Author: Joni Peddie
Without exaggerating, there are literally hundreds of ways of becoming more self- aware, and hence be more Adaptable to embrace and think through opportunities and / or adversity. As a Preferred Partner in South Africa for the Six Seconds EQ Worldwide Network (in 174 countries), we talk about ‘emotions driving people, and people driving performance’. […]
Without exaggerating, there are literally hundreds of ways of becoming more self- aware, and hence be more Adaptable to embrace and think through opportunities and / or adversity.
As a Preferred Partner in South Africa for the Six Seconds EQ Worldwide Network (in 174 countries), we talk about ‘emotions driving people, and people driving performance’. As Leaders we need to act with purpose and forethought, and one of the enablers for this is ‘pausing’ to look ahead, before you jump in. Applying consequential thinking (ACT) is one of the eight competencies in the Six Seconds Model of Emotional Intelligence.
ACT takes into account that we can use our emotions and our rational thinking to help us pause, evaluate our choices, and the in-turn ensure that we are more ‘adaptable’ for that set of circumstances. Perhaps you need to ask yourself a few questions: ‘What else do I need to take into account?’ ; ‘What / who will give me perspective?’ ; ‘What are the implications for myself / others, in both the short- term and the long-term?’
All 8 EQ competencies are all learnable competencies. ACT, is one that I have focused on developing. I run a busy life (like most people) and a business that delivers workshops and programmes for Clients in different time zones. Everything I do aligns with my personal purpose statement – ‘To inspire actionable resilience, for people to live their best, and most optimal life’. I often need to ‘make choices’ and weigh up the Pros and Cons. To ensure that I have time to ask myself the right provocative questions – I need to push the ‘pause button’. This ensures that I can be intentional and responsive, as opposed to reactive and impulsive.
Here are three practical ways to ‘push your own pause button’, so that you can strengthen your AQ. Your ‘Adaptability Quotient’..
When I am emotionally triggered, and worrying that my rational thinking will go out the window, I know that I need to ‘do something’. As a result, I stand-up and get away from my desk. I go and bounce (for about two minutes) vigorously on my mini-trampoline, which is five meters from my desk, on my veranda. If I am in a meeting room / board room, I will fabricate a ‘bathroom break’. When in the bathroom, I do fifty deep squats (in the cubicle if others are around). I try and focus on the counting, so that I give my ‘brain-a-breather’ and keep counting under my breath until I get to fifty! ‘Motion shifts Emotion’. This buys me time to ACT, and to think through my choices. I want to think through how I potentially want to respond, when I get back to the board room.
If I am working on a project, or trying to re-prioritise my day – I’ll use Dr Caroline Leaf’s breathing technique which is beautifully simple and incredibly practical.
I will get up from my desk and walk to the kitchen to get something to drink, or a healthy snack. As I walk, I breathe-in (through my nose) to the count of three and mentally ask myself – “What do I feel?” and “What do I think?”.
I then breathe-out (through my mouth) to the count of seven and ask myself (mentally) – “What do I choose?”. I’ll do this breathing / mental-clearing technique about three times.
Answers and ‘pearls of wisdom’ don’t immediately spring to mind. However, this is what I call the ‘windscreen wiper’ for my brain. I return to my desk and look at the project / task at hand, and it feels like the burst of oxygen to my brain has given me ‘fresh eyes’ (like a clean windscreen) and a new perspective for ‘consequential thinking’. In other words a long-range view of potential ‘consequences’. This greatly enhances ‘choice’ and adaptability.
None of these are rocket science.None of them cost a cent. So remind yourself that there is a vast difference between ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’. Challenge yourself to do one of them TODAY, and boost your ‘adaptability quotient’.
Dr Caroline Leaf is a neuro-scientist specialising in cognitive and metacognitive neuropsychology. Her latest book (released on 2 March 2021) is a must-read: “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress & Toxic Thinking”
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Facebook
Read further articles in similar categories
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
Excited to share the big news that I’ve been talking with many of you about already! The Launch You’ve Been Waiting For. How to Get Results #NoMatterWhat, It turns out there’s actually proven science around how to get results #NoMatterWhat. It’s all too clear that this is still a really tough time for many people […]
Rebel technologists thrive when a couple of key environmental factors are in place The first thing is budget. Making sure that you can find the necessary budget to be able to instil these changes is an ideal starting point. If you aren’t working towards some kind of return on investment, somewhere along the line, why should […]
Aerial warfare of a whole different flavour has hit the open skies. Anti “Flying Pineapple” technology implemented by various private companies has become a thorny issue for the world’s biggest online retailer, Amazon furious about the use of anti-“Flying Pineapple” technology. Disclaimer: This article is a forecast of a possible future and should not be […]
Emotions That Could Be Stopping You From Living Your Dreams and Hurtful memories can stifle your development and growth. How do we break through this insidious mental conditioning? How do we grow and develop beyond hurtful episodes that bury themselves in our subconscious and influence our lives? Do we change and grow so that we […]
How to Craft Powerful Stories that Can Drive Culture Change There is an old adage that says: If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the stories. If you want to change a culture, change the stories. I had a first-hand experience with this very early on in my career. The MD […]
Raizcorp supports over 500 businesses, find out their innovative selection process and how success can be your downfall. Allon Raiz, is a successful entrepreneur building numerous businesses and he is the founder of Raizcorp which nurtures entrepreneurs and grows profitable businesses. How Allon Raiz Went From A Failed Business To Raizcorp Allon Raiz is regarded […]
LONG LIVE THE COMFORT ZONE. It’s been getting a bad rap for years! Popular activities for team-building include exercises to help teams think outside the box, workshops that force us outside our comfort zones, seminars are designed to inspire attendees to embrace discomfort in the name of personal growth … the list goes on. As […]
Success always starts with failure or rather, often starts with failure. Sometimes when you do something, it becomes a success but happens very rarely. When you want to do something or start something new, try it out in a small scale so that the failure is survivable. You should make sure that adequate data are […]
No results available
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME