Success Impulse: What do you make of your past?
Did you know that in reality everything was quite different in the past? Well, this is not about conspiracy theories, but about basic psychology with clear consequences for us and our lives.
What I'm getting at is that our past influences our thoughts and our actions. So far so good. And most people believe that our past is a fixed fact. But this is not the case at all. Our brains construct about half of our memories themselves to make the past consistent. Yes, that's right: only about half of our memories actually happened that way. The rest is added - without us noticing it.
And to push it even further: It is not the past itself that influences our thoughts today, but the interpretation of the past. Depending on the meaning you give to (sometimes even invented) events, you will think differently about them today.
This has quite dramatic consequences: Nobody is the way he is because of events of the past, but only because of the interpretation of them (even if they were extremely drastic events). For those who find this hard to swallow, Viktor Frankl's book "Man's search for meaning" is recommended. In it, he describes how, as a concentration camp inmate, his interpretation of horrific events ensured his survival.
What follows from all this: We can change our present thoughts and our decisions if we interpret our past differently. There is not just one reality of the past, but diverse views of it.
What can you do with this insight as a leader? Three things:
- Who do you surround yourself with?
Only include people on your team who have a constructive interpretation of their past within them and take full responsibility for their present situation. All too many people blame external circumstances for their fate. From the age of 25 at the latest, every person has full responsibility for his or her own life (I am not talking about the sad exceptions of physical deprivation of freedom). - What are the options?
Be careful when someone sees only one way forward, derived from the past. There are always multiple options. Ask for them. - What is the significance of events?
Together with your team, always interpret past events in such a way that they benefit us for the future. This has nothing to do with whitewashing, since there is no such thing as reality. But it will also lead to better results in the future.
This is just a small glimpse into the importance of psychology for leadership. And even these ideas can have a significant effect on your team's performance. Try it out.
To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch
