Reflections on Positive Intelligence coaches programme (Nov 2021)

At the start of this year I joined three other coach friends on a 6-week ‘Positive Intelligence for Coaches’ programme, generously run for free by Shirzad Charmine, who lectures on the topic of Positive Intelligence (PQ) at Stanford University. His definition of PQ is that of mental fitness, “our capacity to respond to life’s challenges with a positive rather than negative mindset”. I was intrigued enough to then invest in another few months to find out more about the topic. 

The initial 6-week programme was a great example of how to combine different learning methods to support habit change – for a reminder about how hard it can be to change habits despite good intentions see https://www.catherineshepherd.consulting/blog/bad-backs-and-bad-habits. As well as a weekly video downloading content, I also had a weekly call with my coach friends when we socialised our learning and encouraged one another to keep going, and a daily app that nudged me to try repetitions of short exercises that build mental fitness, with space to jot down my reflections. We were aiming for 15 minutes of practise every day, with the app splitting this down into 5 or 2-minute chunks – far easier to build into busy days. Of course, there were days when I missed the target, but I found repeated short practising quickly built up, so I could get back into the exercises if I’d had a lull. So, if you’re trying to change a habit too, identify who you can turn to for support, and how you can use your smartphone to nudge you a few times a day to briefly practise. 

There’s lots of information about PQ on Shirzad’s website (https://www.positiveintelligence.com). Like many successful advisors he has gathered research (from the fields of positive psychology, neuroscience, cognitive behavioural psychology, and performance science) and synthesised it into straightforward concepts and language. In summary he proposes there are three core ways to improve PQ, or “three core muscles to build mental fitness”:

1. Strengthen your “Saboteur Interceptor”. We all have negative voices (or saboteurs) in our heads that beat us up, are critical of others, or critical of situations, with accompanying negative emotions such as anger or stress. And we can all learn to notice these emotions more quickly and intercept them before they spiral e.g. intercepting that self-critic voice berating you for a bad week at work, before it turns into a judgement that you are rubbish at your job and about to be fired. The metaphor that resonated with us all was that of a hand on a hot stove – the pain is a warning sign, just like the first negative emotion, which we need to move away from before we get seriously burnt. 

2. Use the ‘Sage Perspective’. We found this perspective, that every outcome or circumstance can be turned into a gift or opportunity was the most difficult to truly believe (particularly in the middle of spring 2021 covid lockdown), but it was really useful to question how often in difficult circumstances do we identify what we are gaining rather than losing e.g. how quickly after a failed job interview do we acknowledge what we learnt in the process, or be inspired to find a different and better job, rather than being miserable about a rejection. 

3. Build your “Self-Command” through PQ repetitions. There is a Buddhist saying that we have monkey minds, with our conscious mind swinging from branch to branch, those branches being the 50,000+ thoughts we have in any one day. It might be fun to be always on the move, but how can we be present, attentive, in control, amidst all that activity and chatter? PQ repetitions are exercises that focus our mind on the moment through our five senses, to quieten the chatter. Some such as deep breathing or body scanning were familiar from mindfulness techniques, others were alternatives that can be used even when our surroundings are busy e.g. really listening to near and far noises; really looking at the details of an object in front of you. 

I confess that I stopped using the app nudges over the summer, but I’m still using some of the PQ repetitions, and probably notice my negative emotions and pattern of saboteur voices a bit more quickly. So if you’re trying to face life more positively try a couple of minutes of mindful exercises a few times a day, try to notice your negative emotions as a warning sign more quickly, and see if you can identify what might be an opportunity out of that negativity.