Patricia Peyton of Companies in Motion: “Seeing Light at the End of the Tunnel; 5 Reasons to Be Hopeful During this Corona Crisis”

There has been a tremendous global outpouring of love and support stemming from the pandemic. It started with Italians singing to boost each other’s spirits, then we saw collective clapping around the world to acknowledge the heroes working on the front lines, and we now have countless personal stories of people helping their more vulnerable and needy neighbors and celebrating people in their communities.

As a part of my series about the things we can do to remain hopeful and support each other during anxious times, I had the pleasure of interviewing Patricia Peyton, Director of Companies in Motion | Co-author of Physical Intelligence (Simon & Schuster, 2019)

As co-author of best-selling book, Physical Intelligence (Simon & Schuster, 2019) and Director of Companies in Motion, Pat brings over 30 years of experience in consulting and the design and delivery of award-winning, customized, leadership and sales training solutions. She helps clients globally create and shape sales, service, and coaching cultures that have significantly increased revenue, customer satisfaction, employee retention and profitability.

Pat has partnered with many of the world’s leading organizations: Cisco Systems, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard, VMware, FedEx, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi-Aventis, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Invesco, Credit Suisse, PwC, KPMG, Marsh, Allianz, MetLife, Liberty Mutual, Tiffany and Co, Shell Oil, Waters, and Novozymes among others. For Companies in Motion, she has created Physical Intelligence solutions for organizations such as Bank of New York Mellon, BAE, J.P.Morgan, Mars, Euroclear, Vygon, Nuveen, and Hogg Robinson Group to name a few. Pat is a regular contributor to many publications, as well as BBC television and radio interviews on the topic of Physical Intelligence.

Pat has a degree in Organizational Behavior from Emerson College in Boston MA, where she currently sits on the Board of Trustees, and has completed postgraduate work in organizational communication and international business.

Thank you for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

Claire (my co-author of Physical Intelligence) has a background as a dancer and choreographer and ran her own critically acclaimed contemporary dance company in the UK for many years. She also has a degree in science and has long been fascinated by the inner workings of the body. In the process of running the dance company — particularly in her work at the board level — she discovered the similarities between her preparation for performance and preparation for board meetings and decided to establish Companies in Motion in order to bring those techniques to businesspeople.

From my side, (in addition to my years of sales and leadership consulting and training) I have a decades long amateur background in dance and voice. I had used Physical Intelligence techniques since childhood in my day-to-day life and even occasionally incorporated techniques into my professional work — but before meeting Claire, I didn’t fully understand the underlying chemical story behind the techniques; I just knew that they worked!

When a friend and colleague introduced me to Claire’s work, I immediately recognized its validity, learned more about the chemical story behind the techniques I had relied upon for so long, and was introduced to even more techniques. At that point, I joined Companies in Motion as a Director and we co-authored the book to help increase awareness about this critical but historically less well-known intelligence.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you early on in your career? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

At the age of 12 or 13, our class read The Diary of Anne Frank and performed the play in class; I played Anne Frank. Her story touched me deeply and I felt a strong personal connection to her. My heart broke for her at the same time that I marveled at the strength of her spirit — her resilience, hope, optimism, the promise of her intelligence and talent, even the normalcy (relatively speaking) of her thoughts and the routines that the families established while in hiding, despite all of the deprivations and fear. I felt physical pain when I learned that she didn’t survive. A gentle child, I remember feeling confusion, disbelief, and even rage, (perhaps for the first time), toward whomever it was who turned them in. I can still transport myself back to that classroom, feel how I felt then — the pain is all still there.

Claire’s personal book of significance is Descartes Error — by Antonio Damasio –because it contains the fundamental neuroscience that shows how our body is intelligent and informative. His theory of somatic markers which shows that experiences are remembered in the body in a chemical imprint of a moment in time, and that the body is part of the mind, and the mind is part of the body; with emotions are inherently entwined and inseparable. No doubt, many people living through this crisis will carry somatic markers from this time with them throughout their lives, just as I can go right back to that classroom and feel that pain.

Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the coronavirus pandemic have heightened a sense of uncertainty, fear, and loneliness. From your perspective can you help our readers to see the “Light at the End of the Tunnel”? Can you share your “5 Reasons to Be Hopeful During this Corona Crisis”? If you can, please share a story or example for each.

1. Remember that all emotions are chemicals — Whatever you are feeling, it is important to first understand that all emotions are chemicals — strands of neuropeptides. Hundreds of chemicals are racing through each of our bodies right now in our bloodstream and nervous system. Those chemicals dictate how we think, feel, speak and behave. Most of us operate largely at the mercy of those chemicals, experiencing thoughts, reactions and emotions without realizing that we can actively manage them. We call the ability to detect and strategically influence the balance of those chemicals, Physical Intelligence. The knowledge that we can use simple techniques — ways of breathing, moving, thinking, and communicating to shift our perspective and emotional responses should give all of us hope. Of the hundreds of Physical Intelligence techniques in our curriculum, those that reduce cortisol (stress chemical) and boost our three “feel good” chemicals: oxytocin (social bonding), dopamine (pleasure/need), and serotonin (happiness) are most important right now.
2. There has been a tremendous global outpouring of love and support stemming from the pandemic. It started with Italians singing to boost each other’s spirits, then we saw collective clapping around the world to acknowledge the heroes working on the front lines, and we now have countless personal stories of people helping their more vulnerable and needy neighbors and celebrating people in their communities (medical staff coming home from work, drive-by birthdays, shopping for elderly neighbors, Take Out Tuesdays). That connectedness boosts oxytocin, reminding us that we are not alone and giving us tremendous hope. When oxytocin drops, cortisol rises. It is essential to boost our oxytocin levels even though we are isolated.
3. Despite Physical Distancing, many of us are more connected in some ways than before the crisis. I just had a mini high school reunion over Zoom with friends from across six time zones — the first time we were all in the same “room” in 20 years. People are sharing success stories and struggles on social media and the world is celebrating with them and providing moral support. Time will tell, though it’s possible that we will be growing ever more tolerant through this experience.
4. The crisis is fueling collaboration, ingenuity and creative problem solving. From the dire need for ventilators and other medical supplies to addressing supply chain challenges to keeping businesses running, sorting out child care and addressing our day to day needs, the crisis is challenging us to push harder and is fueling collaboration and ingenuity — requiring us to think more creatively and problem solve more effectively — and we’re rising to the challenge.
5. We’re continuing to steer through our own Endurance Tunnel. As we navigate this crisis, we are all, each of us, in our own unique Endurance Tunnel. Our path through that tunnel is different — even within the same family — but we are moving through that tunnel along with literally millions of others around the world. (Imagine if we were dealing with this alone!) That knowledge alone buoys us…helps us keep the walls of the tunnel from collapsing around us and keeps that all important light at the end of the tunnel switched on.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

