Jump Thinking - Lynn Carnes

So what is “jump thinking?” Jump Thinking happens whenever the brain takes you ahead, behind, outside or into the deep (and currently non- ... SkiptocontentIthappenedagain. ThereIam,inthemiddleofa19second,sixballpassthroughtheskicourse,andatthe4thball,myintensitywentdown. Lettingupwasnotaconsciousdecision–it’ssuchanoldhabit,thatit’salmost“natural”. Toonatural. Thistime,thecoachwatchingintheboatcouldseeitonmyfaceandcalledmeonit.Prettyquickly,Iunderstoodthecauseandwasabletocorrectitonthenextpass.Thecauseofmylapseisverycommonandmuchhardertocorrectthanitappearstobeatfirstglance. Whatisit?                JumpThinkingNo,I’mnottalkingaboutmephysicallyjumpinganywhere. It’smybrainthatmakestheleap. Inthiscase,mybrainmadetheleapfrom4balltotheendofthelake. IwasalreadydoingthepostgameanalysisDURINGthegame.Oops. Lostintensityandalmostdidn’tfinishthepass.Mymindjumpedaheadsaid“I’vegotthis.”Jumpingaheadisnottheonlyplacemymindjumps.MoreoftenthanIcaretoadmit,mymindwilljumpfromwhatI’mdoingtowhatyouarethinking. Here’sanexample:Iwasfacilitatingaleadershipsessionforanewclientandaskedaveryopen-endedquestiontothegroup.AlthoughIhadbeenwarnedthattheroomwouldbefullofintroverts,myquestionwastailoredforthetalkers. Itfellcompletelyflat. Mythought-provoking,brainstorming,letsnoteveryonetalkatoncequestionwasmetwithsilentstares. Thenmymindjumped. Thistimethejumpwasnotahead,but“intotheirheads.”Notreallyintotheirheads–that’simpossible–but myfearofwhatwasgoingonintheirheads provokedthesethoughts“Whatishappening? Whatdotheythinkofme? Theyarenotlikingthis.Theyhateme.” YoucanimaginehowineffectiveIwaswhilethosethoughtswererunningme.MyclientlatersaiditlookedlikeIhad“leftmybody.” Yes,Ihadjumped!Afterafewminutes,Igatheredmyselfandwehadaverygooddialogue–whenmybrainstayedputinthepresentmomentwithmyfullattentiononthegroup.Sowhatis“jumpthinking?” JumpThinkinghappenswheneverthebraintakesyouahead,behind,outsideorintothedeep(andcurrentlynon-relevant)recessesofyourownmind.Itisanytimeyourthinkinghasleapttothefuture,thepastorontowhatyouthinksomeoneelseisthinking.Ahead: “I’vegotthis.”Behind: “WhydoIalways(ornever)dox?”Outside: “Whyaretheylookingatmelikethat? Whatdotheythinkofme? HowdoIgetthemto[likeme,][thinkI’msmart],[thinkI’mvaluable?]”DeepRecesses:“Lookhowmyhandjustmoved.”Thisdoesnotmeanthatyoucannotthinkaboutthefutureorplan–ofcourseyoucan.  However,inordertounleashyourbestperformance,it’sbesttokeepyourattentiononthemomentathand.Wehaveincrediblydistractibleminds–moresonowthaneverwithsmartphonesandothermediatemptations–soJumpThinkingisactuallythenorm.Stayingpresent–keepingyour attention onthethingathand–hasbecomeapowerful,yetmostlyabsentskill.Trainyourattentionandwatchyourperformanceleaptoanotherlevel.Whatkindof“jumpthinking”doyoudo? Doyoujumpbacktothepast,wondering“whatif?”Doyoujumptothefuture,doingthepostgamewhiletherealgameishappeningrightnow? Doyoujumptoconclusions,takingthingspersonallyevenwhennoillwasintended? Whatdoesittakeforyoutofocusyourattentiononwhatishappeningnow?Asalways,Iwouldlovetohearanytips,tricksorchallengesthatyouhave!Knowsomeonewhowouldlovethisarticle? Emailorsharebelow!LynnCarnesaccelerateschangeandunleashesleadershipperformanceinorganizations,especiallyincontextofchallengeswithouteasyanswers.Shelovestohearabouthowyourexperimentswiththeseideasturnout.Tocontactherorshareyourexperiencesemaillcarnes@carnesassociates.com.