Thoughts, it is said, are irrepressible. Expressions and
actions, it is said, are controllable. There can be no expression or action
without thought. Even in involuntary actions, some system or the other of the
body “thinks”. The world expects all
expressions and actions to be well thought out. A spiritual guru said that a
blow from one person to another person can heal with time but an abuse or
indictment from one to another would never heal with time. That is the power of
the word, he said. The physiological and
neurological basis of thoughts and speech is a complex field of study. It is
rational and evidence based; it can be studied with behavioural observations of
a person or scanning of the person’s brain. That said, every
thought-expression-action linkage is neither spontaneous nor unpredictable; it
is actually conditioned – by one’s own learnings and experiences as well as
expectations.
Societies which are naturally evolved but fractious human
agglomerations, and organizations which are synthetically created but focused
employee teams require conditioned behaviour in terms of thoughts, expressions
and actions. Without conditioned behaviour societies and organizations could be
at risk of disruption, if not chaos. However, completely conditioned behaviour
robs the societies and organizations of the principal benefit of human
existence – creativity and innovation. The need for balance between spontaneity
(hence of creativity and innovation) and moderation (hence of order and
discipline) is genuine for societies and organizations but quite difficult to
achieve. Individuals, as they mature and develop the abilities of reflection
and introspection, can help promote positive conditioned behaviour.
Cluttering,
de-cluttering
Human beings are processors of abundant information. Even
when they are not in conversation with fellow beings, their ecosystems tend to
be in conversation with them. These conversations, whether active or passive,
shape the thoughts of the individuals. These thoughts, as they bubble up, set
in motion a complex chain of feedback mechanisms. Left uncontrolled, a person’s
mind could become an uncontrolled cauldron of thoughts. Mercifully, a few
things help control the phenomenon. Firstly, a person’s innate ability to
moderate the thought processes helps. Secondly, a preference for positive
thoughts results in a helpful cycle of positive expressions, positive feedback,
positive actions and positive recognitions. Thirdly, as a person moves from
thought and expression phase to action phase, he or she becomes focused and
goal directed. For example, a person in search of an accommodation to buy would
be subject to multiple thoughts in the exploration phase but becomes focused on
house construction once he narrows down the choice to an acquisition.
There are three other important means to de-clutter oneself
of the unending assault of thoughts. One is the daily natural phenomenon of
sleep. Modern research has re-established the age old philosophy that a healthy
period of daily sleep is the best means for rejuvenation of the body and the
mind. The second is the discipline of daily exercise which brings focus and
endurance to the body and the mind. The third is the ancient practice of yoga
and meditation which helps one to become calm and relaxed as well as focused
and attentive. The Art of Living Foundation
lists several benefits of meditation (http://www.artofliving.org/meditation/meditation-for-you/benefits-of-meditation).
The Foundation observes that meditation is like a seed which when cultivated
with care blossoms to the general wellbeing of a person. Despite the
availability of such compelling evidence, people are unable to implement the
moderation, focus and execution trilogy at the professional level and the
sleep, exercise and meditation trilogy of the personal life.
Starting early
The new NDA government despite its preoccupation with
economic reforms and acceleration of economic growth has focused on some
important softer aspects of life that need to be imbibed from the early
childhood stage. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised students taking
the Class X and Class XII Board examinations in March this year that they
should learn to develop faith in oneself as Swami Vivekanda exhorted decades
ago, and take the examinations as a game to play and also learn to relax. He
has advised students to learn Pranayama or practise Surya Namaskar to reduce
stress. In a proud moment for India, the United Nations has on December 10,
2014 adopted June 21 as World Yoga Day after Narendra Modi made an impassioned
plea in the UN General Assembly for Yoga in September 2014. It is to be hoped
that such guidance and measures would influence the new generation to stay
positive from the early years.
Like the half empty or half full analogy of a glass, it is
never too late or too early to start anything positive. There is so much
material and expertise that is available in the public domain on
sleep-exercise-meditation aspects that it would be highly inappropriate and
inadequate to discuss them in this blog post. There is, however, less attention
and material on the moderation-focus-execution trilogy that is needed in
professional life. Within this trilogy again, there is enough literature on
driving focus and execution but very little thought on achieving positive
moderation in thoughts, expression and actions. As a result, organizations and
societies are focused on conflict management as a discipline of learning and
development. A far better route would be to root out the triggers and
precursors for conflicts in the thought processes themselves.
