Quantum Physics of Belief – Emotions (continued)

In my previous article, I discussed how one can read other people’s emotions, and why positive emotional states foster business success. When people are in a positive emotional state, their cognitive ability is significantly enhanced and their ability to be creative is elevated. As leaders, we can learn to monitor the emotions of our employees and teams.

“Anyone can become angry – that is easy. But to become angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not easy.” ~ Aristotle

Aristotle was a student of Plato, and his primary disagreement with his teacher was his respect for emotions. Unlike Plato, he realized that rationality wasn’t always in conflict with emotion. Instead, Aristotle argued that one of the critical functions of the rational soul was to make sure that emotions were intelligently applied to the real world.

Yet, we continually discount emotions when we weigh data, correlate statistics and use results from customer surveys and focus groups. Many companies rely on surveys and focus groups to make product and marketing decisions. Without careful consideration of context, they may miss making the best decisions.

The problems of focus groups are well known. It’s why some television shows don’t make it to the networks. Seinfeld tested poorly, as did The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Hill Street Blues.

Focus groups are a crude instrument to measure audience responses because people express their feelings, but they don’t explain them. Data is recorded based on impulsive feelings with all the usual flaws of the emotional brain.

Executives have to sort through the data and make qualitative decisions using contextual information. You can’t rely on emotional data and obey it blindly.

Sorting data and making sense of it is what the prefrontal cortex does well. The audience in a focus group is like our emotional brain, constantly sending out visceral signals about its likes and dislikes. The prefrontal cortex, also called the executive brain, is like a smart TV network executive, patiently monitoring emotional reactions and deciding which to take seriously.

Rationality can work to save us from impulse decisions based on negative feelings that aren’t justified. But relying exclusively on rational thought can easily backfire. When the rational brain takes over, people tend to make all sorts of decision-making mistakes. As rewarding as a strong analytical mind can be, it is a detriment if we become conditioned to always keeping our awareness in that realm.

People ignore the wisdom of their emotions, and start basing their arguments on things they can explain rationally, like survey data (without considering that customers respond to them emotionally.) One of the problems is that even when our feelings are accurate, they can be hard to articulate. So instead of going with an argument that feels best, we go with one that sounds reasonable.

I remember when Subaru launched their “Love” campaign several years ago. It highlighted the love that drivers feel for their cars, and a Washington Times article was quick to berate them for mentioning love as a reason for buying a car. According to the article, love is an irrational emotion that has no place in the realm of purchasing decisions or anywhere in business. It’s a common belief that the emotion of love should be barred from business, yet this is highly ironic because love is the one ingredient that can help businesses generate the highest prosperity.

Emotions profoundly impact the rhythmic beating of our heart and the signals it transmits to our brain. These signals cause measurable changes in our brain’s ability to think and process information. When our emotions are positive, emanating from the heart, we are in a state of coherence, where the electrical patterns of the brain synchronize with the rhythmic patterns of the heart. In this state, our brain functions at peak levels.

When we experience positive, heartfelt emotions, such as compassion, appreciation and gratitude, our mind becomes far more sharp and clear. Our cortical function is enhanced and we are able to see possibilities where previously we could perceive only dead-endings. We are able to rapidly recall information committed to memory and mentally sift through large amounts of data, finding the most relevant facts and making the best decisions. New understandings about the market place and the organization are quicker to emerge, and we are more adaptive to change. When businesses consistently foster positive, heartfelt emotions in their organization, the performance of their employees skyrocket and enhanced creativity leads to greater innovations.

A recent IBM survey of over 1500 global CEO’s concludes that creativity, adaptability, and the mental aptitude to process growing volumes of data, are the qualities that organizations need to succeed into the future. As the business world becomes increasingly complex and fast-paced, employees are increasingly challenged to find local, instant solutions that work. The capacity to thrive in these environments is engendered by positive, heart-based emotions.

In contrast, when our emotions are negative, such as fear, anger, worry, and anxiety, we severely limit learning, memory, cognition, and problem-solving. This causes decreased productivity, poor or short-sighted decisions, difficulty finding the right words and remembering key facts, a slowed reaction speed, and the feeling of being overwhelmed. People and organizations in this state simply can’t compete effectively.

