Attention Meets Emotion

Katie Cheadle, Co-Founder of Evolve

Are you able to screen out emotional distractions and stay focused? Or do your thoughts tend to drift from the task you’re working on to something you heard on the news to a fight you had with your spouse earlier in the morning? When someone asks you a question or you run into your boss in the hallway, does it take you a while to regain your train of thought?

Your ability to focus your attention is not only a component of your cognitive ability but also deeply related to your emotional landscape. Emotional cues are not only ubiquitous in our lives and our environment, but they can also be strong distractions, interfering with our ability to accomplish tasks and maintain a sense of calm (especially in the workplace).

When you are focused, you can maintain your awareness on a single conversation even in a noisy, crowded room. An unfocused person may be shifting attention and eyes constantly due to the attention-grabbing stimulus. Many individuals push through the distractions despite emotional disruptions, but many others feel constantly pulled by the highs and lows.

The research continues to show us that attention and emotion are quite intimate. Developing your emotional agility can not only help you feel more grounded and calm, but it allows you to enhance your focus and attention at work and in your personal life. There are several distinct forms of attention, but two particularly catch my attention (no pun intended) and are explained in detail in The Emotional Life of Your Brain by Richard Davidson. One is selective attention - the ability to be immersed in a sea of stimuli and maintain attention to only one thing. The other is open, non-judgmental awareness - the capacity to remain receptive to whatever may pass into your thoughts, view, hearing, or feeling and do so in a non-critical way. Can you believe psychologists have found a way to measure this stuff?

As professionals, it’s our job to ensure we are working with our emotions in a way that supports our performance. Pushing them away, avoiding them altogether, or letting them get the best of you are not effective strategies. Working with a coach, going to therapy, journaling regularly, meditating, and talking to a trusted mentor can all support the process. Find a way to work with your emotions in a way that supports your growth, and simultaneously watch your ability to maintain focus and attention improve.

Interested in bringing Emotional Agility training to your company? Click the link here to learn more.

Doing Less is Doing More

Clint Monfort, Co-Founder of Evolve

Sound like a pipe dream or clickbait? It’s not. But most of us sure think it is.

We have been conditioned to believe that the more we do and the less we rest, the more we get done and thus the more productive we are. This former lawyer was no exception. For years, I constantly raced through my day, getting as much done as possible during the day and during my week. “I’ll rest at the end of my day… after I’m done being productive.” Or “I’ll rest at the end of my week... after I meet my deadlines and get as much done as humanly possible.” Duh. I never really considered the idea of resting and recharging in the midst of all that and skipping getting something done. And certainly not on a regular basis. What a waste of time!

How wrong I was. After driving myself (and surely everyone around me) crazy for years with this “doing more is better” approach, I was sick and tired and stressed enough to start searching for help with how to cope with the downside of this “obviously productive” approach. What I found was not a coping mechanism, but a completely new approach altogether. An easier, more productive, and less stressful approach. One that didn’t drain my energy and my soul. I certainly wasn’t expecting that.

But as it turns out, when we rest (and I mean really rest), we activate our parasympathetic nervous systems. This won’t happen if we just take a break to scroll on our phones or have a conversation or watch a video. It happens when we get still, in the moment, and recharge with presence. Doing things like breathwork, meditating for a few minutes, or taking a mindful, technology-free walk. When we guide our nervous systems into this state, it not only calms us and makes us feel better, it actually increases blood flow to our brains. This gives us more energy and more brainpower. With re-energized brain cells, we can perform the rest of our work more efficiently and more effectively. And the additional brain energy we gain will sustain our brains for longer periods of time, allowing us to execute with clarity and focus later into the day.

So, the next time you find yourself with too much to do and not enough time, remember to stop and take time to do nothing… your productivity literally depends on it.

If you’re interested in learning more, click here to learn about our workshops.

Maybe We Should Pass on the Feedback Sandwich

Katie Cheadle, Co-Founder of Evolve

The traditional "Feedback Sandwich" has been around forever. You highlight something positive, followed by an area that needs improvement, and then finish with another positive note. I remember when I first learned this strategy I was 19 years old playing softball at UC Berkeley and we were told to use this model with the youth athletes that came to our camp. I later saw that this was being taught in the organizations I worked with post-undergrad. It seems like this theory made sense on the surface, but in practice, I think it can lead to confusion. Some individuals focus entirely on the negative, missing the positive feedback completely and others ruminate on the negative, completely ignoring the positive recognition!

In my experience working with Executives and researching company cultures across the globe, I’ve learned that there is a more effective way to deliver the message. It seems to work best when there are two separate processes created.

When delivering a more critical message, it can be beneficial to preface the dialogue by telling the person you have some feedback or even asking them if they would like feedback. Following the entry, this becomes a learning-focused, two-way street about growth. There’s no confusion and it’s collaborative, which are both key components to conscious communication and engaging company cultures.

When leaders want to deliver a positive message, the best method is to use recognition and praise! It feels so affirming to employees when leaders radiate delight and are ultra-clear that they are observing praise-worthy behavior and results. These moments of authentic, warm connection help create clarity, improved sense of belonging, and inspire future action.

It’s time to toss the old “Feedback Sandwich” and develop new ways of connecting with your team! You can learn more effective tools for communication in our Conscious Communication workshop.

Sugars vs. Sugar Substitutes

Clint Monfort, Co-Founder of Evolve

If you find yourself confused by the many different types of sugars found in processed foods, you’re not alone. Processed foods contain multiple forms of sweeteners which can make it really hard to determine just how harmful they are to our bodies, our energy, and our moods.

Whenever possible, it is best to opt for foods that are naturally sugar-free. If we are going to eat foods that contain sugar, a good rule of thumb is to choose foods that contain natural organic sweeteners like honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and monk fruit sweetener. Although I try to avoid added sugars, monk fruit sweetener is a personal favorite because I’ve noticed when wearing a continuous glucose monitor that it doesn’t cause a significant blood sugar spike. The lower the blood sugar spike, the less likely we’ll experience mood swings, loss of focus, and energy crashes.

As far as artificial sweeteners go, I try to avoid them at all costs. More and more evidence is emerging linking them to everything from neurological disorders to inflammatory bowel disease to seizures and even cancer. Another concern with artificial sweeteners is how they impact our ability to gauge how much we have eaten. Providing sweetness without calories also confuses the body’s normal digestive process. This can lead to intense cravings, overeating, storage of extra calories as fat, and metabolic diseases and disorders.

If we want to feel amazing, energized, and capable of performing our best work, the best bet is to ditch the sugar altogether. But we want to really be on high alert for artificial sweeteners.

If you’re interested in learning more, click here to learn about our workshops.