Even at the best of times, our brains are not wired for thinking strategically, they are wired to fight fires. Our survival instinct makes the brain's primary focus looking out for threats. Our amygdala, deep in our brain, scans every new piece of information, whether it comes from the outside world through our five senses or from our mind's constructions, and determines whether it is a threat or a reward. The below diagram shows how threats trigger a physiological response designed to keep us safe in the short term, and rewards or non-threats trigger another quite different response.
Interestingly, it doesn't matter whether a threat comes from real sources, constructed sources (where we interpret or generate a threat in our minds), or even imagined sources, it still triggers the same response. Uncertainty too, has the same effect.
What does this have to do with strategic thinking?
Well, any type of long-term, creative, conscious or rational thinking requires our parasympathetic nervous system to be in charge. Let that sink in. When was the last time you were working in reward mode? How often when working are you feeling in 'flow' and like you're doing your best work? Which system is driving you most of the time?
Do you start your day by looking at your emails and end up feeling overwhelmed? Do you struggle to focus on work that requires deep thinking? Are you fighting fires all day and wondering how you're ever going to make space to actually step back and think? If so, you might be in threat mode too much of the time.
Here's my take on how threat and reward modes affect our ability to think strategically:
Of course, these brain states affect so much more than just our ability to think. Looking at the three focus areas of my work - Thrive, Think, Lead - they are acutely relevant to all three. They affect our wellbeing, our health, our relationships, and our ability to show up each day and do our best work.
The next question of course is, when we need a circuit-breaker, how do we get ourselves out of threat state and into reward state? Well, this is a big topic, but here are a few quick ideas to try:
Deep breathing exercises
Exercise
Perspective taking - best done with a trusted friend, colleague or coach
Being social and laughing - even if it's a zoom catch up or an online quiz night
Mindful moments
Gratitude - really focusing on and appreciating the things you have
Listening to music you love
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Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash
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