Many corporate environments are riddled with anxiety, sometimes even by design, as many leaders believe that employees work harder when motivated by fear. But as a leader, don’t let conventional thinking convince you that having heart in business is irrational or a sign of weakness. Leaders maximize prosperity not by aggravating people into doing more, but rather by nurturing their emotional health. This is the key to the organization’s long-term viability. Among other methods, you can help people feel positive, heartfelt emotions by controlling your own emotions, defining a purpose that resonates, trusting people, and creating more collaborative environments.

Watch this short video on emotions.

Quantum Physics of Belief – Positive Emotional States

Since the beginning of January 2012, I was writing about quantum physics and business research to explore the correlation between the science of consciousness and patterns in the business world, to suggest innovative ways of using this wisdom to lead and succeed in a business environment that is constantly evolving at a rapid pace. Neurobiology is telling us we can read other people’s emotions, and we know that positive emotional states foster business success. When people are in a positive emotional state, their cognitive ability is significantly enhanced and their ability to be creative is elevated. As leaders, we can learn to monitor the emotions of our employees and teams, but it requires that we literally get out of our heads and into our bodies.

Especially with the Information Age, our heads are often buzzing while we try to keep up with all of the information coming at us. In business we are usually consumed with analysis and reasoning. As rewarding as a strong analytical mind can be, it can also be a detriment if we become conditioned to always keeping our awareness in that realm. Our nervous system extends through our entire body, and we need to become familiar with all of it in order to use it as a receptor to other people’s emotions. Therefore, we have some learning to do.

You can expand your sensitivity to emotion by paying attention to the sensations in your body when you experience particular emotional states. Pay attention to all parts of your body, becoming aware of how they feel. This is part of listening to your body; one of the six step process that I outlined in my earlier article on Insightful Instincts. Our bodies love to receive the attention that they need. Does the temperature in areas of your body change as your emotions change? Is the quality of energy different, sometimes tingling and sometimes throbbing? Is there a particular heaviness or lightness in your body? It is important to realize that the way emotions feel is specific to an individual. For example, when I feel frustrated or overwhelmed, my hands throb and feel tired and heavy, as if I am carrying a heavy load. Other people will not feel frustration and angst in the same manner.

To use this ability in a business setting, there are particular emotions that are useful to know in ourselves.

It can be extremely useful to determine if people are feeling valued and appreciated. How does your body feel when you believe you are a valued member of a team? Perhaps your body feels light and you feel warmness in your upper torso. In contrast, what sensations do you get in your body when you feel ignored or disrespected by your co-workers or boss? Become aware of these feelings in your teams.

You want employees and co-workers to feel compelled and inspired to achieve the goals of the company. How does your body feel when you are working towards a mission that is meaningful to you? Perhaps you get a strong expansion of energy around your heart and head. In contrast, what sensations do you get when you are apathetic about achieving the goals of your company or feel that there is no compelling vision? Knowing how these emotions feel in your body gives you a baseline for determining how much passion your employees and coworkers feel.

Sometimes teams need an injection of optimism or help solving a problem. What sensations do you get when you feel that failure is imminent or you are facing a serious problem?  Perhaps your energy drops and your feet feel leaden or there is a burning in the pit of your stomach. Determine if these emotions are present in your employees, so you know who needs help.

Your own experiences in everyday business life likely give you the opportunity to feel some of these emotions and become familiar with them in your body. In addition, you can learn to feel them by thinking about a time in the past when you were faced with conditions that caused these emotions. Recall the details of scenarios, conjuring up all the emotion. And of course, pay attention to the details of how your body feels.

Controlling Your Emotions

It is clear that no one wants to control their emotions in such a way that it would make them all disappear—including the good or positive emotions. After all, what fun would there be to live a life without joy, without enthusiasm?

The good news is this control can be selective, just like the products that kill stubborn weeds in your kitchen garden while leaving the carrots intact. As a matter of fact, not only do carrots grow best when they are not cluttered by weeds, but so it is with human emotions.

Now, you will most probably admit that it is difficult—if not impossible—to feel joyful while being anxious or depressed at the same time. The control of your negative emotions is usually sufficient in itself to allow positive emotions to blossom.

