Overthinking it?
E82: Discover the courage to lead with your heart
When did your brain last take a break? Do you notice what your brain is doing right now?
Is it thinking about the title of this edition?
Is it telling you how tired you’re feeling this morning?
Is it causing you to think about the email you needed to start writing one minute ago?
With the 70,000 our brain produce every day, it behaves like a lawyer who is way behind meeting their target billable hours for the year.
We often solve our most challenging problems with our brain, but spending our days in a whirlwind of words, spreadsheets and meetings can leave us exhausted and imprisoned in our heads.
Our brain might be useful for decisions that affect profitability or the bottom line. But it is our hearts that help us make better decisions that bring us closer to each other, no matter how difficult the decision.
If you see a building on fire, you might think it needs someone courageous to rescue someone trapped inside. Yet if you ask the fireman who’s just rescued them before the building collapsed, they’ll say: “Oh, it’s just my job!”. In positive psychology, we call this type of courage personal courage. It's an act that, if you describe it to someone else, they don't necessarily feel courageous.
Firing your team is heartless when your brain relies on logic, the spreadsheet and numbers for justification alone. Not everything can be reduced to quantification.
Maybe it’s because the root of the word courage comes from the old Norman French word for heart - cœur. Perhaps it’s a lack of heart which makes it hard to lead - and make decisions - because our brain gets in the way and takes over.
David Whyte, the philosopher and poet, speaks about a “courageous conversation [being] a heartfelt one. And a heartfelt conversation is one that needs to happen”.
Our heart always gets to the heart of a matter because it reveals what we sense, what we infer, what we intuit, what we - deep down - know is, perhaps, the truth.
Our heart is our compass that points always to that which aligns to our values and our purpose. And when we have the courage to make decisions that listen to what our heart tells us, not just our brain, we feel a deeper sense of purpose and meaning in our lives.
We ignore the wisdom in our heart at our peril.
Lately, I’ve noticed a recurring theme among my clients: the struggle to embrace leading with one’s heart. It’s hard because our brain dominates the expert’s domain.
It always thinks it knows better.
It always thinks it’s right.
It would never forgive us if our heart made a mistake.
But what might be possible if we listened - just a little bit more - to what’s in our heart?
Embrace the courage in your heart
What is your heart telling you now?
No, wait!
Slow down. Just for a moment. Give your brain a break.
Don’t give in to your brain’s cognitive diarrhoea.
Pause and tune in to what’s in your heart.
What does your heart sense?
Pause a bit longer. Don’t let your brain trample over your heart again.
What is your heart really telling you?
👉 Over to you!
What might be possible for you if you led with your heart instead of your head?
What act of personal courage can you take today that aligns with the true message your heart is urging you to follow?
ps If you’re an entrepreneur, a lawyer or another high-flying professional - who’s looking to connect with your optimal health and walk with courage into work and life in a way that feels effortless, get in touch and let’s have a conversation.
That’s it for this week!
As always, I appreciate your feedback on Effortless Thursdays.
If Effortless Thursdays resonated with you, I'd be grateful if you told just one friend to subscribe. They and you can always unsubscribe using the link below.
What did you think of this week’s edition? How can I make it more useful to you? Let me know in the comments, by email, on X or on LinkedIn.
To your health and success!
Eric
What might be possible for you if you led with your heart instead of your head? Rest. Hopefully tomorrow in the afternoon sun.