Leaders are you monk enough?

Unleash Your Higher Powerhttp://www.uqpower.com.au/higher-power-leaders

www.UQPower.com.au

What do you do when SMART goals no longer

do it for you?

UQPower.com.au#StartWithU

When the world around is VUCA?

(volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous)

www.UQPower.com.au

When you’re overwhelmed, exhausted, your brain is full and you just want to run away?

UQPower.com.au#StartWithU

You enter

monk mode

Coined by Greg McKeown with Illimitable man - Monk Mode is a self-improvement framework for improving your worth, and in turn, increasing the quality of person you are.

What is heck is monk mode?

The word monk derives from the Greek word monakhos, which means ALONE.

A monk is a person who voluntarily decides to isolate themselves from mainstream society and embrace and ascetic lifestyle. It is characterised by self-control and balance.

What’s monk got to do with it?

Are you monk enough?

In our modern business world of leadership, monk mode is a way to cope with the constant stimuli around us.

Entering monk mode can help us to regain our control over our emotional state and deal with our mental disorientation.

“Monk mode is a mental state that allows the individual to assume control over their mental well-being and eventually augment their value in an attempt to revamp their life conditions.”

How do I enter monk mode?

Monk mode is not a one-off process. It is a gradually evolving process that needs to be nurtured over time.

The formal framework for entering monk mode requires inquisitive analysis using four areas:1 – destroying self-delusion

2 – Initiating observer state

3 – Assuming formlessness4 – Utilising exposure

Unpacking monk mode

1 – destroying self-delusion – using introspection and self-honesty to objectively evaluating your strengths and weaknesses. Self analysis in particular if you are suffering from a delusion of superiority or inferiority. Ways to do this – undertake the Gallup Clifton Strengths Finder or an Emotional Intelligence Test.

2 – Initiating observer state – review your lifeline and history as if you are an anthropologist without bias. Write it out, collect evidence with no judgement of good or bad. Notice the patterns and clues.

Unpacking monk mode

3 – Assuming formlessness – Bruce Lee explains this best when he says, empty your mind and become like water. In a world headed towards more diversity and multiculturalism, formlessness becomes imperative. Be flexible and adaptable. (Bruce Lee clip)

4 – Utilising exposure – Although monk mode requires a certain amount of isolation in order to allow space for introspection to flourish. However it then also needs exposure. Humans are social animals and power and satisfaction depend on social exposure and circulation.

Is your mind a dog’s breakfast?

A word from the wise

At the Writer’s Festival recently in Newcastle I heard Lunig the cartoonist say it best when he described his creative process. He would go out into the bush, find a tree and:

Sit down. Go blank. Stay put.

The busyness curse

Western society crams as many hours of the day with as much content and stuff as possible. It’s like we have a busyness quota!

I believe part of the reason why we’re not really making significant progress as much as we could with big global issues like climate change, loss of habitat and biodiversity, housing affordability etc is because we’re all so busy.

No one has time for empathy and curiosity…

Question are the answer

1. What do you truly value?

2. When do you do your best thinking?

3. What stories come up for you when you consider spending time being idle?

4. What bigger question do you need answered for the future?

5. How can you create at least 3-4 hours a week for introspection and deep thought?

DISCUSSION

UQPower.com.au