Search Inside Yourself: Post #2--Attention Getting

Attention Getting:
--Response-pause. Victor Frankl, famed psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, teaches that between the external stimulus and our response to it rests a potential pause, a space in which we choose how to react. To respond to others in an emotionally appropriate way, we need to practice and develop this “sacred pause”; moreover, mindfulness meditation is one of the best ways to develop the sacred pause.
--Mindfulness meditation, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, is about “paying attention in a particular way on purpose, in the present moment—nonjudgmentally.”  In essence, concentrating on our breathing slows down the brain’s fire alarm, the amygdala, and thus opens up the brain to being fully present and aware. Simply labeling your emotions can slow down and manage that emotion (Lieberman).
-- Paying attention to other people, especially in conversation, is at the heart of the discussion about attention. Giving others our attention is the greatest of all gifts. We show how we value others by how well we listen and put them first in the conversation.  ‘The most precious gift we can give others is our presence (Thich Nhat Hanh).’

Search Inside Yourself: Post #1--Overview

Overview Google asked what would happen if people practiced contemplative practices
in their work lives. From that thought grew a mindfulness-based, emotional-intelligence focused program, which now stands at the center of Google’s employee development. That new program is called Search Inside Yourself. This program focuses on three steps: Attention getting, self-knowledge and self-mastery, and creating useful mental habits. Attention getting focuses on mindfulness training—calming the mind to prepare it for higher-order problem solving. Self-knowledge and self-mastery are the core elements of emotional intelligence that separate the good from the great leaders. Creating useful mental habits focuses on developing positive habits like kindness, optimism and empathy. Google’s “jolly good fellow” Chade-Meng Tan has written the book that might just revolutionize corporate America—and even change the world.

Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) by Chade-Meng Tan (HarperOne, 2014), reviewed by Steve Gladis, September 2015.

Team of Teams: FINAL Post

Final Word on the author: I had the opportunity to chat with Stan

McChrystal while writing in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, one Saturday morning. I had just posted his TED talk when he came into the coffee shop and sat down at a table next to mine. An intelligent and gracious guy, Stan is a true national treasure. In fact, his work with the Aspen Institute to create a year of national service for young Americans is something I’ve philosophically supported for many years. I just hope that he’ll be as successful at this endeavor as he was at his military career. I congratulate him on a fine book.