Mental Fitness Bootcamp

I participated in the Positive Intelligence course in September 2020. This program provided me with an understanding with the useful language of certain unhealthy and counterproductive behaviors. I have a better understanding and acceptance because, at one time, these behaviors may have served a purpose, but now they are no longer serving me or aligned with my values. Instead of the constant negative judgment of myself, I now have tools to examine the behaviors, such as using a lens of curiosity and empathy in my reflection. These practical tools that I learned then led to immediate and sustained positive changes in both my personal and professional life.

 

The initial personality assessment was very insightful, and it helped me to reflect on the ‘why’ of my undesired behaviors and experiences with outcomes that were not aligned with my goals. The awareness of my inner ‘Judge’ and other highly present saboteurs revealed some very engrained and habitual behaviors. My ‘Avoider’ Saboteur was very strong and controlled much of my life.

 

The concept of ‘self-command’, has helped me reject saboteur control both proactively and reactively. When experiencing behaviors or outcomes that I KNOW do not align with my values and goals, I am more aware of what is happening inside my mind and can reflect with compassion. I will think to myself, “uh huh, here is the “AVOIDER” in a way that is almost comical, despite the fact it may be within the context of a difficult moment in the day. I have found that having a ‘name’ for these thought patterns and experiences is very helpful, and in this way, I can separate the thought from who I am.

 

One of the program tools, PQ reps, helps with proactive and reactive changes of saboteur control. Now I’ll be honest, as a professional in the field of behavioral sciences, I was already using daily mediation practices. At first, I did not really see the value of these silly PQ reps like ‘rubbing my fingers together’ or ‘hearing sounds around me’.  I already had awareness of using mindfulness strategies. With guidance from my coach, I gained a better understanding of PQ reps and the importance of using the ‘PQ gym’. Learning how to consistently use this tool in my daily life was, in fact, very helpful. PQ reps really help me when my brain gets ‘highjacked’ and I’m experiencing serious disregulation of mind and body. Regular use of PQ reps led me to feel more calm and in control of emotions. I am more prepared for life’s challenges such as difficult meetings or interpersonal situations. At first, when I would use PQ reps reactively (total saboteur hijack and disregulation), I had to do PQ reps for what felt like a long time. However, the more I practiced and included proactive and reactive PQ reps into my day-to-day, I found the duration of time I needed to use PQ reps shortened in those major hijacked moments. Learning to show compassion for myself when saboteurs take over has been a game changer. The reduction of time and energy in not beating myself up because of these thoughts and behaviors has had such a positive impact.

 

Then came working on the ‘Sage’, I consider these thoughts, emotions, and actions to be a reflection of my authentic best self. Practicing self-command takes commitment, especially if your saboteurs are as strong as mine were, this is not an overnight deal after 25 plus years of these Saboteurs running the show and my Sage being stomped on and kicked to the curb. It’s like building a new muscle, you have to put the work in. I humbly share that in time, my Sage emerged to the forefront of my ‘operating system’ and now runs the show! Although still present, my saboteurs are like annoying ‘pop up windows’ that show up once in a while. Ongoing coaching and implementing the tools made managing my saboteurs often as easy as ‘clicking X’ to delete the pop-up saboteurs. 

 

I really enjoyed the six week course, including the daily practices and weekly videos. The app was also great, it was easy to use and helped with accountability with frequent use of the PQ gym. If you are a fan of apps like my fitness pal (or other such apps) you will appreciate the design of this app. I found the ‘pod meetings’ interesting, hearing other peoples perceptions and experiences on saboteurs and implementing PQ reps was a great addition to the program. Also, I found having a community to use the newly learned program language provided a sense of immersion of the concepts. Unfamiliar with the program, my peers’ inquisitive glares when I’d say something like, “my darn avoider is being a pain in the butt today!”, really made me appreciate the opportunity of community within the program.

 

The Positive Intelligence program along with consistent guidance from my coach led to these practices integrating into my daily life. Two years post completion of this program, I cannot adequately express my feelings of gratitude for the opportunity to have participated. It is my experience that the course design allows for and benefits any person, regardless of, educational background, past or current engagement in personal development, or perceptions related to ‘not having enough time’.