However, to control a phenomenon, it is usually essential to know the cause. For most human beings, the cause of their emotions is found in some event of their distant or recent past, present, or future. And so we can often hear them say:

• "This good news made me happy."
• "My son's failures depress me."
• "The death of my mother saddens me."
• "My daughter's rudeness makes me angry."
• "Heights scare me."

Every time, the person identifies the event (good news, failure, death, rudeness, and heights) as the cause of a particular emotion (joy, depression, sadness, anger, and anxiety). Almost everyone will find that this theory is fully satisfactory and realistic. This is probably what you believe as well.

And yet not only is this theory one of the most pernicious errors we can imagine, but a moment of reflection will suffice to prove that no event—whether past, present, or future—never causes the shadow of an emotion to anyone.

The real cause of human emotions can be found in the thoughts, beliefs, ideas, personal reflections, interpretations, opinions... in short, in the way we talk to ourselves about an event—whether past, present, or future. In other words, our emotions—positive or negative, good or bad—are never caused by an event.

Your happiness and emotional wellness mainly depend on the fact that you know, understand, and accept the true cause of your emotions—whether positive or negative, good or bad.

As a matter of fact, I believe that it is the cornerstone of the entire system by which you can learn to modify your own emotions and thus raise your level of happiness and improve the quality of your life.

Thoughts and Beliefs

Let’s continue to explore how your thoughts and beliefs cause your emotions. This time, however, our discussion will be specifically focused on your beliefs.

You and I believe many things. To believe is to hold true something for which we don’t have any proof. If there is any evidence of the truth of something, we won’t say that we believe, but that we know. For example:

• You know that Planet Earth is round, but you believe that the coffee you drank this morning will not cause you any harm.
• You know that you have eaten a tuna fish sandwich for lunch, but you believe that your favorite sport team will win the game tonight.
• You know that it rained heavily today, but you believe that tomorrow will be a bright sunshiny day.

Our beliefs are thus forms of unproven ideas that may have a presence in our minds without us being really aware of it. Moreover, many of these beliefs can cause powerful emotions resulting in acts or omissions potentially harmful to us.

In other words, not only can some of our beliefs have devastating emotional effects, but they can either lead us to perform acts that are diametrically opposite to our true interests, or conversely, cause us to omit other actions in an equally harmful way.

In consequence, it is of paramount importance for us to pay attention to the beliefs we choose for ourselves and to be careful not to let ourselves be overwhelmed by a whole heap of unproven thoughts and ideas which, if they are often harmless, can unfortunately be, in other cases, considerably hurtful.

To sum up what I have stressed so far: Our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs about the various events, people, and things that life brings to us are the true cause of our emotions—positive or negative, good or bad. It also goes without saying that events, people, and things never cause us the shadow of an emotion. Therefore, we can also conclude that the change of our cognitive content—thoughts, ideas, beliefs—will cause the change of our emotions.

Quantum Physics of Belief – Intuition

In the last couple of articles in this Quantum Physics of Belief series, I was specifically discussing the usefulness of utilizing our instincts in making decisions that align our personal and organizational values to succeed at work.

Neuroscience shows that instinct plays a leading role in all types of decision-making. Our traditional ways of learning and thinking also favor the rational mind, leaving our potential for “intuitive intelligence” untapped. Intuitive Intelligence helps us activate the profound, yet often intangible, interaction between instinct and play.

Listening to the silent voice inside your head gets portrayed in movies and books as the evil part of man's mind that turns mild-mannered citizens into lunatic killers. Business people have even seen intuition as some mystic hocus pocus nonsense that has no place in effective decision making in the executive or entrepreneurial world. It's no wonder that many of us have been conditioned to ignore that voice and only listen to outside signals as our measurement of effectiveness to the actions we take in life.

We tend to think that rational decisions trump gut decisions, that hierarchy is necessary, and that logic rules all. The reality is that intuition and instinct—as imperfect as they may seem—are our most valuable untapped skills and the keys to unlocking creativity, understanding consumer decision-making and performing our best at work. Therefore, let us take a look at why gut decisions are more than guesses and why our typical approaches to decision-making are not in sync with how the human mind really works.

