GHCL Digest JUNE 2018
GHCL Digest JUNE 2018
GHCL Digest JUNE 2018
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Book Review<br />
Emo onal Agility<br />
Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and<br />
Thrive in Work and Life<br />
To be emo onally agile is to be flexible with our thoughts and feelings, and not hold impenetrable, the<br />
concrete beliefs of our past, as this cannot lead to change. A seed cannot grow from concrete, only from<br />
a mixture of fer le soil, water and sunlight. In the same way, we must allow a combina on of different<br />
experiences and thoughts to shape us, and not be bound to a certain number of beliefs that we have<br />
always held.<br />
Susan David, PhD and psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical<br />
School, asks us to consider who's in charge – the thinker or the<br />
thought. Her point is that if we want to be emo onally agile in all<br />
areas of our life - that is, able to choose our response and not get<br />
hooked by thoughts and feelings that don't serve us, we need to be<br />
able to follow four basic principles outlined in the book.<br />
Susan David<br />
Dr. David cites four key concepts: showing up, stepping out, walking your why and moving on. These<br />
concepts emphasise the overall stance she takes in her book and are fundamental in crea ng emo onal<br />
agility and adap veness:<br />
Showing Up:<br />
To face your thoughts or feelings is arguably the most<br />
difficult thing to do but is also the most impera ve to<br />
facilitate posi ve change. David suggests being curious<br />
of them, accep ng the difficult and posi ve thoughts<br />
equally in order to see them for what they are.<br />
Stepping Out:<br />
This concept is all about detachment, a detachment<br />
from your inner monologue, thoughts and feelings, in<br />
order to see that they are just emo ons, not you. These<br />
emo ons are not bound to you and are not an essen al<br />
part of your being. To detach from them will result in<br />
you feeling far more autonomous over your ac ons and<br />
decisions.<br />
To be emo onally agile is to be<br />
flexible with our thoughts and<br />
feelings, and not hold impenetrable,<br />
the concrete beliefs of our past, as<br />
this cannot lead to change. A seed<br />
cannot grow from concrete, only<br />
from a mixture of fer le soil, water<br />
and sunlight. In the same way, we<br />
must allow a combina on of<br />
different experiences and thoughts<br />
to shape us, and not be bound to a<br />
certain number of beliefs that we<br />
have always held.<br />
Walking Your Why:<br />
You need to retain core values, as these are a fundamental part of who you are. You shouldn't give these<br />
up, but use them to dictate your ac ons. They provide you with your substance, your iden ty and roles,<br />
and as long as they aren't nega ve values then no refinement is needed. Your values are your driving<br />
force.<br />
June <strong>2018</strong><br />
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