{"id":32256,"date":"2023-04-06T22:42:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T05:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=32256"},"modified":"2023-04-06T22:42:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T05:42:43","slug":"an-exercise-to-get-us-out-of-our-heads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/an-exercise-to-get-us-out-of-our-heads\/","title":{"rendered":"An Exercise to Get Us Out of Our Heads"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2020, researchers at Queen\u2019s University in Canada used brain imaging to detect how many thoughts people have in one day. By comparing study participants\u2019 brain patterns while watching a movie to those at other times of day, they were able to identify what they called \u201cthought worms,\u201d which were trains of thought that transitioned from one to another as events in the movie unfolded. These same worms of thought were identifiable throughout the day as participants\u2019 engaged in ordinary activities. By measuring how often one thought ended and a new one emerged, researchers found a median rate of about 6.5 transitions per minute. Over the course of 16 waking hours, this means that participants had about 6,200 thoughts per day. <\/span>[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

When I first read this article, I was relieved to find out that the zoo of thoughts I wrestle with each day wasn\u2019t just me, it\u2019s all of our brains.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, the central idea of David Rock\u2019s book, <\/span>Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long<\/span><\/em>, could be summed by his own words:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrustration at your limitations, mistakes, missed opportunities, forgetfulness, or bad habits can generate a lot of limbic activity. . . as you learn more about your brain, you begin to see that many of your foibles and mistakes come down to the way your brain is built.\u201d<\/span>[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

All semester I\u2019ve been learning about my brain, my thinking, and my perceptions. By now, I am starting to see that many of my mistakes come down to the way my brain is built. \u00a0I cannot think about a complex<\/span>[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0mediation case while I\u2019m shopping for groceries at the same time. (I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve stood in the produce section choosing apples, talking to myself and not remembering putting the apples in the cart). \u00a0 Thank goodness, it\u2019s not me, it\u2019s my brain! <\/span><\/p>\n

Nor can I learn to do anything new and complex<\/span>[4]<\/a><\/sup>\u2013such as aerial yoga in downtown Portland (I have pictures to prove it!) without a trained instructor\u2013my limbic system was all over the place from uncertainty. The mistakes I made at first were comical but could also be dangerous, as I was hanging upside down holding onto silk\/nylon material relying on every word from the instructor. \u00a0Again, it\u2019s not me that has so many limitations, it\u2019s my brain. And I\u2019ve learned throughout this program that I cannot read certain books and write essays after 7 PM. (I must be older than Scott because his cut off was 10 PM). <\/span><\/p>\n

My NPO is centered around how the lack of support for leaders today makes people not want to lead tomorrow. \u00a0Specifically, I care about the provision given to leaders so that certain character qualities, like humility, can remain nurtured throughout the leader\u2019s lifetime. \u00a0Two other quotes from the book caused me pause in relation to my NPO and what I\u2019ve been writing about this week. \u00a0Rock asserts, \u201cYour ability to regulate your emotions instead of being at the mercy of them is central to being effective in a chaotic world.\u201d<\/span>[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 \u00a0In the quotes he says, \u201cBeing able to stay cool under pressure is a basic requirement for many jobs today. <\/span>For people in leadership positions, this need is even more acute.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

As I read this book and thought about my NPO, I thought about all of you. \u00a0How does your organization or your team give you support so you can take the time to \u201cregulate your emotions\u201d and \u201cstay cool under pressure?\u201d \u00a0In a workshop I was leading church leaders last year, I started our time with this exercise<\/span>[7]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and I wanted to offer it to each one of you.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. List 5-10 things that you\u2019ve spent the most time thinking about today.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \n

    \n

      \n
    1. What are the primary emotions you tie to or associate with those things?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \n

      \n

        \n
      1. Now take the most prevalent emotion and write it in the middle of the circle below. \u00a0Scattered around the circles, write everything you can think of that is contributing to that emotion. \u00a0<\/span>It could be good or bad. You might write anxious, or peaceful, overwhelmed, angry, afraid. Whatever it is, write it down.<\/span>\u00a0You might write \u201claundry that isn\u2019t done\u201d Or \u201cwork\u201d or \u201ckids\u201d or \u201cfinancial stress,\u201d or \u201cbody image issues,\u201d or \u201cdoctoral work,\u201d or \u201cthe state of the world,\u201d or \u201ctense relationships.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Keep going until you\u2019ve exhausted all the things prompting the emotion you wrote down.<\/span><\/p>\n

        <\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

        \n

        Dr. David Rock tells us that when we just describe an emotion in a word or two, it helps reduce the emotion<\/span>[8]<\/a><\/sup>. Hopefully, it will reduce our 6,200 thoughts down to 620. \u00a0I\u2019ll take 62! <\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
        \n

        [1]<\/a>\u00a0Queen\u2019s Gazette | Queen\u2019s University. \u201cDiscovery of \u2018Thought Worms\u2019 Opens Window to the Mind,\u201d July 13, 2020.<\/span>\u00a0<\/a><\/span>https:\/\/www.queensu.ca\/gazette\/stories\/discovery-thought-worms-opens-window-mind<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [2]<\/a>\u00a0Rock, David. <\/span>Your Brain at Work, Revised and Updated: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long<\/span>. 1st edition. Harper Business, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [3]<\/a>\u00a0IBID.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [4]<\/a>\u00a0IBID.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [5]<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>IBID.<\/span>\u00a099.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [6]<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>IBID.<\/span>\u00a0114<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [7]<\/a>\u00a0Allen, Jennie. <\/span>Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts<\/span>. WaterBrook, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [8]<\/a>\u00a0IBID. 114.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        In 2020, researchers at Queen\u2019s University in Canada used brain imaging to detect how many thoughts people have in one day. By comparing study participants\u2019 brain patterns while watching a movie to those at other times of day, they were able to identify what they called \u201cthought worms,\u201d which were trains of thought that transitioned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2749,2744,2203,2747,2748,2745,2743,2746,2729,35],"class_list":["post-32256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-createdingodsimage","tag-emotions","tag-leadershipidentity","tag-support","tag-supportingleaders","tag-thoughts","tag-thresholds","tag-unwindinganxiety","tag-yourbrainatwork","tag-leadership","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32256"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32257,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32256\/revisions\/32257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}