In a world where so much is changing so fast, we need new ways to make sense of what is happening.
Our conscious, rational minds will do this by seeking out facts. But as the start of the Covid-19 pandemic showed, in a time of rapid change facts might not always be available, they might not always be accurate, and they might not mean what we think they mean.
Worse, our conscious rational minds will make sense of events by using assumptions based on the ways the world used to work. And in a time of rapid change, these assumptions may no longer hold true. We once assumed, for example, that catching Covid-19 would make us immune. We assumed that Russia would quickly defeat Ukraine. In a changing world, these assumptions turned out to be mistaken.
The good news is, our rational minds aren’t the only reliable method we have for making sense of the world. When top sportspeople respond in a split second to put the ball exactly where they want it to go, they aren’t using their conscious, rational minds to do this. They’re using their unconscious, intuitive minds. And in the same way, our own unconscious minds are already spotting and making sense of the new patterns that are emerging all around us.
This means that we can lead ourselves better through this time of change if we learn to draw on the power of our unconscious intuition.
One good way to do this is by using a tool called Morning Pages.
To use Morning Pages:
- Sit down with pen and paper, first thing in the morning, before your conscious mind is fully awake
- Write out longhand whatever comes into your mind: don’t think, don’t judge, don’t edit, just write down whatever comes into your mind until you have filled three sides of paper (“This is silly. This is boring. What shall I have for dinner?” … Whatever comes into your mind.)
- Check back through what you have written and make a note of anything significant
- Get on with your day
This simple process will bring you three important benefits. First, you get any nagging worries out of your head and down on to paper. This makes you calmer and brings you a clearer mind. Second, writing without thinking often surfaces unexpected insights. And third, as well as bringing you a better understanding of what is happening, Morning Pages will often bring you solutions
It might seem counter-intuitive that such a simple process of not thinking should work. But as as Einstein said,
“There is no logical path to [new insights and understanding] — only intuition… can reach them.”
Morning Pages are a reliable way to access that intuition.
The journalist Oliver Burkeman says that when he first started doing Morning Pages he was highly sceptical. Now he wishes he’d started them years ago.
Has your conscious mind been struggling to understand or decide something? Is it worth trying out Morning Pages, to see what answers your unconscious intuition might come up with?
Adapted from The Churning, Inner Leadership: a framework and a set of tools for building inspiration in a time of change.
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