Can you durably change your attitude overnight ? Neuroscience says yes, let’s see how…

The concept of Neuro Plasticity (the ability of the brain to form new connections as needed by reassigned focus or new activities) is now a well-accepted tenet of modern Neuroscience.

Take Ben, a two year old diagnosed with a rare case of retinal cancer, who went on to lose both eyes but developed a successful coping mechanism by creating his own form of echo location: listening to sound waves he sent bouncing off nearby obstacles he was able to form a mental image of his surroundings by the time he was 7 and direct himself successfully.

Now I hear you say : awesome Ben! but how does an opaque scientific theory help me and my problems right now?

Neuroscience has advised developments in psychotherapy for decades, and now it is starting to advise those in coaching. There is a good reason for that – while many have issues in their personal lives that require addressing, an increasing number of people around the world need help that focuses predominantly or even solely on their business life. Your job in many cases is no longer a punch in/punch out gig you’ve found in a morning newspaper that pays your bills. Your job is a large part of your identity, it is how you evaluate your success and positive impact on your environment, and most importantly, it is where most of your day is spent.

It would however be unnecessarily reductive to think of a coach simply as a tool to advance your career. Different coaches have different approaches, and different abilities. Finding a coach that works for you is not always an easy task – and we know that: this is why most of us offer a free introductory session so that you get an idea of how we work and whether coaching might work for you.

I have chosen to add the Positive Intelligence tool kit to my coaching because it resonated so much with me as a very effective way to quickly change behaviors even while in coaching and carry on after the coaching ends (by the way, I do not get paid for this nor do I charge extra: this is simply an extra offering my clients get access to as part of their coaching package).

With much further ranging consequences than the self hacks favored by Silicon Valley types, Positive Intelligence is a concept developed by ex CTI Chairman and Coach Shirzad Chamine in his eponymous NY Times best selling book. At its core, Positive Intelligence starts with a snapshot of where we are: this is the Positive Intelligence Quotient or PQ. Quite simply how often in the past 24 hours were we in “Sage” versus giving way to our “Saboteurs”. With a minimum PQ ratio of 75% we live Positive. Anything under that and change is needed for an intentional and fulfilling life. A simple test can be done here.

I cannot begin to give justice to the depth and power of these ideas and their potential to turn our lives around towards an intentional and present posture. Let me try to summarise:

  • The Sage is our better self. Our sage is undaunted by challenges, is deeply connected to our intuition, does not give in to fear and knows that setbacks always come with a silver lining: learning and progress.
  • The Saboteurs, chief among them our Judge, hold us back, often with very good reasons such as self preservation but always resulting in stagnation/holding back progress.

To fight the Saboteurs and reinforce the Sage, meaning increasing your Positive Quotient, (PQ), Shirzad created  a thematic program of short work, as little as 3 minutes at a time, designed to keep us on our toes and present to our life work whatever the aim may be. We learn simple ways to not give in to distraction, stress, and fear. Be present and focussed. Intentional in our work.

Think of it as mental gym: every day, a couple of times a day, as little as 3 minutes at a time, we learn simple exercises and ways to not give in to distraction, stress, and fear ; to be present and focused, intentional in our work. The program is  hosted on an app with community of users who support each others throughout the 6 weeks program and after.

There are many examples of successful PQ implementation, whether identified as such or not. For instance, Jeff Bezos acknowledged in a recent interview that the key decisions in the life and growth of Amazon were made on the basis of intuition rather than rational fact-based processes. Perhaps referencing what Albert Einstein famously proclaimed: “let the rational mind be the faithful servant of our intuition”.

Provocatively, Ian Mc Gilchrist proposed a few years ago, rather philosophically:

“there is no rational basis for the use of rationality. Rationality itself is a leap of intuition”.

It would be impossible in a short article to do justice to the depth and power these ideas hold for a personal posture that is both intentional and present. However, an introductory session with any PQ-trained coach will give you a better idea of whether this sort mindful focus could benefit you. Spoiler alert: everyone can benefit.

As a PQ trained coach myself, I can take you through the program as part of my coaching and at no extra cost.