Mindfulness
Chapter 5.5 (Mastery)
Draft 5/1/09
“The quicker you are in attaching verbal or mental labels to things, people, or situations, the more shallow and lifeless your reality becomes…. Thinking without awareness is the main dilemma of human existence.” Eckhart Tolle
Most people have had this experience. You are driving someplace; you have a lot on your mind; you are preoccupied with thoughts that race from one possibility to another, encompassing both the grimmest and the happiest outcomes; you “wake-up” twenty minutes later realizing that you have no recollection of having been driving. You passed signs and landmarks, managed traffic, and kept your car on the road, but you don’t remember doing it. You were operating on automatic pilot.
You were also riding a train – the train of your thoughts. One idea led to another, and swept you with them. The connections from one to another may have been strong or weak, logical or emotional, but they carried you along regardless. Your thoughts, fears, and fantasies were in control, not you.
Picture one of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons when a main character like Bugs Bunny faces a moral dilemma. On one shoulder, a saintly or angelic Bugs pops up to whisper in one ear. On the other side, his evil counterpart appears with horns, a tail, a pitchfork, and contradictory advice. The good Bugs and the bad Bugs battle for influence while sketching out for Bugs the imaginary consequences of different courses of action. We laugh because we can recognize this as a caricature of our own behaviors when our minds race out of control spinning fantastic possibilities or imagining devastating problems. We may not have a good angel and a devil sitting on our shoulders whispering in our ears, but most of us have a lot of internal chatter as we congratulate, warn, or advise ourselves. In fact, this internal chatter about dire consequences may be the leading cause of the dread most business people feel about public speaking.
Mindfulness is a mastery level skill because it runs so counter to our usual habits of thinking. As practiced in Buddhism and as adapted by Westerners, mindfulness is associated with meditation and bringing your awareness to the present moment. In meditation, you may observe the train of thoughts that race through your mind but do not become attached to them. You recognize them as distractions rather than as your reality. You may have hopes, dreams, aspirations, guilt, remorse, or fears. You may feel resentful, imposed upon, or wronged by others. Under ordinary circumstances, you might evaluate and judge yourself or others harshly because of the contents of your thoughts. Mindfulness is the ability to observe without criticism.
Ellen Langer, a Harvard Psychologist, has described mindfulness and mindlessness this way: “A mindful approach to any activity has three characteristics: the continuous creation of new categories; openness to new information; and an implicit awareness of more than one perspective. Mindlessness, in contrast, is characterized by an entrapment in old categories; by automatic behavior that precludes attending to new signals; and by action that operates from a single perspective.” (Langer 1997, p. 4) Clearly, mindfulness is the highest level of paying attention to what is happening now.
Peter Senge and his collaborators have applied these concepts to business. They note, for example, “Most change initiatives that end up going nowhere don’t fail because they lack grand visions and noble intentions. They fail because people can’t see the reality they face…. Seeing freshly starts with stopping our habitual ways of thinking and perceiving.” (Senge, et al. 2004 pp. 28-29).
They note also that this affects teams as well as individuals. When management groups fall subject to “groupthink,” it is often because they unconsciously censor their independent ideas and opinions. They don’t acknowledge the social pressures of the group to conform. They make assumptions about others’ beliefs and potential reactions. In the rush to move forward, they cling to old ways of thinking not confident that they can afford the time to pause and reflect before acting.
Brian Arthur uses a martial arts metaphor. He says: “In this country, managers think that a fast decision is what counts. If the situation is new, slowing down is what’s necessary. Slow down. Observe. Position yourself. Then act fast with a natural flow that comes from inner knowing. You have to slow down long enough to really see what’s needed.” (Senge, et al. 2004, p. 86)
Application: Mindfulness does not require the practice of meditation any more than golf requires time on the driving range or the practice green. However, achieving a mastery level is unlikely without practice. Tiger Woods continues to invest significant time on the range, and he is the best in his sport. Practicing meditation is a great way to become more aware of your thinking habits and the internal dialogues that limit true learning.
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