The changing nature of our workforce is increasing our reliance on our head rather than our brawn.
From an Australian perspective, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) records how our industries and occupations have shifted since the 1960s and has shown how white collar professions (managers, professionals, community and personal service workers, clerical and administrative workers, sales workers) have well and truly taken over the workforce from their blue collar cousins (technicians and trades workers, machinery operators and drivers, labourers).
This ABS graph of the 'Proportion of all employed people in the blue and white collar occupations' (1966 - 2011) clearly tells the story :
I suspect the rise in more cerebral work is linked to the rising mental health statistics. Back in 2007, the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, found that “one in five of Australian adults had a mental disorder in the previous 12 months and that almost half the total Australian population would experience a mental disorder at some time in their lives”. We are close to a decade on and I don't see any improvement in that statistic. In fact, research by PwC back in 2014 estimated the impact of employees’ mental health conditions on productivity, participation and compensation claims, cost Australian employers at least $10.9 billion a year.
Although the statistics are alarming I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that we can't arrest the trend. In his book Soft-Wired, Dr Michael Merzenich, makes a convincing case for our brain’s plasticity. He says we have the power to re-strengthen, recover and re-normalise our brain, even when it has suffered large-scale distortions that accompany developmental or psychiatric disorders. He explores the ways we can improve our cognitive powers and advocates when you change your brain you can change your life. Fortunately, the mind has the power to heal if you let it.
In the poem Paradise Lost, John Milton, 17th-century English poet, echoed this sentiment through these words:
"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
The Curse of Over Thinking
When you can't turn your brain off there's a cost. I've seen many knowledge workers, although smart people, struggle to get out of their head. All that reveals is that smart people with a tendency to over think are not that smart after all.
There are a few downsides to over thinking:
- It can limit action because decisions don't get made, or take too long. An inability to act can occur if you want to run through every 'what if' scenario before doing anything.
- It can make you physically sick and feed anxiety or depression conditions. How you think impacts how you feel. Your mind and body are connected. Negativity in the mind can show up as physical symptoms in the body. That's why taking action is so important to feel uplifted and realise a sense of achievement. Action, and having something to show for that action, boosts your self esteem.
Aside from hindering decision making and action, being stuck in your head also has the potential to take you in two directions. You might find yourself in the past, replaying scenarios that you can’t change. The past is gone. It’s over. Being stuck there will keep feelings of regret surfacing and there’s nothing you can do about them. The flip side is projecting too far out into the future and feeling overwhelmed by goals that seem insurmountable. The mind can be weighed down by the sheer weight of what’s to do to get to the future position. So in both cases, regret or overwhelm, neither are helpful and simply feed self limiting mindsets.
Free Your Mind
The secret to reclaiming power from your over active mind is to be present, as in the moment. Being in the moment means being focused on what you need to do today and get that done. Again, the act of doing is essential to free the mind from over thinking. The act of doing is your most productive state too as it’s hugely rewarding when you have something to show for your effort. When you're in action mode you get things done and you build assets. For a knowledge worker, this means sharing your thoughts and turning them into tangible assets.
Professionals in service industries rely on their smarts to produce their output. As a knowledge worker your output is your advice and thought leadership. This output is captured and communicated via documents, plans, books, articles, videos or any viable medium. Professionals are expected to share their message and their opinions. They are paid to think, share that thinking and inspire others to act on their insights. So as a professional knowledge worker it’s important to harness the power of your brain and also learn how to turn your brain off. One method to turn your brain off is to do something completely different and unrelated from what you were doing. The change in focus can act as a productive jolt and welcome break.
Questions to Help Decision Making
If you get stuck ask yourself these questions to speed up some action:
1. What result do I want?
2. What are my options?
3. What's the impact of acting and not acting? List the pros and cons.
4. Do the pros outweigh the cons or visa versa?
5. How do I feel about the decision if I can't reverse it?
6. Am I willing to own the impact of this decision 100%?
If the answer to the last question is yes, then act. Always be guided by the option you feel, in your gut, is right for you. If it helps your rationale self, your gut is also referred to as your 'second brain' and worth using.
