We’ve just published our new book, Physical Intelligence: Harness Your Body’s Untapped Intelligence to Achieve More, Stress Less and Live More Happily Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing excerpts from the book to give you a glimpse inside and to highlight the powerful impact of Physical intelligence on your life at home and at work.
Let’s start with Alex’s story, one that is sure to resonate for many of you.
How many of you have woken up feeling great only to have that dreaded email drop into your inbox? How you let that email impact your day is all about Physical Intelligence. Right now, there are hundreds of chemicals racing through each of our bodies and brains. The balance of these chemicals dictate how we think, feel, speak and behave, yet most of us operate largely at their mercy without realising that we can influence that chemical balance. #PhysicaIntelligence is the ability to detect and actively manage the balance of key chemicals in our bodies and brains through a variety of easy to use techniques.
Let's see how Alex uses his Physical Intelligence.
Alex woke up one morning and took a deep breath. He had slept well and felt positive about the day ahead. He would be leading a client presentation he and his colleagues had been preparing for over a month. Everything was ready. Alex stood up, picked up his phone and opened a new email he had been sent.
It was bad news. The client could see them for only ten minutes of the thirty they had originally planned for. Alex frowned and cursed while his shoulders shifted subtly forwards and his stomach contracted. The back of his neck shortened, his chin jutted out in front of him, his spine sagged and his breathing became faster and more shallow.
Recognising the signs, Alex slowed his breathing down and did a quick internal scan of his body. He found his knees were locked, his jaw was clenched and his shoulders were tense. He felt like he had been punched and he momentarily considered pulling out of the opportunity. The news had really caught him off-guard.
Alex breathed again and sat up a bit taller, rolled his shoulders back and lengthened his spine. He relaxed the areas of tension and grounded himself. With this action came a subtle change of mood; whatever this news meant for his presentation, he felt able to handle it. All was not lost. He took another few breaths and loosened his neck and jaw, easing the tension, and placed his feet firmly on the ground beneath him.
He quickly updated his partner on the news and they hugged as he left the house. As Alex walked to the station, he concentrated on walking with ease, purposefully looking at the world around him to give him a break from worrying and to stimulate creativity. From experience, he knew that getting uptight about an unexpected change such as this, no matter how annoying, wouldn’t help matters.
As he stepped onto the train, he focused on his breathing and suddenly had an idea about how it could work. The strongest presenter on the team could summarise the in-depth research in the presentation, which would save at least fifteen minutes. That left only five more to shave off. When he reached the office, he smiled as he walked in and asked the team to join him in the conference room. Without tension, he explained the situation, acknowledging that, although not ideal, he believed that with creative thinking and reorientation it would not be a disaster. He shared his idea and asked for others. Within twenty minutes, the team had a plan; within the hour, they had reworked the presentation, agreeing that Corrine, who had an engaging and flexible style as well as a strong physical presence, should summarise the research. The bid was successful and over the next ten years the partnership with that client flourished. It brought considerable growth to the company and their business eventually contributed to its being floated on the stock market.
In this everyday scenario of changing circumstances, Alex was using his Physical Intelligence, drawing on the physical data derived from changes in his body / brain chemistry, managing his emotions and transforming the outcome.
Here's the chemical story:
Alex knew exactly what he was doing. His knowledge of how key chemicals in his body and brain impact his own and others’ behaviour and his ability to influence the balance of those chemicals enables him to achieve his own personal ‘flow’ state. He is choosing behaviour that supports the chemical balance he needs.
We can all instruct our bodies to achieve the balance we want by knowing more about our physiology, by creating new habits and by using techniques that shift the levels of specific chemicals up or down. Physical Intelligence is the ability to detect and actively manage that chemical balance so that we can all achieve more, stress less and live more happily – just like Alex.
To learn more about managing your Physical Intelligence, please order our book, on sale now.
About Companies in Motion
There are over 80 easy to use techniques and tips to build our Physical Intelligence. You can read about all of them in our new book, Physical Intelligence: Harness Your Body’s Untapped Intelligence to Achieve More, Stress Less and Live More Happily available from Simon and Schuster. (Order here.) (Multiple translations will be available later in 2019.)
In our next post, we’ll share more stories of how Physical Intelligence has helped individuals and teams Achieve More, Stress Less and Live More Happily. Until then, give these techniques a try and let us know how they help you!
For more information about how Physical Intelligence can help you, your team or your organization, visit us at www.companiesinmotion.com.