Think a Thought

 Hey there!

Have you had a thought today?

You know, the one that just zoomed by....

Did you catch that? Yes?  No? 

Hey wait!  Here it comes again.  

Whoops! 

Just missed the train of thoughts again! 

Oh Man! 

No problem, it will just come back in due course of time.  

I guess I will just have to get to this article writing now and hoping that by the time I am done, it may bother to show up!

Have you ever wondered as to from where do our thoughts come from? What are their origins?  Why do they just "pop up" like an idea?

Idea! Now that's a thought!

Few studies suggest that thoughts come from outside our bodies while others claim that they form within our neural processes. 

Here is a food for thought:  Our brain does not create the thoughts!

So what are they then?

A thought refers to a set of ideas or an arrangement of ideas that results from our thinking processes. 

Quoting Wikipedia, "Thought thinking is an activity considered to be essential to humanity.  There is no consensus as how it is defined or understood."

Strange?  Yes, it is.  

Here is another food for thought:  Thoughts enter our brain from a source that is outside of our physical body.  Only when they reach the brain, does the brain begins to act and decipher them.

There are apparently three stages of thought:

1. Potential
2. Understanding 
3. Realization

It is important to note that our ability to think and the types of thoughts we have are inborn potentials.  This means that the direction of where the thought should go into are basically from our own internal feelings and experiences associated at that particular time frame.

Are you thinking: where do thoughts come from?

Thoughts originate from a personal reservoir (in relation with feelings, experiences & exposure).  It is a personal energetic field we posses in forms of codes.  These codes are computed from a programming language called DNA.  This makes our DNA something like a hardware that reacts to these electromagnetic codes.  These electromagnetic codes are in turn received from our external reservoir of potentials.  This reservoir is protected, secured and sends us the codes (in form of thoughts) according to our needs and the tasks that are or intended to be performed in a specific time period.

These so called potentials are realized with the help of our brain.  When this code (form of thought) reaches the brain, the organ works on decoding and translation processes.  Through these processes, the code is then given a form which we can understand.  The brain then orders to our DNA across the body to act in order to realize the thought. 

Now you know how resourceful and un-resourceful feelings are realized and acted accordingly by the body at conscious and unconscious levels.

Woah!!  Hang in there! What are resourceful and un-resourceful feelings now?

Resourceful feelings are those feelings that help you become more productive in life.  They are happiness, confidence, gratitude, feeling of achievement, drive, compassion, etc.

Un-resourceful feelings are those feelings that create psychological barriers and do not help you achieve your goals and targets.  They are anger, jealousy, hate, depression, fears, phobias, etc.

You know, just like a famous quote:  "Change your thoughts & you change your world."

What is an external reservoir of potentials?

When a person seeks solutions to their problems through external means such as meditation, taking drugs and therapists.  Though, there have been plenty of cases where the people seeking external means to cope have not proven to be very efficient.  People still have a tendency to hang on to those feelings somewhere deep within.  Thus, such tendencies have resulted in people developing certain traits or in some cases, alter their personalities completely.


What is an internal reservoir of potentials?

This actually refers to our sub-conscious mind.  This sect of our mind holds our potentials - be it in forms of strengths or weaknesses.

Oh, alright! Got it!

You may have heard that our sub-conscious mind is a very powerful tool.  If used appropriately, we have a very strong threshold of eliminating all our problems and create harmony in life.  For all the problems in our lives, it is the role of the sub-conscious mind to come up with solutions.  The conscious mind is the one that wants to have logic every time based on its own experiences and exposure.  A lot of times, we find that our conscious mind rejects or questions our inner self tries to provide an solution to. 

Did you know?  This is how "intuitions" or "hunches" work.  If we just listen to them once in a while, there are so many solutions and potential within us that we may be able to tap upon.  

The answers are actually within us!

In today's times, when you hear of experts or coaches or NLP Master Practitioners helping people who are suffering problems, what do they really talk about or treat? 

All coaches and experts will tell you just one thing:  Watch your thoughts!

These professionals help you to consider options by thinking them out.  They help channelize your thoughts in a direction that prove to be very beneficial for you.  This also increases your productivity, thereby, boosting your self morale.

Pretty relative huh?  Well, not exactly!  

NLP Master Practitioners like me are the people who can coach you to achieve excellence.  Using tools and techniques that are scientifically proven, we help you to accelerate your overall growth and intellectual development processes. 

We agree that every brain is unique to its own way of thinking.  However, we have the expertise to help you overcome your limitations and barriers.

Wanna try?

Well, leaving you to your thoughts till next time!  Adios! 

Article contributed by Entrenador Shruti, a Neuro-Leadership & Business Coach.

Mental Maps in Decision Making

Narrating some of my personal experiences: 

When I used to study and opt for a specialization, if I do not foresaw my future, I would not opt for it. During MBA, when I tried to visualize me in a Finance role, I could not see it.  However, when I visualized Human Resources, Marketing & Entrepreneurship, I could see myself clearly taking up that route.