Businesses in particular, especially in times like these, tend to exert control and logic at the expense of creative thinking.  However, some leading companies are going against the grain by tapping intuitive intelligence to win customers and profit. Here are some examples: Google does by getting the most from their teams with a paradoxical work culture; Hermès does by attracting customers with everything instinctual instead of rational price; Virgin America does by redefining customer experience to reinvent the airline industry.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines Intuition as: "The knowledge from within; instinctive knowledge or feeling without the use of rational processes."

Intuition is not about extrasensory perception (ESP), a sixth sense or anything mystical or metaphysical. You know that sudden flash of insight that comes out of nowhere? It's that sense you get or decision you make without really thinking about it; it just comes to you. That's your intuition.

In reality, it doesn't come out of nowhere. It is about data, gathered by your five senses, being recognized by everything your subconscious mind is aware of. And it is aware of everything.

Instead of dismissing intuition as an unfounded and irrational impulse, genius level success requires that you learn to accept and respect this voice, as it is your natural talents talking to you.

But do you really listen to it, or do you scoff at the idea that you actually pay attention to your inner voice? That intuitive voice is your guide, the one thing that you can truly count on that is always looking out for your best interest… if you choose to listen to it, not intercept the message, and ACT on its direction.

It’s very easy to let your voice of intuition be clouded by other things. Fear, desire, self-doubt, and rationalizing are all some of the many types of intuition blockers. Instead, trust that your intuition is your personal guide to the correct path for you at all times. Not just when your intuition falls in line with your thoughts on a subject. Turn off whatever limiting beliefs that may be overpowering your intuition.

Perhaps it’s your belief that intuition is just ‘mumbo jumbo’. It is easy to believe this because intuition is not thought of as a concrete thing. It is based on nonverbal things, feelings, unconscious thought, and instinct. This is definitely not a description for people who define things in black and white. Intuition is often looked at as gray. But it is not. Intuition is basically a synopsis of information that has been taken in through all of the senses, memory, subconscious, and reasoning.

When your intuition speaks to you do you hear it? Do you know how to identify it? Your intuition typically kicks in when you are quiet. Many people find answers to their questions in the dreams, or when meditating. Others find them “out of the blue”, when they are not looking for them. Many “feel” the right thing to do, or what the next course of action should be. There are many ways that your intuition will speak to you, and everyone’s intuition is unique.

How does one learn to trust their intuition? Like everything else, if it is practiced it becomes second nature. Allow yourself to consciously ask for the answers to something that you are seeking and write down the results when they occur. Visualize you unlocking a door and seeing your answer tumble from within.

Through repetition and proof, your confidence in your intuition will grow and it will become second nature to trust it automatically. Armed with this knowledge, you can engage in imaginative play to discover new solutions to even today’s most complicated challenges.

This is easier said than done, though. Just as we are taught not to trust our subconscious mind as much as our conscious one, we are also taught to go with what we know, not what we feel.

Great athletes are often quoted as saying, "If I have to think about it, it's too late." Even those people that most of us would assume must be very logical and rational turn out to be very much driven by their intuitions.

Albert Einstein's genius for conceptual thinking was much more a feeling for him than a rationalization of the facts. So intuitive and pure was this talent, that he once wrote, "There is no logical path to [truth]. Only intuition, resting on sympathetic understanding of experience, can reach it."

This level of trust in intuition is not unusual for any of the modern day geniuses we studied either. Most had a very hard time attempting to explain their decisions in a literal sense. They just knew how they felt and what things they saw clearly or not. Their level of intuition and willingness to trust their gut is extreme.

Learning to trust your intuition will be one of the more significant journeys you will take to reach genius levels in every aspect of your life. Think about the times in your past when you trusted your "gut" more than your brain or perhaps the times you responded to a situation or question effectively without having to think about it.

That, my friends is your intuition. It is what you need to listen to.

“The people in the Indian countryside don’t use their intellect like we do, they use their intuition instead, and the intuition is far more developed than in the rest of the world… Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That’s had a big impact on my work. Western rational thought is not an innate human characteristic, it is learned and it is the great achievement of Western civilization. In the villages of India, they never learned it. They learned something else, which is in some ways just as valuable but in other ways, is not. That’s the power of intuition and experiential wisdom.” ~ Steve Jobs

Quantum Physics of Belief – Trusting Gut Instincts

In the last couple of articles, I was specifically discussing the usefulness of utilizing our instincts in making decisions that align our personal and organizational values to succeed at work.

