[Neurons] 2020 Neurons #25 THINKING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall 

2020 Neurons #35

July 20, 2020

Thinking for a Living series #21

 

 

THINKING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

 

Thinking itself is challenging enough.  And it is not easy.  That's because
most of the time we are not actually thinking, we are only mentally
reacting.  We are talking "off the top of our head" quoting things we
already know, politically correct bullet points, and from our biases.  In
Executive Thinking (2018) you can find six stages of non-thinking which
occur before real thinking occurs.   Given that, then add uncertainty.
Thinking in uncertain times and with uncertain information- wow, that is an
incredible challenge!

 

Consider the thinking that's been going on regarding the Covid19 virus.
Even though President Trump closed travel to China in January, the
information from the CDC and the World Health Organization at that time was
that the virus could not be passed from human to human.  Later in late
February, Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump for shutting air travel from Europe
and telling people to "come to Chinatown" there's nothing to fear.  Later
the CDC predicted two million Americans would die if the President didn't
shut the country down to slow the spread and that was to prevent the
hospitals and health care system from being overwhelmed.

 

Since then we keep getting all sort of conflicting information about masks,
treatments, social distancing, vaccines, etc.  There have been lots of
inaccuracies and disinformation and perhaps lies.  The Governor of
California has been over-zealous in forbidding people to go to church to
pray while ridiculously tolerant for allowing protests and riots.  Dr.
Anthony Fauci, who the media looks to for expert answers, has changed his
recommendations 180 degrees over those months.  Lots of uncertainty!

 

So given all that ... how are you and I to engage in clear, rational
thinking in contexts of such confusion and uncertainty?  Ah, that is the
question!  Multiply that insecurity, that not-knowing-what's-going-to-happen
times the economic insecurity, the loss of jobs, the decline of the economy,
the not-knowing-when-we-will-get-back-to-normal- and what do you have?  What
we have is the best conditions possible for irrational fearful thinking.
And to a great extent, that's what we're getting.

 

Up against all of that then imagine that a couple of outrageous racial
incidents occur- as we did at the end of May.  Then suddenly, the people who
have been "locked up" at home, fearful, insecure, confused, and irrational
turn into destructive riots that burn, loot, and destroy.  Then that
irrationality gets the "bright idea" that all police everywhere are the
problem and so the "defund the police" irrationality.  Talk about the lack
of clear thinking!  Talk about the lack of critical thinking!

 

And as if all that wasn't bad enough, add in the fact that it is political
season when millions cannot think straight or clear anyway, but only through
the lens of their political agenda.  Further, some elected officials seem
unable to put sanity before party affiliation.  The call for Police Reform
was lead by an African American Senator, Tim Scott, yet it was rejected
outright even though 80% of the reforms is precisely what the democrats say
they want.  Why?  Apparently to have a political issue for the fall.  Party
comes before doing what's right.

 

All of this gives us a formula and what a formula it is!

 

  Virus      X     Emotions    X    Uncertainty      Emotions          X
Politics                  =  Mob mentality

Pandemic      Fear            Disinformation       Frustration/Anger
political Agendas      

Contagious    insecurity    Info. Confusion       "Locked up"     Economic
stress

                               Uncertainty                        Loss of
jobs/

 

 

No wonder it is next to impossible for there to be reasonable conversations
by reasonable people.  I'm talking about people who have the skills to
listen to each other, "seek first to understand and then be understood," and
bring compassion into the dialogue.   It is much, much easier to think
things through when all is calm, peaceful, and secure.  It becomes
increasingly difficult to think clearly when things are stressful, chaotic,
and insecure.   Yet that is precisely when we most need the understanding
and skills for collaborative conversations.

 

What can we do?  What can you and I do?  Since all change always begins at
home- each of us has to first "be the change that we want to promote."  That
means learning to access a state of inner peace and security within
ourselves.  Like everything else human, it is inside-out.  Then we need to
learn the principles and skills of collaborative communication.  The good
news is that this is precisely the domain of Neuro-Semantic NLP.  This is
what we most essentially do.

           With the NLP Communication Model, you learn how to handle
language and non-verbal conversations effectively so you can be clear and
precise.  That's "critical thinking."

           You learn how to be reasonable by learning how to listen from a
state of rapport. 

           You learn self-communication by which you get yourself in a good
state so that you can listen, care, be clear, be creative, and solve
problems.

           You learn to both embrace and manage uncertainty so you can
handle it effectively.

 

 

 

For more,  <http://www.neurosemantics.com/> www.neurosemantics.com 

              Click   Writings > Neurons Compiled Meta Reflections

 

For Executive Thinking - click

 <http://www.neurosemantics.com/products/executive-thinking/>
www.neurosemantics.com/products/executive-thinking/    

 

 

 

 




 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Neuro-Semantics

P.O. Box 8

Clifton CO. 81520 USA

www.neurosemantics.com   

 

The stunning new history of NLP--- NLP Secrets.  

Investigative Journalism which has exposed what has been kept secrets for
decades. 

http://www.neurosemantics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NLP-Secrets-2_sml2.
png

 

 

 

 

 

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