Thursday, January 15, 2009

3 Habits of Mind

Chapter 9 reviews what some effective leadership habits are.... however, I think these are good habits to have in life in general. The mind can be a very tricky and complex thing when it comes to analyzing and thinking... I know I personally am a creature of habit so it's tough to sometimes break free of conditioned ways of thinking. Habits of mind "are patterned ways of thinking that define how a person approaches issues and conceives of alternative ways of resolving or dealing with them" (p. 281). Peter Senge and colleagues conducted interviews and then developed a model, with three habits of mind that bring together both subjective and objective aspects of knowledge that I believe we could all go by.... or at least, as a reminder for myself to go by:

[Excerpted from page 282]
  1. Sensing -The capacity to suspend, the courage to see freshly, seeing from the whole, seeing with the heart. Quieting the mind. Avoiding knee-jerk reactions to problems, or distancing yourself from the problem. Redirecting attention
  2. Presencing - Into the silence, reaching a state of clarity about what is emerging, an inner knowing that is quite the opposite of decision making. "What to do just becomes obvious." Presencing is seeing from the deepest source and becoming a vehicle for that source.
  3. Realizing - Refers to the creative process, bringing something new into reality. This comes from a source that is deeper than the rational mind. Examples: "If you have to think in the martial arts, you're dead" -Bryan Arthur. "It's almost as if I'm watching myself in action. I'm both engaged and simultaneously detached. When that happens, I know there will be magic."-(Gotseva-Yordanova, 2006)

These are 3 habits I believe I could work on for so many different levels of my life.... I don't think it would be easy by any means...

But I think it's a great piece of advice for many of us-- if we could "clearly focus on identifying future possibilities in the world and ridding oneself of the baggage associated with the past" (282). May make for a happier place, at least in the aspect of our personal worlds, don't you think?

Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2009 at 9:11 AM

    I also think it is hard to break free from our usual habits and ways of doing thing. It is almost as if our mind is also set on doing things certain way and it we were to change it, we loose confident or focus on negative outcomes. Sometimes it is possible for me to adapt changes and I enjoy seeing or doing something new. However, most of the time it just seems so much easier for me if I just stick to the old routines. The 3 habits of mind is very easy to understand and productive but I think we are living in a society where nobody seems to take the time to think before they act anymore. Personally I do hope I will become more aware of my habits and the way I think or do things in order make my life a little more organize and enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 16, 2009 at 1:24 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. StudentJanuary 16, 2009 at 1:26 PM

    I really enjoyed this section of the reading as well. I think these are great things to use in work and personal situations. In the sensing category, I find the part about taking a step back from the situation and looking at as a whole to avoid "knee-jerk reactions." most interesting. This would create environments where people clearly articulate feelings in a rational view. I have definitely made the mistake of reacting before thinking in the past and am learning from those mistakes as I make them. All three of these concepts, sensing,presencing and realizing are really important and something that I am going to try and incorporate into my work life and beyond.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)