Most executives did not get to where they are without keen instincts. When the time comes to make a decision, a leader relies largely on his or her gut – that is simply a fact of life. We would not suggest that gut instincts ever be taken out of the decision-making process, but there are times that process can be strengthened by objective analysis to reduce the risk often involved with extremely important judgments.

All of us use the experiences we have built throughout our lives as the basis for our gut instincts; we often chart a course of action without considering the logical components of those actions. You need look no further than today’s bitterly divisive, toxic political environment to see examples of unbridled gut instinct kicking logic and reason to the curb.

But gut reactions are not limited to large-scale, sweeping applications; they are an everyday occurrence. On your drive to work today, you more than likely reacted to some sort of traffic development, such as having to swerve out of the way of a reckless driver impinging on your lane. You didn’t have time to logically and coolly consider all of your available options. You had to make a move, so you made it.

Some of today’s most advanced neuroscience research suggests that our brains act in a similar manner even when making decisions in much less stressful scenarios. Many times, people unconsciously weigh emotional tags associated with memory rather than consciously weighing the pros and cons of a particular decision in a rational manner. We feel before we think.

It is ludicrous, obviously, to argue that business leaders should always disregard their instincts and make critical decisions solely on a logical, objective basis. You cannot ignore your gut, nor should you. Your instincts frame the manner in which you look at a particular decision. They have a massive influence on the options you choose to consider and how you gather data. They even help determine what people you listen to and what people you largely ignore. Even when you tell yourself you are going to be cool and rational, you can never completely discount your instinct.

However, it is imperative that you protect your decision-making process from long-held biases. Doing so means learning when you can trust your gut instincts, and when you need to take a more analytical course. Here are some suggestions how to make that vital distinction.

Drawing upon experience can be a powerful way to ensure sound decision-making. The subconscious mind relies on the recognition of patterns. If we have an ample amount of applicable memories that we can scan regarding a certain important decision, the better chance we have of making the correct decision. Chess masters, for example, have a huge bank of memories they can call upon regarding whatever situation occurs during a match. That is why they can make crisp, correct decisions in as little as six seconds.

Just because we have a bank of memories to draw upon does not mean they will help us make a sound choice. There have been plenty of terrible decisions based on a wealth of experience when that experience was not applicable to the particular situation.

You can have all the experience in the world, but it is not only useless if you did not learn the right lessons, it can be downright crippling. If you do not receive productive feedback then it is easy for you to take decisive action and automatically feel good about it. If you don’t have frank, honest feedback – basically, when you are surrounded by “yes men” – then it will be nearly impossible for you to receive any kind of objective assessment on past decisions.

If those past decisions were bad, and you rely on past experience in making those bad decisions, that will only lead to even more bad decisions and more after that. “Yes men” are a pox on clear-headed, objective and effective decision-making. If you have people filtering bad news or protecting you from it, you are doomed to making one faulty judgment after another. Take a long, hard look at the people around you – if you are surrounded by sycophants, your enterprise’s downward slide will only continue to get worse.

Do we trust our brains and rational thinking when making important decisions? Or do we make better decisions based on gut instinct and emotions? Recent research on the process of decision-making has brought to light surprising conclusions that contradict conventional wisdom.

Research published in Science, indicates that effective, conscious decision-making requires cognitive resources, and because increasingly complex decisions place increasing strain on these sources, the quality of our decisions declines as the complexity of decisions increases. In short, complex decisions overrun our cognitive powers.

On the other hand, the researchers argue, unconscious decision-making–or intuition or gut instinct–requires no cognitive resources, so task complexity doesn’t degrade its effectiveness. This seemingly counter-intuitive conclusion is that although simple decisions are enhanced by conscious thought, the opposite holds true for complex thinking.

Two pertinent questions are: What accounts for a complex decision and what accounts for a good outcome to that decision? Studies of the criminal justice system show that people value less the legal system’s outcomes, as much as the opportunity to see justice done. So the outcome is a matter of perspective.

While researchers disagree on the best way to make complex or strategic decisions, they bring to light for leaders the importance of both rational, logical thinking and subconscious intuitive or gut thinking.