Creatives Can Get Blocked Too
Being ‘in your mind’ isn’t just a function of being in a professional or white collar job either. The creative process and those who work in purely creative professions also suffer from being too much in their head. Take the example of the Rolling Stone magazine interview with ‘soul superstar’ D'Angelo following his 2014 Black Messiah album release. The interview wasn’t just about the acclaim the album was generating but more about the 14 year hiatus between this and his last album. D’Angelo said he was eventually motivated to get the album out because he had a message to share and that it was time to get that message out of his head and into a public realm. He said: "I'm done trying to be a perfectionist about it" and admitted “but if it were left entirely up to me, it wouldn't have come out. I had to get out of my head. Because there were so many songs that I wanted people to hear.”
It's interesting that his drive and desire to release his message overtook his perfectionist streak and helped him release his album. If creatives and professionals don't share their work then our culture and industry suffers. At some point it's necessary to stop your work and say ‘enough’ to release it to the world. There’s a time when you have to execute because it doesn’t help anyone if you don’t. You have to share. Only through sharing do we work together. Other people bounce off your ideas and together we create bigger, brighter ideas. That’s the way life works. We have to build on what has come before us. It’s a bit like leap frog where you advance over the back of others so they can advance over your back again.
10 Quick Tips to Release Your Mind
- Meditate. Start small and build up, or use it when you want. There are some terrific podcasts available to help you to get started. Don't knock it until you try it.
- Write it down. Keep a journal. Just release your thoughts daily. It’s like a brain purge or detox. It’s a great way to start the day. If you exercise in the morning to shake off your cobwebs, keeping a journal is a great way to empty your mind's cobwebs and capture those top of the day ideas for later use.
- Move your body. This doesn’t have to mean a serious workout, just any physical movement to get you out of your chair and active. Simple movements like stretching, have your meeting while walking, doing odd jobs, standing while on the phone, running a few errands, taking the stairs not the lift, etc.. Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804), an early German philosopher, believed bodily movements are necessary for thinking, and for recalling and connecting mental representations. Many others have gone on to prove the same as I'm sure you know that too.
- Go on a news fast. Be vigilant about what media you take in. Poor media choices are like lollies for your body. They offer no nutritional value and will make you feel bad about yourself afterwards. Strive to read or watch only quality content. Even then, consume your media critically.
- Eat well. Nourish yourself with nutritionally rich food. Don’t obsess - just bring a certain mindfulness to your eating. If you appreciate the food you eat you are more likely to appreciate the body you are feeding with that food. It’s just about self-respect. Notice and avoid the food that doesn’t make you feel great.
- Let go of perfectionism. Face it, what's perfect to you isn't perfect to someone else. What is perfect is arbitrary and there's no point in hiding behind the concept. To move past the perfection block you have to release your work and get it out there. Although there will never be a right time, the wrong time will be if your work never gets to see the light of day. Have courage and share early and often.
- Create space. A good clean out is cathartic. Just as you use meditation to clear the mind, clearing your physical space also serves to free your mind. Declutter your physical environment to keep it as you want it to be. Surround yourself with what you cherish and remove what you don’t. Even the ritual of clearing your desk at the end of every week can make you more excited about Monday knowing you’re starting fresh. Don't let your belongings burden you and weigh on your mind. The trick is not to keep any ‘stuff’ that you don’t value.
- Channel your inner child and play. Think along the lines of Prince’s song ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ so you understand the importance of letting go through play. You can’t control everything and neither should you. That’s why play is so important to remind you of the need to go with the flow and see what happens. Innovation comes through play. If you can’t remember how to play then you probably need it more than ever. Play is about doing something without any expectation of a result. Just immerse yourself in the moment to make it count. If you're a control freak, feel the difference when you play.
- Laugh it off. Chinese proverb says ‘seriousness reduces life’ so make time to laugh. Just because you’re a professional and known for being professional doesn’t mean you can’t lighten up. Allow yourself to see the humour in situations that could otherwise be stressful. Laughter is an essential release for both mind and body toxins. The best medicine? Definitely.
- Get outdoors. Connect with nature to get out of the office. Bush walking is a fantastic mind freeing activity if you pick a trail that’s challenging. It will force you to spend your time navigating your next step. Whether you're bush walking, surfing or cycling, the simple process of being in the moment will keep your mind free from energy sapping thoughts. Notice the natural environment around you and be grateful for it.
A final quote from Black Sabbath's Ozzy to end on a lighter note:
"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most." - Ozzy Osbourne
*This article was first published on LinkedIn 7 January 2016
