Comments for Emotus Operandi

Comment on What’s holding you back? Really? by Marie-Therese Maurice

Marie-Therese Maurice — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:17:35 +0000

Confident is my catch word. There are many more that would work. Lots to work on… Looking forward to it.

Comment on What’s holding you back? Really? by Gilles et Ghisèle Maurice

Gilles et Ghisèle Maurice — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:42:02 +0000

What’s holding me back? It’s time to go to bed!

But, seriously, tomorrow my word is going to be FUN and I’ll find someway to have fun! Thanks Ben. Goodnight!

Comment on Man on a Mission by Gilles et Ghisèle Maurice

Gilles et Ghisèle Maurice — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:20:08 +0000

(Gilles’ words): Félicitations Ben for a clear and precise presentation of your work (Gilles’ words)
(Ghisèle’s words): After reading this, I feel I really understand what it is you do and it sounds exciting! In what you wrote, I recognized both our office and our board’s “challenges”: “busywork” and petty squabbles and conflicts. I love the following sentence: “It requires letting go of the illusion of control and embracing work with a spirit of adventure and discovery.”
Good luck to you on your “tour”, the first of many for Emotus Operandi, I hope. My only sadness is that we won’t be seeing you this year. I’m happy that Facebook, at least, enables me to follow what you are doing. Vas-y, mon vieux ! I’ll be cheering for you all the way.
P.S. Our best regards to your US family, especially Louise on her 80th.

Comment on Aim-Act-Reflect Results by Corwin Hiebert

Corwin Hiebert — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:59:02 +0000

I’m in the minority – reflection gets in the way of action: “I don’t know where I’m going but I’m making great time” – applies here I think. Uggg.

Comment on 5 Words by Ben

Ben — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:23:02 +0000

Hey Terry,

I don’t think you’re alone on that one.

On the evolution front, there is an important concept called the EEA or Environment of Evolutionary Adaptation. For example, our current genes are primarily adapted to a hard physical life on the savannah were one of the main problems was food scarcity. In that environment, craving sweets and fatty foods was a positive adaptation because it was a way to stock up on scarce calories. In our current environment, though, those cravings are maladaptive.

The same thing is true about that feeling of overwhelm or panic as we get closer to the rubber hitting the road. We go into it in a lot more detail in the Jump Start session, but the short version is the result of our fear system being finely tuned to save us from things like snakes and lions: great on the savannah, but maladaptive in the modern environment we currently live it.

The real problem is what we call Monkey Mind – a term stolen from Buddhism that refers to the endless chatter that goes on in most of our heads. For most of us, the chatter is so pervasive, that we hardly even notice it anymore – EXCEPT that is, in how it causes us to feel. In this case, I’m betting that as you get closer to the clarity, the old Monkey Mind kicks into high gear telling you all sorts of stories about how the goal isn’t realistic, how you might fail at it, how you might look foolish to others, etc. etc. etc.

As long as these stories stay just below the surface, we are unaware of their specific content, but get this overwhelming sense of panic and dread.

So, the solution is learning how to slowly unearth all that Monkey Mind chatter. Usually, simply becoming aware of it reduces 90% of the power it has to derail you.

Comment on 5 Words by Terry

Terry — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:31:00 +0000

I’ve noticed (again) that whenever I come close to an important target, in this case achieving some clarity re: the sweet spot, I can, and often do, slip quickly back into anxiety and confusion. I wonder if this nothing more than habit. Neurologically speaking, I don’t see how so much anxiety and confusion increases my chances of survival.* I forgot to add “OVERWHELMED” to my list of words describing when I’m not in the sweet spot.
*This comes from a great book Ben recommended: “Why God Won’t Go Away–Brain Science and the Biology of Belief.”

Comment on 5 Words by Ben

Ben — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:42:41 +0000

Opps. The capitalization thing is my bad. It’s an option that I usually turn on but forgot in my rush today.

I love the reminder to hit reset though.

Comment on 5 Words by Becca

Becca — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:32:48 +0000

It makes me think about practicing being aware when I am feeling the negative side of things — can I stop and shift my energy, by practicing centering, or taking a stretch break, or walking around the block, or ….?

Interesting aside that the word cloud feature is clearly case sensitive — so if one person capitalizes it and another doesn’t it treats it as two different words .

Comment on 5 Words by Ben

Ben — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:24:31 +0000

Thanks, Monique. It reminds me of something that Martha Nussbaum says about emotions: the old model is that emotions are like the weather – they just sort of happen to us – but they are really more like a feedback system on the choices that we’ve made and are making.

Comment on 5 Words by Monique Trottier

Monique Trottier — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:07:27 +0000

The word clouds remind me that there are things in my control related to what I’m doing in my life that leads to feeling tired, lethargic or anxious, and what leads me to feeling rested, happy and energized. There’s causation and correlation. But certainly things I can do to stay in the groove more often.