Why Self-Leadership is Critical

(before, during and after leading others)

Why is self-leadership critical before, during, and after leading others?

1. You’ll become a much better leader.

2. You’ll have much better mental health.

3. Your team(s) will have much better mental health.

Did you know that approximately 66% of workers experienced burnout on the job? — Gallup global analytics

Back in 2016 I ‘adulted’ to such an unsustainable level that I experienced stress-induced clinical depression with ‘protective’ psychosis. I was hospitalised for my own safety. I did not have the mental health or brain capacity to realize that the choices and behaviors I’d made in the years prior to this disruptive episode would result in a life-changing; almost life-ending outcome.

In hindsight:

I did not practice self-leadership.

I did not practice self-care.

I did not focus on serving others, including myself.

I ended up simply going through the motions of an untenable and unfulfilling lifestyle until my mind and body could cope no more. It broke down. I broke down.

Now, I’ve learned from my past mistakes, rebuilt strength, and doing my best to help others to not make the same serious blunders. It’ll save you so much valuable time and heartache.

Being of service to others is massively important for leadership. But, what’s most important is creating a solid foundation of self-service and self-leadership so that you can effectively and sustainably serve others for the long-term.

Ok, now, how?

1 Self-Awareness

Practice improving your self-awareness skills

Observe the observer.

Create a daily habit allocating just five minutes to simply sitting with yourself and doing the following:

1. Thinking – who are you?

2. Detaching – from yourself, from your ego. Practice separating ‘you’ from your thoughts (the answer to 1)

3. Observing – with non-attachment. See your ‘self’ from above. Zoom out so that you’re observing: imagining your physical body from a beautiful perspective on the moon. Yes, the moon.

Remember: you are not your thoughts. You are so much more, and then some! Repeat the cycle 1–2–3 for three rounds. Stick with it. Admittedly it’s not easy. Although, anything worth doing usually isn’t.

You’ll improve your awareness by practicing OTO (Observing The Observer) Bring self-awareness to your particular use of language, visuality, physicality. Respectively, how you hear your inner voice; see your mind’s eye; and feel your body will determine a current level of self-awareness.

2 Feedback-looping

Practice real-time feedback-looping Apply what you’ve discovered from your answers to 1 (Practising improving your self-awareness skills) to other areas of your day so that you allocate consistent time slots of five minutes throughout a 24 hour period.

This is when you’ll check-in with yourself again to observe the observer. Complete at least three cycles of 1–2–3 (Thinking, observing, detaching)

Why?

Because it will help you pause and reset in real-time and then carry on with your great day – reenergised

Remember: life is non-linear, even though everything may feel and look linear. In reality, with this feedback loop you’ll be able to measure where you actually are; mentally and physically. Applying strategies and unique solutions that will certainly help you to improve self-awareness.

In order to improve self-leadership so that you become a stronger leader for yourself and others; for powerful mental health; to reduce the potential problem of burnout: practice daily O.T.O’s (Observing The Observer)

Do daily feedback-looping to measure where you’re really at.

Self-leadership is critical before, during, and after leading others because you’ll build an almost unbreakable foundation transcending linear time; past, present, and future.

If you’re interested in delving deeper and potentially learning more please go ahead and ask a question here

Thank you for reading, Adam Bowcutt Mental Health Author

3 Ways to Build Mental Wealth

What is mental wealth & why is it important to build?

Mental wealth is a powerful combination of growth mindset, mental fortitude and abundance mentality. Did you know that 95% of our recurring thoughts are subconscious and 5% are conscious? Think about that for a moment. Whenever we hear the word wealth what normally springs to mind is financial. Wealth in the monetary sense is certainly important although what is arguably most important is Mental Wealth because it is the foundation that everything else is built upon.

"Your mindset matters. It affects everything - from the business and investment decisions you make, to the way you raise your children, to your stress levels and overall well-being". - Peter Diamandis

3 Ways to Build Mental Wealth

1 ACTION

Important because: taking action, 'moving your body and changing your physiology can have awesome effects on your mind and mindset, because it builds momentum' [1] Momentum is inextricably linked to motivation. A study based on psychological momentum theory found that 'only a small force of inspiration would be needed to ease the difficulty associated with initiating an academic task.' [2] It is important to be opportunistic in taking action, no matter how little inspiration you feel. Even if today you're not inspired at all, how about using the 5 second rule? [3] Simply count down from five seconds and immediately start your task before you reach zero. This way you'll be less inclined to procrastinate because your brain won't have time to ponder excuses. I use this to do the dreaded laundry which I hate doing! Like clockwork, it works every time. What's most effective is that the simple action of doing the laundry builds psychological momentum towards the next task, and so on. Taking action is definitely the first step towards building mental wealth.

Solution: Take any small step first, this is most critical. For example, taking immediate action and making your bed as soon as you wake up in the morning. This first task sets you up for the next action and task of the day by building momentum. Move your body-move obviously, voluntarily, energetically. Start small, for example:

• One-minute walk

• Five star jumps

• Ten minute swim

• Thirty second run

and... Action!

