What's On Your Mind?

As I grow older I’m increasingly aware of my memory limitations and the toll it can take on my work, interaction with people, and self-esteem. It’s embarrassing not to remember a person’s name, misplace an important file, or overlook an appointment. This week I interacted with a number of seniors who are currently experiencing memory loss caused by various health issues. In spite of how hard we “Baby Boomers” might try, there is no guarantee that memory impairment won’t impact our future retirement years. I could continue to recount the experiences of family and friends who have lost key elements of their memory but that isn’t the focus of my thoughts this week. Instead I want to offer some observations and insights about the way we think.

Leaders frequently face challenges that can seem insurmountable. There are so many things in our world and work environment that we can’t control or change. But there is a way to alter how we think about those obstacles and problems. We can lament how much we hate to make cold calls or imagine the new people we might meet and learn more about when we pick up the phone. Our focus can be on how tight our budget is or the opportunity to unleash new creative ways of doing business. In each of these cases, what’s on our mind—the way we are thinking about the situation—is the most important thing.

Psychologists call this process reframing and it is a useful tool for any leader to learn. We tend to move in the direction of our thinking, so if we are worried and anxious our mind is more likely to see the problems and obstacles ahead. When we reframe to see the possibilities and opportunities instead, our mind is more open to new ways of thinking and acting. In this case the familiar phrase “mind over matter” becomes a mantra for seeing the world around us differently.

If you are feeling “stuck” right now try reframing the issue before you. Turn the negative into a positive, the problem into a possibility, the obstacle into an opportunity. We can’t turn back the clock on memory loss but we can choose to express the future in different terms; to see our world with a new perspective. What is on our mind as leaders does matter, but perhaps what matters more is how we choose to think about and shape our response.