How to keep yourself "under control" at all times with Sense Focusing
You may be familiar with those moments when excitement, time pressure, nervousness or emotional stress limit your ability to act. With Sense Focusing, I will show you a simple and easy-to-use way to get out of automatic patterns of action and regain self-leadership.
"There is a space between stimulus and reaction. In this space lies our power to choose our reaction. In our reaction lies our development and our freedom." (Viktor Frankl)
Many of my clients report obstructive thoughts during their conversations or performances. High performance standards as well as success or time pressure reinforce this effect. In the following, I will go into the background and show you solutions.
Neurobiological background
The brain consists of large areas that have emerged one after the other in evolutionary history and usually work well together. The greatly simplified Model by Paul MacLean helps to better understand our behavior in stressful communication situations:
- That Brain stem ( "Reptile Brain" ) is defined as the oldest part of the brain. It is responsible for survival as well as instincts and reflexes. It regulates the basics of existence (sleep, cardiovascular, appetite, breathing, digestion, etc.). In an emergency, it provides the necessary energy for fight or flight. Adrenaline and other messenger substances activate the protective muscles (shoulders/neck, facial expressions/masticatory muscles, abdominal plexus). These Stress tensions sind in Körpersprache und Stimme erlebbar.
- That Limbic system ( "Mammalian brain" ) steuert unser Verhalten in der Gruppe, regelt also Hierarchie, Status und Selbstwert. Hier manifestieren sich unsere Bedürfnisse, deren Erfüllung oder Nichterfüllung zu Gefühlen und daraufhin zu Handlungsimpulsen führt. Die emotionalen Signale von Voice and body language werden hier verarbeitet. Der innere Fokus auf unsere Sensations (such as physical sensing) helps to eliminate mental blocks.
- The Neocortex ( "Thinking brain" ) steht für den Verstand, für Rationales und Willkürliches, für Strategien und das Lösen von Problemen – und für die Sprache. Wichtig zu wissen ist allerdings, dass unser Kortex beim Zuhören Worte erst erkennt, nachdem vorher im Limbic brain die emotionale Botschaft des Tonfalls verarbeitet worden ist. Das Sprichwort trifft zu: Der Ton macht die Musik. Auch im Kortex beheimatet ist der oftmals hinderliche critical mind ("Inner Critic").
Get your self-leadership back with Sense Focusing!
Sense focusing is based on the biological interrelationship between active conscious body awareness ("Feeling") and letting go of tense muscles.
Active Sense Focusing causes the muscles in the body to automatically release those muscles that tense during stress (i.e. are responsible for protecting the organism): in the neck and shoulders, as well as the facial expression and masticatory muscles.
How can you activate and experience this mechanism?
- Example while sitting : As soon as you decide to consciously feel how heavy your shoulders and arms are on the left and right, you will notice that your shoulders give way – the everyday tension in the shoulder and neck area has been released.
- Example while standing: Take your attention to the soles of your feet for a moment. Feel how the load is distributed in the shoe - between left and right, between heels and forefoot. While you have now devoted your alert attention entirely to the sense of the body (your "kinesthetic perception"), you will notice that small muscles are releasing somewhere in your face. On the forehead perhaps, around the eyes, the cheeks, the jaw, etc.
How does it help Sense Focusing ?
- They attain self-leadership. Sense Focusing allows you to escape the influence of the outside in every situation in life, to get out of the eternal reaction, to switch off the unconscious inner "autopilot" and to take the helm yourself.
- You interrupt through Sense Focusing Automated stimulus-response patterns in der Kommunikation und übernehmen die Führung über sich selbst und Ihre Handlungen.
- They have more physical presence. Sobald Sie sich bewusst körperlich spüren, ziehen Sie unwillkürlich die Aufmerksamkeit anderer auf sich. Nutzen Sie das bei Ihren Auftritten und Präsentationen.
- They eliminate obstructive thoughts. Your deliberate focus on body sensation lets you leave the world of thoughts for a moment. In sensing, you are completely with yourself, autonomous, "in the here and now", free for new thoughts, decisions or actions.
- You Stimme klingt voller und tiefer. There Sense Focusing relieves muscular stress tension and thus also has a pleasant effect on your breathing, your voice sounds fuller, more relaxed and therefore a little deeper at the moment.
Everyday exercise: How to train Sense Focusing without spending time
Good opportunities are: at the traffic lights, in the elevator or other situations when you are waiting for something. Pause for a few seconds. Stand upright and load both feet evenly. If you are sitting: Sit without leaning against it, straighten up and keep both feet in good contact with the ground.
And this is how it works:
- Feel now quite aware of how much weight is on your feet on the left and right (when sitting: on your feet and buttocks).
- Experience , how your shoulders now let go of themselves - and muscles in your face also relax somewhere noticeable.
- Enjoy for a few seconds this thoughtless state, completely in the experience of your physical existence. Now you are independent of all external influences.
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