, finding ourselves is what will help us to connect with others and streghten the team. The Coronalism age allows us to enjoy moments of introspection but we must be vigilant so our ego does not cause an ANT infestation. Dr. Amen came out with this original acronym (Automatic Negative Thoughts), after he had a hard day at the office. He realized that each time you have a negative thought (sad, angry, judgmental, sorry, helpless…), the ego’s favourite pastime, your brain releases chemicals which causes your body to feel bad. This creates negative emotions and feelings. We are less alert, more distracted, the activity of the frontal and temporal lobes decreases and impacts directly your ability to make sound decisions. This affects your most precious leadership skill and we become less conscious.
Good news is that positive thoughts generate the opposite effect. Then, the recipe to be a good leader, from a strictly biological point of view, is very simple: live in an ever happier state of bliss and joy. Positive thinking.
WRONG! – Avoiding reality is never a good start. Positive thinking may give the person a feeling of guilt, because it does not give the tools to achieve that positive feeling. I would argue that becoming conscious is the key to spirtual and physical wellbeing. If we force ourselves to only perceive things in a positive light, our ego will be meessing up with us again. Our mind will be taking us away from the present moment and constantly projecting an ideal future.
Our mind is so powerful that it will try to take over our entire essence. It will create brain activity about the past or the future with positive or negative thoughts, or alternating all the different permutations of these four variables (good, bad, past, future). This was perhaps once necessary, to ensure the survival of our species, but it has turned now harmful and very dangerous. Building a man made reality, alters our perception and submerges us into a spiral. This frenzy of brain activity locks us up in a “Matrix”. This does not happen suddenly. It is a gradual process which I call “ego feeding”.
As leaders, we must combat these thoughts because they do not allow us to act effectively and collectivelly. They prevent us to achieve happiness and they are a source of conflict and resentment throughout the team. We must think about the different scenarios from only two variables: our true perception of reality (neutral) and the present time (now).
To ensure you are not being distracted by your ego, we must kill ANTs, using Dr. Amen’s colourful and creative terminology. An efficient way to do that is by asking yourself a set of simple questions. Find below some examples of popular ANTs, which I have been hearing lately from leaders in various fields:
We will need to confine people again and I am afraid that some extremist will riot.
Quality tourism, as we know it, it is now over. A new way of doing tourism willl emerge which will not be service driven.
Kids are not going to be able to attend classes in school. It will be a lost year.
The economy is going to collapse. We are going through a huge financial bubble which is about to burst.
Our company is not going to reach targets. We will have to file for bankruptcy
My team is not going to win this year. crucial players may get ill with Covid-19. We are not mentally strong enough this year.
The questions to ask ourselves when these or similar ANTs assail us are:
1) Is this real? Has it really happened? If the answer is: no, we will immediately feel better.
2) Will it happen 100% in the near future? Is it confirmed to be so?
3) Can I do something to avoid that future negative scenario from happening? What? (write down a list and be very concrete). If there is nothing you can do write NOTHING in that piece of paper.
4) If it happens, do I have rough plan of action?
5) How do I feel when I think about the most negative scenario?
6) How do I treat other people when I am thinking about it?
7) How do I feel when I think about other options?
Thinking should neither be positive, nor negative. These are categories that our mind creates.Thinking should just be efficient. I am not implying that we should not plan for the worst-case scenario. However, once that the plan has been sketched, it must be filed and not reopened. If we keep bringing it back on our mind, we will reach paralysis, lose track of other feasible options and make the worst case scenario happen. It will be a clear case of self-fulfilling prophecy in the Coronalism age.
You may be thinking, Ok, these questions are a method to deal with ANTs but…How do we avoid automatic negative thoughts altogether? If they are automatic they are beyond our control. As stated above, the way to do that it is not to provoke automatic positve thoughts but rather keep control of our mind. Negative and postve thoughts are opposite sides of the same coin: the ego. Controlling your mind requires effort and training. The first step is just being aware of ANTs crawling inside us. Following this realization, the awareness will make our thoughts to be neutral, efficient and razor sharp. Our brain should be active, ” be on” and focus facing a particular problem, issue or life circumstance. Then we should press the off button, so it allows us to be aware and conscious. In conclusion, to be ourselves and ANT free.
