Mind Trinity — The Secret to Visionary Thinking
What goes on in the mind of visionaries? Are they born with special abilities, and a unique set of talents? Whether it’s Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, or other leaders and thinkers of our times, there is definitely something common in the way they think. As Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman puts it, we understand concepts best when there is a pattern and story behind their behavior. The more I see and interact with exceptional people, I notice this more and more. Often, I would share this with my team when they get wrapped up in conflicts, both professional or social. At the end of the day, all of them have the potential to be visionaries, when their energies are channeled the right way.
So, what is the Mind Trinity ? The mind stays in one of three states:
- Am I Safe?
- Am I Respected?
- How can I Impact Others?
Let’s go into each state a bit deeper.
The ‘Am I Safe’ State — Survival State
This state is controlled by the brain stem. It is commonly experienced in the form of a fight or flight response. Whether it was ancient era, when one was not guaranteed to hunt an animal down to provide for next week’s food, or modern times, when one is walking in a dark alley in an unsafe neighborhood, the brain stem is constantly engaged in figuring out if we are safe.
However, if we spend considerable portion of time on a daily basis in the survival state, we need to act immediately to make sure we are in a safer environment. Once the brain establishes safety, it graduates to the next level: the Am I Respected state.
The ‘Am I Respected’ State — Social State
This is the state controlled by the limbic system of the brain. The emotional state is activated by our interactions with society. We all want to feel respected in our interactions whether in a professional setting or a personal setting. If our actions are not absolutely needed for the functioning of the group we are in, then we don’t see a purpose. Think of the times you worked extra hard to impress your boss, get a promotion, or got riled up because your co-worker disrespected you and didn’t recognize your contributions to the project. At a more personal level, think of how you expressed your opinion to your parents or your partner about an issue but they didn’t respect your judgement, and dismissed your point of view.
This is the state where we spend most of our time and is the single biggest blocker to visionary thinking. It is something I tell my team and myself repeatedly. It is also the hardest to escape because we can’t simply uproot ourselves from our existing social and professional circles. The few people who manage to consistently earn the respect of their social and professional circles, can eventually graduate to the final and highest level: the How can I Impact Others state.
The ‘How can I impact others’ — Visionary State
This is managed by the frontal lobe. This is the state that promotes visionary thinking. This is the state that makes you think about how to make the world a better place. But have you noticed something? The first two states are purely focused on the self and for good reason. The body and the mind need to be in a good place before one can start thinking of doing good for the rest of society.
Bill Gates is dedicating his life and resources for the greater good of society because he has graduated from the first two states a while back: Is he safe? YES. Is he respected? YES. So his brain can spend all of its cycles in the third state. Take a moment to reflect on some of your favorite leaders. See if they are stuck in the first two states. Chances are they feel they are respected in their circles for their thoughts and ideas and this feeds into their confidence creating a beautiful positive reinforcement cycle.
In short we cannot think of doing better for the world if we are constantly wrapped in a culture and environment where our ideas and thoughts are not respected and cherished. We owe it to our mind and body, to ensure it gets the respect its deserves. After all,
…they align perfectly with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as in the Declaration of Independence.
Unless we feel comfortable with the status in life, unless we feel free to express our thoughts and ideas in a safe way, unless we are happy in our immediate social and professional lives, it will be immensely hard for us to think of doing good things for the greater society. Getting that level of respect from all parts of society is an ambitious expectation and not realistic but the good news is that as long as your immediate circle can give you that encouraging platform, it will launch you to the visionary state so they you spent more precious brain cycles on how to leave a better world behind than what you inherited.
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