*Include that Physical Intelligence empowers communities to stay ‘hopeful’

1. First of all, shift your thinking from “social” distancing to “physical” distancing. Social distancing is a misnomer. We need each other now more than ever, even though we are physically isolated.
2. Proactively reach out to others. Think about someone you know who might be alone. They may be quiet because they are suffering rather than busy. Find creative ways to stay in touch with friends and family near and far. Use Facetime or videoconferencing to connect so that you can make eye contact, which builds more oxytocin than voice alone.
3. Encourage anyone who is feeling anxious to practice paced breathing. That is the first thing to do at the initial sign of anxiety. Anxiety increases our cortisol levels, creating a toxic environment in our body. At least ten minutes of daily paced breathing helps keep cortisol levels under control. Breathe diaphragmatically, in through the nose, out through the mouth with a steady count in and out. In and out counts don’t have to match (e.g., 5 in/7 out or 7 in/7 out). A longer out-breath helps dispel CO2, which increases cortisol if it builds up in the base of the lungs, (CO2 is heavier than oxygen). Paced breathing with a longer out-breath is called Recovery Breathing, and is especially helpful if you’re feeling panicked.
4. Invite others to meditate with you. Not only does meditation calm us, it strengthens our immune system because it increases the amount of SIgA (Secretory Immunoglobulin Antibody) in our body, which thickens the mucus that lines the nose, mouth, trachea, lungs and gut. That thicker mucus makes it more difficult for viruses to penetrate our cells and bloodstream. Pick a meditation app to jumpstart your meditation — and if you meditate together, it will also boost that all-important oxytocin.
5. Find an opportunity to volunteer or give back to needier people in your community. Physical Intelligence empowers communities to remain hopeful by forging social connections.

What are the best resources you would suggest to a person who is feeling anxious?

Developing a Physical Intelligence protocol is designed very specifically to help people stress less (as well as achieve more and live and work more happily). With regard to anxiety, the number one technique, mentioned above, is Paced Breathing, followed closely by meditation and yoga. Meditation apps (Headspace, Calm, Ten Percent Happier), online yoga classes, and an HRV monitor help us establish those new habits and track our progress.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

Good question. We’ve all heard stories of people using this crisis as an opportunity to take advantage of people. Years ago, I had the opportunity to win a key piece of business where I was in competition with incumbent providers. Ultimately, I was awarded the entire curriculum, but soon discovered that one of the incumbents had created and delivered a solution virtually identical to what I would be creating for one part of that curriculum. I advised the client to leave that piece of the curriculum with the incumbent vs. paying me to recreate it. Yes, I earned less, but I gained enormous trust. That client remains a close friend and client to this day. I believe that if you operate in the best interests of your colleagues and clients, it will always come back to benefit you. There is no substitute for authenticity and integrity. Without them, trust is impossible. With me, what you see is what you get. I have no guile or jealousy.

I’m fiercely competitive and I also genuinely want to see all good people succeed. That doesn’t mean I’m not strategic…but any strategy I employ is guided by that sense of authenticity and integrity. In that spirit, the quote that serves as a life lesson for me is, “Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.”

Claire’s favourite is the Eleanor Roosevelt quote “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” As Claire describes it, “Growing up with my disabled sister, Gillian, I grew up thinking that because her needs were so great, that mine didn’t count, and this gave me a feeling of inferiority. When I realised that my needs were of equal value and that I was of equal value to all other humans, and that anytime I felt inferior I was the one allowing that thought to take root, and that all it was high cortisol levels that I knew I could do something about, then life changed for good.”

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Claire and I have seen firsthand the impact Physical Intelligence can have on individual lives AND business performance. Physically Intelligent people build Physically Intelligent teams. Teams that strategically transform entire organizations. The ripple effect creates Physically Intelligent societies. Too many companies today either ignore the value of Physical Intelligence — viewing it as “fluffy” — or offer a less than robust solution that simply ticks the “wellness” box without fully addressing/understanding the impact a real commitment to Physical Intelligence can have on lives and business results. The body has been too far down on the list of priorities for too long, and there are too many stories of how we have not only neglected/ignored the power of our own bodies. If we elevate the body to its rightful place as a miraculous, complex and intelligent entity that underpins our cognitive and emotional intelligences and drives business outcomes, we believe that will lead to less suffering, and the ability to live more peaceable, humane lives. We have seen the commercial impact of Physical Intelligence alongside the personal impact. Our vision is to create a physically intelligent world one person, team, and organization at a time. That is why we genuinely believe that Physical Intelligence is the most important human intelligence of the 21st century.