Name It to Tame It

Recently, I helped a Visionary lovingly escort a favorite salesperson of hers on to a new career (That’s my positive spin on the word “FIRE.”) Before deciding to run her business on EOS, she stayed awake at night worrying about the sales situation in her company. She stressed about it, cried about it, wrung her hands about it, but rarely talked about it. She certainly didn’t want to talk about it to any of her employees—they might have worried that she was worrying!  And every business owner needs to put on a happy face in front of their team.

During the first hour of our first full day session, the issue came tumbling out. The company had an under-performing and overpaid sales person on staff that needed to go. We added that issue to the ISSUES LIST.

There is a neuro-scientific reason that getting issues off of our mind and on to a list works wonders in relieving our anxiety. In the book Power Up Your Brain… the authors explain that … When we worry about something and DON’T verbalize it, the thought “lives” in a part of our brain that is responsible for emotions, feelings, primitive reactions and “fight or flight” responses. By simply adding language to our thought, we bring that thought into our pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain that adds logic, reason and solutions. It really does not matter what specific words you start to use, its just the act of using the language to describe your issue.

Adding language to our issue also helps us find a solution faster.   Have you ever been surprised at how the simple act of “talking it through” with a colleague or “bouncing an idea around” with a friend helps you solve your own problems?  It’s due to bringing the issue or idea into the frontal cortex!

Next time you feel stuck or are worrying about something try this!

1. Write it down!   In the Entrepreneurial Operating System, we have a built-in tool to capture all of your worries and ideas – it’s the ISSUES LIST.   If you don’t have an issues list, start one!  Watch this short video for the best way to SOLVE your issues in meetings.
2. Talk to someone.   In business, your Leadership Team should be your greatest “sounding board”.  Opening up to them and TRUSTING them with your issues will bring you closer as a team and make you more productive.

Talk to yourself!   But not in your head… take a walk or go somewhere alone and LITERALLY speak words to yourself about your issue.

Add some neuroscience to your 2 a.m. thoughts and see if it will help you tame your worries and get an action plan to solve them!