This is part of my Get Better Friday, all about being a better leader. Each piece is about me describing what I’ve been practicing to help me become a better leader and coach for my team, my career and my personal life.
This week:
- Trusting your instincts before making a big decision.
- Two tactics to increase your awareness for your instincts.
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This also appeared in the CorrTek Marketing Mixer #21. Also in the newsletter:
- Why social media isn’t a magic lever.
- How to create your own personal brand content machine.
- Using social media to virtually attend events.
- One of my favorite places in all of Arizona.
Getting away from distractions
Previously I talked about trusting your instincts and two different methods you could try. One is to flip a coin, and two is to interview your future self. If you missed my breakdown, click here to go read or watch. I highly encourage you to go back and look at that video, because it’s I think it’s important before making big decisions that you listen to what your instincts are telling you.
Since I posted that, I’ve been thinking more about that concept and how to listen to your instincts. I’m attempting to instigate that conversation in my head more frequently, because it’s not automatic.
There’s a way that I really want to recommend and has worked for me to focus on my instinct. In order for you to hear your instincts, you need to give yourself space to be to hear them. You need to find the place, moment and time for clarity. This will allow you the space to hear what your instincts are trying to tell you. We have hundreds of things trying to pull us in hundreds of directions all day long, an overwhelming amount of distractions at all times. With all those distractions, they bury your inner voice.
I’ll give you an example, probably something you’ve experienced today. You have an idea and you decide you will investigate. You take out your phone and was waiting for you. 900 different notifications. So, then you go look at Facebook and it’s someone’s birthday and someone replied “k” to an earlier message. There’s also a text message from your dentist for your appointment on Thursday.
The next thing you know, you’ve forgotten why you got your phone out and what you were going to research. Now that idea has just… Flown away. This is why you need to give yourself space. You need time where you can disconnect, life without notifications flying in front of you. A moment with no distractions.
Now, I’m not anti-tech, anti-phone smartphone. This isn’t that message. These things are deeply integrated into all our lives, so I’m not advocating for anti-tech. But, I am saying that you have to find time where you explicitly give yourself space to have just your thoughts. A distraction-free environment to think about these big decisions.
Some people do this through meditation. Some through prayer. For me, it’s connecting with nature. I go on a hike. Go climb a mountain. I go on a long dirt road and have a moment to just think about what it is has happening in my life and what I want. It doesn’t mean that when I go I put my headphones in and listen to podcasts or my favorite music. Nothing else but me and my thoughts.
In those moments, that’s when I can hear what my instincts are trying to tell me. It’s when I interview myself and I asked those questions that maybe I’ve been avoiding. I see how I’m feeling now and interview my future self or flip that coin. In order to do that, I need separation and to have that moment inside my head with no distractions. You can do a daily or weekly, or however often, just give yourself that moment. The time when you separate yourself, you pull yourself away from the busyness.
I’d love to hear from you if you did this or if you already do it, how you make that space to hear your instincts. If you’re not doing it I’d love for you to try it, for you to in the middle of the day get up from your desk or from your office or where you are and go walk for 20 minutes. Don’t bring your phone with you, go walk and talk to yourself. Ask yourself the questions you were looking for answers on, even if it’s just something that’s coming up later in the afternoon. Separate yourself from the distraction and you will come back ready to move on those ideas.
Try it once or maybe try it every day for an hour. See what you come up with.