šÆ Complexity is all around us and, like it or not, it is part of our daily life. At the same time, some of us are longing for certainty and order. Those seem to be long gone and nowhere to be found. Scary thought or maybe super exciting?
Many things have been written about complexity and this book is taking a rather unusual approach to talking about it. It doesnāt go into the subject that deep, but more into presumption (my choice of words) that we, humans, have an innate genius for handling complexity, we just need to enable and nurture it.
ā How? Here are some actionable advice to unleash our complexity genius:
- Practice slow, focused breathing with a longer exhale to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce anxiety in complex situations.
- Use the box breath technique to quiet the sympathetic nervous system and increase focus on the present moment.
- Move your body to create a parasympathetic rebound, which can enhance the signal to your nervous system.
- Donāt ignore your bodyās desire to move ā physical activity can help you cope with complexity.
- Use body language to convey confidence and boost your own hormone and neurotransmitter levels.
- Get enough sleep, especially before facing complex emotional situations.
- Create conditions that encourage creativity, wonder, and connection in your work environment.
- Embrace humility when experimenting and donāt try to make a big splash; instead, focus on small nudges and learning rather than proving.
- Replace unhelpful emotion-stories with more helpful ones to shift your emotional state and nervous system.
- Laugh with others to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and create social bonds.
- Foster curiosity to counteract the poison of certainty in complexity.
- Prioritize building connections of all varieties to thrive in complex ecosystems.
š Want to drill deeper into the topic? I recommend reading this book, it is filled with interesting stories and research findings that I found surprising!
š āUnleash Your Complexity Genius: Growing Your Inner Capacity to Leadā by Jennifer Garvey Berger and Carolyn Coughlin
Originally posted on LinkedIn.