Written by: Amanda Beswick, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
When you consider the phrase Self-Leadership, do you focus more on the word “Self” or the word “Leadership”? I wouldn’t mind betting it’s the latter. However, if you want to take your Leadership skills to a whole new level of influence and magnetism, you want to be focussing on the “Self”.
Clarity Is Key
You probably already know that “Clarity is Key” when it comes to successful goal setting and achieving but how clear are you about the Self that drives your Leadership skills? Which Self you consciously choose to work with ultimately dictates the quality and power of your sphere of influence. You see, you have more than one Self and each Self brings different qualities to the table.
Awareness Exercise
I love doing an exercise with my clients where we can explore this concept of Self in a practical way. It is incredibly simple. Find a quiet place to sit down on a chair and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in, then slowly exhale out through the mouth as though through a straw. This will move you from the “fight, flight, freeze” state where we spend much of our day as we rush from one task to another and into “rest, digest and create” which allows us to be more relaxed and creative.
Now allow yourself to become aware of your feet where they are in contact with the ground. Really focus on how that feels. Move your awareness to your torso and become aware of the touch of your clothes against your skin. Ok, so far so good. Let’s move your focus to how you are feeling. Are you feeling tired? Bored? Cold? Notice that not only can you observe how you are feeling but you can also make a judgement about it too – are you frustrated that you are feeling tired today maybe?
Now, move your focus away from your body and become aware of yourself sitting on the chair doing this exercise. Take a deep breath in, hold it for a couple of seconds, exhale loudly, and open your eyes! What is the point of this exercise you might wonder? It cultivates Self-Awareness. It demonstrates that whilst a part of you is having tension (body), thoughts, and feelings (mind), there is another part of you that can step outside of your body and mind and observe what you are doing, thinking, and feeling, and more importantly, can make a judgement about what is going on.
Who Is The Self?
Self Is Not:
your thoughts
your feelings.
your history or past actions.
your personality.
your habit or behavior.
your beliefs or perception about life.
You have the power to change all of the above things about yourself just by making a decision to do so. Yes, even your history and past actions. This is important to understand. It means your leadership style is not limited by any of the above. Pause and reflect on this. This is powerful stuff. Now we are entering the Quantum Field of Leadership.
Going Quantum
A dictionary definition will tell you that “Self” is “a person's essential being that distinguishes them from others”. I always find it helpful to look at something from several different perspectives. So, what are others saying about the Self?
It is now widely acknowledged that the majority of our actions, maybe as much as 95% according to Dr. Bruce Lipton ‒ are actually being initiated and managed by our subconscious programs. Programs that for most of us – unless we have made this a primary focus for change – were instilled during our early childhood years. Could it be that each of us is actually being led by a seven-year-old for the majority of our day? Now that’s a bit of a worry if you were anything like me at 7 years of age. I had a terrible temper for one thing!
Fortunately, we are not wholly comprised of our subconscious programs. In addition to our Subconscious mind, we also have a Conscious mind and a Super Conscious mind. So, three minds and one Self. It puts me in mind of ice, water, and steam. All have the same chemical composition that can be expressed at 3 different levels of being.
Which Mind Is Leading You – Conscious, Subconscious, Super Conscious?
Let’s take a look at the conscious mind. This is where choice and free will reside. This is where we can override our subconscious programming and make changes in our life. For example, when an external event triggers our indignant anger subconscious behavior routine, we have the ability to observe and be aware of what is happening, and then using our conscious mind, we can choose to respond mindfully rather than simply react. We can choose to remain calm and remove ourselves from the external event for example and not allow our subconscious to run the show.
Dr. Bruce Lipton puts it like this, “the subconscious mind is our autopilot; the conscious mind is our manual control” (from The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton). He continues, “In its self-reflective capacity, the conscious mind can observe behaviors as they’re being carried out. As a preprogrammed behavior is unfolding, the observing conscious mind can step in, stop the behavior, and create a new response. Thus the conscious mind offers us free will, meaning we are not just victims of our own programming.” (from The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton)
The Super-Conscious Self – Quantum Leadership
Let’s move on and consider the Superconscious mind. This is the part of us that is connected to All that is. I see it as our individual interface to the Mainframe Computer of Life; the Quantum part of ourselves that is connected to the Quantum Field; the Spiritual part that is connected to the Source.
Whatever your frame of reference for this part of Self might be, I would invite you to fully claim and own it because this is how you can uplevel your life and career beyond your wildest dreams. Let’s look at what we know about the Superconscious.
Qualities of Super Conscious Leadership
It’s Infinite – no limitation, no lack. Everything is possible.
It’s fully connected – we are all part of the whole.
It’s fearless – the source of all love and compassion.
It's all-knowing ‒ the source of all wisdom and inner knowing. It holds the answers to every question and the solutions to every problem.
It’s Being itself.
This is why I am so passionate about fully grasping the implications of who the Self is in Self- Leadership. Who is running your life is at the center of how your life is going to turn out. Allow your Subconscious Self to lead and you will be run by your preinstalled programs = same life over, and over, again. Allow your Conscious Self to lead and life will feel like a constant struggle of “figuring it out” and “pushing past your limitations”.
However, allow your Super Conscious Self to lead you, your life will be one of ease and grace; miracles and synchronicities; opportunities and successes. All of our “Selfs” do of course work together but it is the Self you allow to guide the other two that has the power to set the coordinates of your destiny. Which Self do you choose to lead?
Choose wisely, your life depends upon it.
Amanda Beswick, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Amanda Beswick is passionate about helping busy career women connect with their authentic selves and truly be heard in the world. As a Senior Manager within a Global Manufacturing Company, Amanda has experienced and overcome many of the challenges faced by high-performing women in the workplace. She is particularly sensitive to the needs of exceptional women in their mid-years who are juggling mounting pressures from a job they no longer feel connected to, with the changing demands of family life as children fly the nest and elderly parents fill the gap with increasingly complex needs. Amanda offers a range of coaching programmes and trainings around the topic of Female Self-Leadership.
