mindfulness

The Downside of Do More Faster

When I first qualified as an attorney 25 years ago (a barrister at the English bar wearing a fancy wig and gown), my prime directive was something like do more faster. This seed was probably sewn when I was a young boy obsessed with the amazing abilities of the bionic Steve Austin (AKA the Six Million Dollar Man) who became ‘better, stronger, faster…’.

Fast forward ten years later as an attorney having done a lot more, faster and longer but beginning to experience the negative side effects of stress along with wondering where the years had gone, I began my quest for a better way of living. Meditation and mindfulness were just two of the practices I discovered, trained in and continue to use and share with the family, friends and clients.

The purpose of this post is not to outline numerous well-researched and proven benefits of meditation and mindfulness but to address the myth that mindfulness is at odds with living in the fast lane. If, however, you are not yet aware of the benefits including improved cognitive ability, stress-management, reduced blood pressure and improved emotional regulation see here ‘Why Google, Target, and General Mills Are Investing in Mindfulness’ or ‘7 Ways Meditation Can Actually Change The Brain’.

But I Need to Be Eddie Morra

The impetus for the post arose when a client was resistant to my suggestion that he explore meditation and mindfulness as one way of alleviating the extreme stress he was experiencing. His objection was based on the fact as CEO, he was primarily responsible for setting the strategy for the company and that meant he needed to keep his mind on the future and operating with speed. His misunderstanding was that being mindful meant only living in the present, always proceeding slowly.

Despite the dramatic increase in mindfulness meditation by high performance individuals ranging from CEO’s of some of the largest companies in the world to Special Forces operators, a perception remains that being a mindfulness practitioner means leading a life similar to that advocated by ‘Master Po to ‘Grasshopper’ in Kung Fu.

How Being More Present Can Result in Better Strategy

Mindfulness provides you with one way of effectively dealing with the relentless challenges and distractions of the present. I have always thought of my days as similar to the experience of standing in the middle of an 8 lane freeway facing oncoming traffic (I accidentally tried this in my teens). I, like so many us, often find myself subjected to an ever increasing number of emails, texts, calls, notifications and meetings. This can greatly undermine clarity of thought and energy.

Mindfulness facilitates the ability to enjoy the best parts of the present e.g. moments with family and friends and positive experiences while being able to step back, create some white space and not simply be reactive. It also enables you to operate at a higher and more effective level when you need to move up a gear or three.

Steve Jobs, used a meditation and mindfulness practice to enhance his creative insight in planning, and legendary investor Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Capital uses meditation to gain greater clarity. He has stated that the practice is the most important ingredient in his success.

Planning and strategizing for the future places a heavy load on our pre-frontal cortex. In other words it is seriously hard work. By ensuring you are less drained and less stressed by the demands of the present and by equipping you with greater clarity of mind and creativity, mindfulness enables you to both more effectively live in the present and plan for the future.

Martin Soorjoo works with teams and individuals helping them increase their performance and resilience.

The New Competitive Edge

We’re currently experiencing an unprecedented focus on pushing the boundaries of human performance and productivity.

This has come about, partly as a response to economic challenges and the increase in communication and information channels, but it’s also driven by the human desire to progress.

These are exciting times where the previously perceived limitations on what we are capable of are frequently smashed. Barely a day goes by without research emerging from the fields of Neuroscience, Performance Psychology, Technology or Bio-hacking (to name a few) educating and empowering us with new techniques, tools, apps or supplements that can significantly increase our performance, productivity and resilience. Some of them are extremely effective and are proven to enable us to increase our performance at work by 500% or more. Others are just like the latest new diet. Shiny and exciting for a bit but long term they consistently fail.

The most promising developments and discoveries (and sometimes re-discoveries) include brain entrainment, mental conditioning processes previously only used by Special Forces operators and world class athletes, technologies that rapidly facilitate recovery and enhance focus, mindfulness and meditation, next generation Smart Drugs (Nootropics), seemingly endless productivity apps and much more. These advances are only the tip of the superhuman iceberg.

While individuals have for millennia been interested in personal development in its various forms, for the first time, we’re experiencing a deep and growing interest by organizations in the latest research in human performance. This growing focus is entirely consistent with the pursuit of profit and success. Happy, healthy, high performing individuals are able to work longer hours, be more effective and creative, have less sickness and manage stress.

Zen and Productivity

Increasing our performance and productivity can, however, no longer be about doing more, faster. Our increasingly fast, always connected world undermines focus and effectiveness , primarily through an endless stream of notifications and interruptions. As a consequence we become more stressed and unable to think with clarity and creativity. We need some peace. So while the search for new ways to do more faster continues, companies and individuals seek out ways of slowing things, looking to both old (e.g. Yoga, Mindfulness) and new solutions (e.g. Brain entrainment and HRV) to slow things down and reduce stress.

Thousand year old practices such as meditation, yoga and mindfulness are now widely accepted as powerful tools for increasing resilience, productivity, creativity and clarity of thought. According to research, approximately one quarter of all major American employers now deliver some form of stress management training and support. These companies include Apple, Nike, Google, McKinsey and Yahoo. Special Forces operators and athletes have long used various relaxation techniques to improve performance and resilience.

Flow and the 5x Factor

By way of example, let’s focus for one moment, on one of the most exciting performance advantages – flow. First coined by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, flow is the state of complete immersion in an activity. Individuals in flow experience intense focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

A person experiencing a state of flow is able to achieve far more than they could when out of flow; sometimes more than believed humanely possible. Flow it is the ultimate state of peak performance. The significance of flow is such that business leaders and scientific researchers are taking serious note of the state and its profound implications.

A McKinsey study that found that top executives in “flow” are five times more productive, than out of it. Achieved by a combination of old practices and new technologies, flow is quite possibly the ‘ultimate state of peak performance .

The ‘Limitless’ Executive and Entrepreneur

It remains to be seen how far our quest for advancing human performance will take us. What is clear, however, is that for those seeking to get ahead, the time management strategies of yesteryear are no longer sufficient or relevant. We need to increase and manage our focus and energy. So if you’re aiming for success at the highest levels, give careful consideration to purchasing a yoga mat instead, getting into a state of flow and using brain entrainment technology, instead of a game of squash or round of golf.

Martin Soorjoo works with individuals and teams to increase their Performance, Productivity and Resilience.

To Plan for the Future You Must Live In the Present