"Wealth flows from energy and ideas". William Feather

2 AWARENESS

Important because: awareness improves your ability to analyse and evaluate environments and scenarios. This helps to build mental wealth because all your senses are engaging in the present moment so that you can confidently navigate reality. You'll become adept at creating and fine-tuning important connections and relatedness between ideas and people. Essentially, observing your actions at a higher-level of thinking.

'Zen Buddhist monks show an extraordinary synchronization of brain waves known as gamma synchrony—a pattern increasingly associated with robust brain function and the synthesis of activity that we call the mind.' [4] This is possible due to many years of meditation practice. Like long-term dedication working out at the gym yields strong muscles, these master meditators grew measurably stronger in mental capacity, certainly resulting in heightened awareness. Zen Buddhist monks built abundant mental wealth.

In the past I was linear in my thinking and limited in my perspective, in that I would see problems in terms of their effects and consequences in the same day. I was egocentric and short-sighted in approach and awareness. Now, benefitting from focused time, reflection, life experiences and applying new knowledge, I am practicing exponential thinking and experiencing greater awareness. Instead of thinking in terms of days and weeks, I am now improving my awareness of the importance of thinking, meta-thinking (thinking about thinking) and projecting my thoughts into the future in say thirty-two, sixty-four and one-hundred and twenty-eight years time. This shifts my perspective so that my awareness and mental faculties are constantly being stretched.

Solution: Stop what you're doing right now and see if you can observe your thoughts. With practice you'll build greater awareness and your mental agility will be tested and in time, strengthened.

• Meditate for nine seconds by focusing only on your breathing:

1. Inhale for three seconds

2. Hold for three seconds

3. Exhale for three seconds

For more awareness do less.

"I believe everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it. It is a basic human desire. And it also puts our worries in perspective". Stephen Hawking

For beginner meditation awareness perhaps take a look at 1 Giant Mind App

3 FOCUS

Important because: increasing focus means you are allocating finite mental resources to specific goals, and by doing so, acuity of mind develops; you become mentally sharper. Effectiveness of brain function is less likely diluted because 'where focus goes, energy flows'. [5] Did you know that 'in the average adult human, the brain represents about 2% of the body weight. Remarkably, despite its relatively small size, the brain accounts for about 20% of the oxygen and, hence, calories consumed by the body' [6] The human brain is an absolutely amazing and fascinating organ and processing machine, capable of seemingly immeasurable processing power. Once we focus on how its power is utilised, mental wealth is built upon a foundation that strengthens with sustained and intelligent focus. What is your current focus? Is it truly the best use of your mental fortitude?

Just a few years ago I'd incessantly divide my time between multiple projects and I really thought it was a good thing! In my mind getting lots done, in fact quite the opposite. By trying to do too many things at once I'd fail miserably at all, because I was diluting my focus. Learning from my mistake, dedicated to progress, and an obsession with improving my personal mental health, I realised how unsustainable my behaviour was. Continuing blindly, burnout would be imminent, and I definitely did not want to get clinical burnout and any irreparable physical and mental damage accompanying it. By practising how to focus, my productivity and output improved massively. Most importantly my focus was now on tasks that, once completed, resulted in genuinely nourishing my whole being. Instead of a human just doing I became a human being. It's important to make sure that whatever you decide to focus your invaluable time and energy on that it is congruent with your core values. If you don't, you may begin to harbour resentment for whomever set you the task, and believe me, self-hate is the most toxic and damaging of emotions that serves no-one. We all have choices, choose wisely and you'll build mental wealth.

Solution: Set up and start your days, weeks, months and years with the end in mind. Begin with who you want to become in the future and reverse-engineer backwards from that date. Of course, flexibility is key, although most important is your specific choice of focus.

• Focus on tasks that yield the best results connected to your values.

For example: If two of your values are fitness and consistency, after making your bed in the morning put your workout shoes on (that you've set down by your bed the previous night ) and go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

• Follow One Course Until Successful (F.O.C.U.S) Once you dedicate your focused energy, with respect to your values, it's highly likely you'll be successful in your endeavours because instead of diluting energy you are concentrating it towards a specific end goal.

"The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively." - Bob Marley

If you need help identifying core values here is a List of Core Values [7]

Adam Bowcutt

With a powerful collaboration between action, awareness and focus you will certainly begin to build mental wealth and the strongest foundations of growth, fortitude and abundance. With great respect to building long-term authentic confidence, mental health and ultimately higher level skills to navigate reality now and into the future.

Please feel free to also read: 3 Important Skills to Develop Mental Wealth

If you'd like to learn more about what we do please visit https://www.mentalwealth.world or www.adambowcutt.com.au

Adam Bowcutt

Author

::: CONFIDE Collective :::

Glossary:

Growth Mindset Embracing challenges and learns from criticism

Mental Fortitude Emotional and mental strength despite adversity

Abundance Mentality Recognizing unlimited possibilities (opposite to scarcity mentality)

[Sources]

[1] Confide : the new psychology of confidence : how to power up after experiencing depression / Bowcutt, Adam, Xlibris

[2] Psychological Momentum and Inertia: Toward a Model of Academic Motivation

[3] The Five Elements of the Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins

[4] Zen Gamma, Scientific American

[5] Robbins Research International Inc. by Tony Robbins

[6] Appraising the brain's energy budget, PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America

[7] Core values list by Carnegie Mellon University