Brain Body Disconnect
I am shifting my view of data, facts, intelligence, and leadership. I notice a significant disconnect between the body and the brain for me and the people I coach.
No matter how much I know better, I view decisions as a cognitive thing the brain does separate from the body. That view contains some major underlying assumptions that are faulty.
Many Bits of Data Never Reach our Awareness
From the Encyclopedia Britannica:
“It is often assumed that consciousness is the dominant feature of the brain… It now appears that the vast majority of processing is accomplished outside conscious notice and that most of the body’s activities take place outside direct conscious control.”
“…the human body sends 11 million bits per second to the brain for processing, yet the conscious mind seems to be able to process only 50 bits per second.”
We process .0000045 of the bits coming to us every second!
These ideas aren’t new, but the pieces have begun to click into place along with a paradigm shift and implications for me.
Intuition isn’t some magical fluffy thing. Our body receives at least 11 million bits of data. A tiny amount of these bits or factoids reach our brain or cognition. That leaves a lot of data points outside of our conscious awareness. Millions of these data points keep us walking safely, breathing while sleeping, and many more routine activities. But what about those other bits?
As a highly sensitive person, I sometimes pick up on bits others don’t. If I deliver a keynote, I can be all too aware of the guy in the third to last row who wrinkles his brow at my statement. (BTW, I have learned not to assume the furrowed brow means anything terrible; it rarely does.)
Suppose that piece of data is in one of the 50 bits in my conscious awareness; what else am I picking up with my senses or emotions outside my conscious awareness? I’m guessing A LOT!
Our Body and Sensations are Trying To Tell us Something
I often feel a clenching sensation in my belly when someone says something manipulative or not entirely true. I have ignored these flags to my detriment and paid attention to them to my benefit. I often fall short in a business setting or logical conversation when I need to translate these sensations and what they want to tell me.
Years ago, we engaged a vendor I knew we shouldn’t do business with, but I couldn’t give a logical enough reason to convince my boss. He hired the vendor, and we lost $5,000 as this person absconded with our funds. If I look at that situation now, I think there were “tells” or tiny little data bits I was picking up outside the conscious awareness telling me the person was lying, but I had no logical facts to support my case.
Now I’m coaching my clients (and myself) to another viewpoint. Part of my intelligence is paying attention to my sensations and feelings and translating their messages to make better decisions.
Sometimes my heart beats fast to let me know I’m stepping into something new and should keep going. Other times my heart beats fast to tell me that I need to create a boundary or get out of a situation or relationship.
Rather than dismissing intuition, emotions, or sensations, I now hold those signals as part of a torrent of uncategorized wisdom. I don’t need to translate all of them, but I can pay more attention to these data bits and value them AS MUCH OR MORE than my logical intellect or cognitive reasoning.
Paying attention to the body, translating its emotions and sensations, and learning to respond appropriately is one part of tuning into the INTERNAL GPS concept I work on with clients and in workshops.