Whenever I could foresee myself in a particular role and company, I always went for it.   The minute I could no longer see myself within a role / organization, I used to look out for more options.

On another occasion, during recruiting people, if I am able to foresee the person within the organizational structure, I used to hire that person.  

Over a period of time, when I looked back as how my profiles in Corporate was shaping up, I realized that sub-consciously, my career is being mapped on the lines of Coaching & Training.  

In case you are wondering what just happened, allow me to explain.  During my MBA days, I had chosen a thesis topic on "Pitfalls of Coaching & Mentoring".  From the list of 50-odd topics, this was the topic that "pulled" me.  However, I had realized very early that this career route would take me many years to establish and I had lost conscious interest in it.  But my sub-conscious did not.  Without consciously aware of how things were moving, I had started making a career transition in Coaching & Training.  All my experiences, exposures, and ventures kept me on this route, which I had dismissed years past.

Now I realize that this is the POWER of MENTAL MAPPING.

Mental mapping is our brain's positioning system.  It is how our brain navigates our world mentally.  It is important to note that our brain uses this information in a cognitive manner from our experiences, temperament, education and physiology.  The brain then landscapes this information and forms its own routes towards achieving our goals.

When I learned Neuro-Linguistic programming, I came to more about this phenomenon.  What so ever was happening unconsciously before, I now had the control to do this more frequently and consciously.

With time and more practice, I started having more control over my thoughts and internal dialogues.  My decision making powers improved drastically and I became more efficient in getting results.  

When I reflect back to my MBA days and working as an employee, I realize that on so many occasions I had taken decisions based on cognitive mental mapping, all of those borne more precise and accurate results.  We usually term these things as being "intuitive" and "lucky".  However, psychology terms this as cognitive positioning system a.k.a mental mapping.  As per psychology, our brain prefers clarity to ambiguity.  Our brain seeks to have closure.  Closure are usually of two types:  

a)  Urgency based

Urgency based closures refer to closures attaining now.  This inspires us seeking early information.

b)  Permanence based

Permanence based closures are about "freezing" or maintaining closure for as long as possible. That is, one I have taken a decision, I stick to it and do not second guess.  

These are further divided into sub-scales:

- Preference for structure

- Preference for predictability

- Discomfort for ambiguity

- Decisiveness

- Being close minded

A higher need of closure in an event results in quick decisions, before taking full consideration.  This anchors in taking early decisions and then we look for things that support this position.  This creates a bias in our confirmation judgement.  Here, the thinking tends to be more superficial.  This produces fewer options for any given scenarios, especially during a more complex situation.  This type of closure is usually found in people who are the Leaders or Teachers  or anyone who lays down "clear rules to follow".

In contrast, there exists a lower need of closure which is generally found in people who enjoy complex and are "Thinkers".  These refer to people who want all information at hand and tend to re-examine initial notions in light of new information.  As these people are more on theoretical information seekers, their decision making abilities are much longer or some times, a decision just never happens.  

Mental mapping is tool that can be used to overcome challenges faced by both sects.  This art can be learned and mastered regardless of the profession or management strata you are in.  It is useful for students to make a decision in their lives or for anyone who wants help in taking a stand or be in more control of their lives.

As an entrepreneur now and a top level executive, I have found mental mapping one of the predominant tools to help with my decisions and relationships with other people.  It helped me by providing more clarity in my thought process and charter my next move towards progress.

If I can learn it, you can learn it too!

Article contributed by Entrenador Shruti, a Neuro-Leadership & Business Coach

  

Neuro-Coaching

Lately, I come across a lot of people questioning me on neuro-coaching.

I am a Neuro-Leadership & Business Coach.  

What does it mean?  

How is it effective?  

How do you do it?  

How is it different than other forms of coaching?  

Do you really think, people will opt for this kind of coaching?

The term neuro-coaching refers to brain based coaching interventions that helps modern day CEOs, entrepreneurs and founders to take up challenges and overcome limitations much more easily.

The word neuro refers to the neurological processes:  the interaction between the nervous system and the brain.  

This is followed by more another questions:  

How do you coach the brain?  

How can you not acknowledge emotions and feelings that comes up in the mind?

Does this deal with sub-conscious & conscious minds?

My answer to these is:  Neuro coaching is a potential differentiator.  It is a deeper form of coaching.  This major involves neuro-coaches to understand the functionalities of the human mind and its workings.  It is a form of cognitive science.  And cognitive science is the study of thought, learning and mental organization.  

Neuro-coaching, therefore, is a term that focuses on removing you as a blocker to your own success.  Plenty of times, it becomes important for executives take important decisions.  It may be that due to some past experiences in almost similar situations, a lot of bad residue stays on in our minds.  In that case, making a quick decision or taking a faster action becomes a little more challenging so as not to repeat the same mistake twice.  This affects the efficiency and effectiveness of leadership at the time of urgent need.

