There’s a widespread piece of ‘cultural hypnosis’ that lies at the root of stress, worry and anxiety. It’s the cause of poor performance, and of most relationship problems. In this article, you’re going to find out if you’ve been hypnotised, and how to snap out of it. And as you ‘wake up’, you’re going to find yourself experiencing more peace of mind, better relationships and better performance where you need it.
The following is an extract from the superb book, Instant Motivation, by my dear friend and colleague, Chantal Burns. Chantal was one of my coaching clients when I started exploring and sharing the principles behind clarity back in 2009. She’s been on this journey with me from the very beginning, so when I heard that her book has been selected by WH Smiths (the UK’s biggest bookseller) as their “book of the month” for January, I was over the moon. I’m so proud of Chantal. Her book is very well written, contains extremely important research, and has profound implications for the world of work and business.
Here’s the excerpt, including some very revealing research findings (from Instant Motivation ©2014 Chantal Burns )
In my research, I asked “In terms of your performance at work, how important do you think your own state of mind is?”
It’s evident that most people rate it very highly as you can see in my research findings:
– 81% of people think their state of mind is very important or crucial in relation to their performance at work.
From the ridiculous and funny to the serious and downright dangerous, your understanding of thought always matters because it’s behind the scenes, shaping your actions, behaviour and subsequent performance. It defines how you interact with yourself and with others, how you prioritise what’s important in your life. It determines the choices you make and whether you even perceive yourself as having choices.
While most people appreciate the importance of their own mental state, when asked to choose the reasons why they don’t always perform to the best of their ability at work, state of mind drops down to the bottom of the list. It gets surpassed by a host of other reasons as shown below:
– If I’m feeling stressed, worried or anxious about something
– Lack of direction or support from managers
– Lack of control or influence
– Behaviour of colleagues or clients
– Personal circumstances outside of work
– Lack of confidence
– Lack of skills in a particular area
– Lack of time
– Workload
– My own state of mind
When I read this section of Chantal’s book, the implications of her research hit me like a ton of bricks: people are operating in a ‘circumstance trance’ that largely disregards the role Thought is playing in their experience. Here’s an analogy: imagine if you asked a group of surgeons, “In terms of performing surgery, how important is an understanding of germs, bacteria and antiseptic procedures”. We wouldn’t be surprised if they all tell you it’s absolutely essential. Then you ask them, “Why do people sometimes get infections following surgery?” How surprised would you be if they put germs and bacteria at the bottom of the list, after things like, “seasonal factors”, “excessive exercise” and “bad smells”? You’d assume that those surgeons didn’t really understand the importance of germs and bacteria after all.
Here’s the thing: your state of mind is like a pair of glasses that colours everything you look at, but you tend to overlook the fact that you’re wearing them! So how do you wake up from this ‘cultural hypnosis’ and start experiencing your mind's natural self-clearing capacity? Deepen your understanding of the principles behind clarity.
One of the ways you can do that is by reading Chantal’s book. I highly recommend you order your copy right now. I had insights while reading it, so I know you will too. You can get it here:
Get Instant Motivation at Amazon.co.uk
Get Instant Motivation at Amazon.com
I look forward to hearing your stories about how Instant Motivation makes a difference to you and for you…
To your increasing clarity,
Big love
Jamie
PS. I’m looking for 36 very specific people for a new pilot programme I’m putting together for the new year. I’ve found the first 34 people, so we’re down to the last 2 people. Here’s what I’m looking for:
– You are a coach, therapist or change-worker (Eg. Sports coach, psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, business coach, bodyworker etc)
– You have at least one year’s experience of working with clients (either paid, pro-bono or both)
– You probably charge by the hour, but want use a “coaching package” model and increase your income
– You have room to work with at least one longer term contract client, starting in February
– You’re an enthusiastic, friendly people-person
– You have a coachable spirit, and are willing to step out of your comfort zone if necessary, and
– You can keep a secret
If that’s you, then reply to this email, and let me know where you’re located and a little about yourself (if you don’t know what to tell me about, look at the list above for inspiration). Change the subject line to “Project Glasswing”. I’ll be choosing people in the next week. Talk to you soon! J
Comments
I think people overlook the crucial role of the state of mind, because its impact usually isn't direct. For instance, I can say "I don't do my best at work because I don't do what I really want to do", but the truth is, I don't have enough self-confidence, -> so I think I can't make living doing what I really want to do, -> so I do things I don't quite want to do, -> so I don't want to do my best, -> so I don't do my best. Or: I can say "my under-performance at work comes from overwhelming atmosphere at work", while in fact my lack of self-confidence (or other aspect of my state of mind) -> makes me hesitate to change my workplace. And so on (and on and on). So the people under-estimate the importance of state of their minds, because indirect impacts aren't so visible, as long as you don't really think of it.
Jarek what if lack of confidence was just a story?
Sandra – My English is still rather poor & I'm not sure if I can properly understand what means to be "just a story".
If it means something that doesn't really exist, yes, the lack of confidence can be unreal, just false idea, and probably is. The only issue is how to find it out for oneself. 'Cause you can tell someone that their lack of confidence is just made up, but it's like trying to explain an idea of colours to a person which was born blind, before you explain them in the first place what actually means to see.
On the other hand, if you're asking, what if the lack of confidence was just an issue of past, then I can't answer. I'll tell you when it'll be just an issue of my past. 🙂
You can also mean, what if a lack of confidence is the only thing that really makes a problem. It can be and I hope it is. But I'm not sure. Maybe it is, or maybe in the "outside" world there are some other issues, to overcome which we may need something more than a confidence.
Then which of my interpretations is right?