The weekend’s internet carnage seems to have settled down.

Unless you rely on carrier pigeon for your communications, you probably saw the mayhem.

On Friday, thousands of flights were grounded, supermarket check-outs crashed and NYC’s Times Square went dark.

All because a tiny software update by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike had an error in its code.

Ironically, this software update created a bunch of disruption which the software itself was meant to protect against.

And even more ironically, overriding the error was nigh on impossible because the software is designed not to be overridden.

Anyway, this whole situation reminds me of a line from Wayne Dyer’s classic and timeless book 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace.

Not just any old random line, but the book's 6^th secret.

Which is this:

You can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it.

On the surface, this seems counterintuitive.  After all, where else can we look for solutions apart from our minds? 

But I don’t think the secret’s saying that.  It’s not saying don’t look to your mind. 

It’s saying you can’t solve a problem by looking to the mind which created the problem in the first place.  A mind which has already made certain assumptions and is already compromised.

An example:

Ever had a few nerves before giving a big talk or a presentation? 

Most people’s reaction to pre-talk nerves is to research nerve-busting methods then put these into practice.  Cue deep breathing, visualisation, mindfulness, hydration and lots of preparation.

But in my experience, none of these really work. 

In fact, I’ve found these methods can actually worsen my nerves, increase my mental chatter and cause me starting to second-guessing myself.

And that’s because whatever method you use to calm your nerves is rooted in the mind that created these nerves in the first place.

You see that right? 

The nervous mind is trying to fix its own nervousness.  And even the best breathing exercise in the world is still taking place within that nervous mind.

I’m not holding my breath that’ll work!

In short, the way to calm pre-talk nerves isn’t from the nervous mind. 

It’s by looking at the nervous mind.

This is probably why a client once described me as an “anti-coach”.

You’ll rarely see me suggesting a tool, tip, trick or technique when I coach.

Instead, navigating challenges is all about perspective, orientation, understanding and our relationship with our minds.

If you’d like support with your own challenge without getting caught in endless cycles of trial & error, here’s the link:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com

 - Tom