Therefore, in this article, I would like to point out few things you need to know as how neuro-coaching can assist you:

1. Time is of essence.  Attention to detail is equally important.  Professionals are very busy bodies.  If scientifically delivered, neuro-coaching can help you to take a faster step towards considering what works best in a particular situation.  This can be in terms of delivery methods, timings, stickiness of content and spacing of interventions.   What do you mean by spacing?  Spacing is a term that is used by your mind to identify or prioritize your roles and responsibilities in a mental map.  This is how you perceive how close or far an object of interest is in your life.  You define how much of your attention span it needs to fulfill your obligations.  You also analyze as to how much time it will take you to complete that task - 1 week, 1 month, 6 months or 2 years.  Neuro-coaching, hence, helps you build some traction.
2. Traction in neuro-coaching refers to the form and format of the interventions that are attempting to work on you and how they get your time and attention.  This means, that you have to assess what holds maximum impact for you.  For example, some people need a face to face level of interaction.  They are ready to pay a higher cost for this.  Only in this way can they give you their time and attention. The traction here comes from the time slot. Other people want shorter, more frequent interventions.  These can be done using mediums such as  SMS, email or video.
3. Awareness of self.  An awareness of your knowledge, skills and the gaps to optimal performance is often insufficient.  In order to succeed, you have to learn and retain new knowledge and skills.  Neuro-coaching can help you unblock or enable the moment.  It helps you to increase your intelligence, to learn new skills, which enables you to be optimally effective in all levels of your business effectiveness. 
4. Coaching is about change.  Neuro-coaching is about working with the brain's malleability and rewiring it.  This helps you to accept the nature of change internally; which helps you to start thinking and taking actions differently and achieve your goals.  When your goals are achieved, this results in Success.
5. Mindfulness.   Mind is a section in your brain.  Brain is a muscle.  Therefore, mindfulness is about exercising your muscle of focus and attention.  Neuro-coaching challenges your existing flow of thoughts, habits and emotions which directly define your current behavioral patterns.
6. Emotions.   All your memories contain emotions.  All of your experiences - be they good or bad contain emotions. Neuro-coaching helps you to become more self aware by disallowing these emotions to hijack your decision making and reason making abilities powers.
7. Energy in terms of Motivation and Will power.  Your body is not a machine and you are not a robot.  Your body is composed of biological matter and requires sufficient intake of food, water and rest to sustain its daily functions.  When you are stressed, you tend to run out of energy, which could have had otherwise be invested into thinking.  Neuro-coaching helps you to de-stress and boosts your confidence levels.  This helps you to have a positive and productive mind frame around you, thus, increasing your productivity levels.
8. Self - efficacy is the measure of your beliefs.  In work, this belief is your ability to achieve goals and targets.  The higher your sense of self-efficacy, the greater your ability to do better in business due to increased self-belief. Here, neuro-coaching empowers you to give you the tools to work on yourself and your own abilities. This empowerment increases your own beliefs.

To summarize:

Neuro-coaching involves -

1. The first step in engaging with neuro-coaching is understanding and increased belief in its potential effectiveness. 
2. The second step is to get a sense of the value to be gained in improving your leadership skills. Try mapping your skill set to an ideal leadership skill set. 
3. The third step is to do something about it and close your gaps.

Neuro-coaching is derived from applied neurosciences and organizational neurosciences.  This is an emerging field that has more of a human touch to the field of coaching as compared with other coaching streams.

As everyone has to take a decision at some point in their lives, neuro-coaching assists in removing personal limitations to achieve professional excellence.

Article contributed by experiences of our Entrenador Shruti, a Neuro-Leadership & Business Coach

Reflections from Year 2017

Hello Everyone!

Today's blog post is based on the theme:  Reflections of our perspectives from the Year 2017.

It had been a great year for us.  Entrenador Consulting was founded in September 2017 to the ongoing learning process that have taken shape from there.

Entrenador Shruti had been one of the chosen few to assist International Trainer and Transformational Coach Mohammad Rafi from NLP Training World in a Neuro-Coaching session, held in Bangalore during the last week of December 2017.

This has no doubt been one of the most reveling sessions in our journey of promoting NLP for Business and being NLP Master Practitioners ourselves.

We came to realize that no matter how much years of work experience, developed personal and social lives of people may be, there is always going to be a need for pursuing self excellence.  There will always be people who would want to realize the importance of breaking their monotonous routine. 

It is interesting to observe how people think, live and pursue their materialistic and spiritual goals in life.   It helped that our entrenadors are pursued for their assistance in helping people achieve excellence and growth in their journeys; from which we also learned from.

We hope that for all of those people who would like to work with us or avail our services, that we may be able to justify our services and propositions in the matter of attaining and touching so many lives in a more meaningful manner and with an impact.

Please accept our heartfelt thanks to our readers and for their support in our journey.  We are really humbled that we can help so many in our own way.  We hope to create a difference in the lives of people through our work and compassion.

With this note, let us all realize and discover that phoenix in us all.  Let us break all barriers and achieve self excellence in all aspects of our lives.

A Very Happy & Prosperous New Year to Everyone on behalf of Team Entrenador!