A first approach to developing mental agility in complex situations is presented in Values and Red Buttons. Here is a deepening, with more nuance.
I am struck by the number of judgments that flow daily in our human brains. The ones I hear in my own brain, the ones I hear from my clients, the ones who express themselves in groups.
These thoughts allow us to form an opinion in a hyper fast way, and to decide on an action for example. This automatic human brain process is very relevant… in simple situations.
What about complex situations ?
In complex situations, we are easily "trapped" in this faster, thrifty and sometimes more efficient way of thinking… That said, we have the cerebral means to activate another way of thinking, adaptive, agile, more coherent with the situation, more relevant to complexity.
Here is a tool to practice with: the inference scale.
- 8° actions (that you take or have taken)
- 7° beliefs (that you develop)
- 6° conclusions (that you draw from it)
- 5° Value judgments (which you form)
- 4° emotional response (your feelings)
- 3° interpretation and meaning (the meaning you attribute to the event)
- 2° perception (according to what is important to you)
- (1) event (as it would be filmed)
Go through the different degrees of the scale:
- 1°->8° from bottom to top: take a situation and observe the different rungs of the ladder
- 1->8 from top to bottom: make a reflective analysis of a lived situation, which allows you to make choices and implement changes
What do you learn?