Triggers
Achievements, disappointments, targets, goals, teachings, exhortations,
criticisms, observations, advices, and a host of other events relating to
oneself or others in the society act as triggers for thoughts. The thoughts
could vary across a wide spectrum, from mere noting and registering them in
memory or shutting them out of active memory to feelings of joy or sadness,
motivation or inspiration, security or helplessness, introversion or
extroversion, and so on. These, in turn, make individuals to stay satisfied
(with the status quo) or become dissatisfied (to change the status quo). The
stronger the feelings, the greater would be the triggers. The triggers lead to
expressions of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and later on to situations of
inaction or action. The intermediate stage of expression between thought and
action is important because it provides an opportunity to provide or receive
feedback, and thus correct or get corrected.
The intermediate stage of expression is also important
because it helps in either dissipation of excessive (often negative) energy or
reinforcement for needed (often positive) energy. In certain cases, when the
triggers are particularly strong, individuals tend to jump from thought to
action directly without going through the very important stage of expression,
often leading to undesirable results. While keeping one’s own inner counsel does
happen, and is also important and appropriate in certain cases, in most
situations expression of core thoughts and intended response would go a long
way in improving the end results. Needless to add, actions would certainly lead
to certain results, which in turn lead to the next cycle of triggers. In order
for one’s life to be in a manageable boundary, the triggers for thoughts and
the consequent expressions and actions need to be purposeful.
Filters
As one grows up, the brain or mind starts developing its own
filters that are set in place in a rather firm manner with maturity. Typically,
an individual consciously or unconsciously passes his or her thoughts,
expressions and actions (TEAs) through these filters. While the triggers add
velocity and momentum to one’s TEAs, the filters help one to separate the
positive ones (or those agreeable to one’s personality) from the negative ones
(or those disagreeable to one’s personality). These filters start the processes
of reflection, introspection, evaluation and selection as the TEAs pass through
them. In an ideal situation, only those thoughts that pass through all the
filters become expressions and those expressions that pass through all the
filters become actions. Developing the right kind of filters and keeping them
effective (and unclogged) is certainly in one’s capability, and helps one in
staying TEA positive.
The typical filters one has in one’s mind are the following.
The primary one is the emotional filter (will the TEA make me happy or sad,
satisfied or dissatisfied and motivated or demotivated?). The second is the
social filter, social including the family, friends, peers and the broader
society where relevant (will the TEA gain me acceptance or rejection, recognition
or castigation?). The third is the value filter (does the TEA fit into my value
system or not?). Only those TEAs that pass through all the three filters make
one truly happy. The sequence given above tends to be applicable for a great
majority of individuals. For sage and wise individuals, the sequence would
probably be in the reverse order; the value filter first followed by the social
filter and then the emotional filter. While a few other filters like
development filter or growth filter can be considered, the author feels that
they are ultimately expressed in terms of emotions. Likewise, while the social
filter can be separated into family filter and other filters it only adds
needless complexity.
TEA positive
Staying TEA positive is a worthwhile goal in life. Ability to
entertain only positive or agreeable thoughts and ability to de-clutter one’s
mind are the fundamental capabilities which help one in the process. The more
important aspect is setting the right filters in one’s mind. The filters are
chosen right and set right depending on one’s knowledge of the broader good as
may be taught by scriptures, texts, teachers, friends and families. The social and
value filters, in particular, help one reach alignment and congruence between
what is positive and what is agreeable.
Staying TEA positive is an organizational possibility and
requirement too. From choosing a business to operate in to generating and sharing
wealth with stakeholders to fulfilling corporate social responsibility,
organizations and corporations have multiple ways to become and stay TEA
positive. Organizations, which promote a TEA positive culture in their team
members would become virtuous organizations. Societies and nations which create
ecosystems that help individuals and organizations become TEA positive would become
virtuous nations.
Posted by Dr CB Rao on March 15, 2015
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