“A programmable mind embraces mental agility, to practice ‘de-learning’ and ‘re-learning’ all the time.” Pearl Zhu.
Post 2020 there has been a sudden emphasis on agility as one of the many quotients for survival which has implied in various aspects of our lives, even as a skill set for potential hiring and also for measuring workplace performance. So much so that mental agility has been dubbed as the ‘defining skill of 2021’. Agility, especially in terms of one’s mental acumen to be flexible has gained great attention. Often termed psychological flexibility or agile thinking, it encompasses an individual’s cognitive flexibility, problem-solving abilities, and adaptability in life situations including the ones encountered at the workplace.
I have worked for 20-plus years in the most difficult sector of all, the so-called ‘development sector’ and I speak from my learnings and experiences in this blog. To begin with, the reason to introduce this blog is the quote from Pear Zhu. She is bang on when she explains that the mind needs to embrace mental agility and practice ‘de-learning’ and ‘re-learning’. We are living in the age of technology and things around us are changing at lightning speed. The speed is enormous and something which many of us wouldn’t have imagined 20 years ago. More accelerated by life-changing events such as the pandemic. With the expansion of our understanding of life and the complexities we live in it's pivotal that we not only learn but we also de-learn and re-learn.
We wouldn’t have thought 10 years ago that today we will be doing digital payments and there would be no use of plastic or paper currency. But let’s come back to the topic of the blog, I feel we all must inculcate some important ‘mantras’ for being mentally agile. Let’s deep dive into each one of these mantras, that I personally have learned and try my level best to practice.
Disown the Known: It is important to come out of our comfort zones and start taking small and calculated risks in life. Its important in many ways for us to do this as it helps in our personal growth in a phenomenal way. Once in a while its important to experience the so-called discomfort that we perceive for anything outside our comfort zones. But in my own experience, I have been super wrong at many instances where I felt that doing something out of my comfort zone would be painful, but in fact it has been the reverse and I have enjoyed the experience.
Continuous Learning is Earning (Knowledge & Money): This is another important consideration. Learn, keep learning. There is no age for learning, upgrading, and updating your skills and yourself. This not only enhances our knowledge base but it’s an important ladder to move upwards in your career and obviously enhances your money inflow. Knowledge never goes waste and this is a cardinal rule I have been following in my career path. Formal learning is good for professional growth. What I also would encourage informal learning to be taken up mostly in the context to understand our life better.
One Destination can have Many Roads: Whenever you are faced with a problem, remember to take a step back and have a look at things again. One problem can often have multiple solutions and the choice of your solution should not be based on a knee-jerk reaction. Sometimes we see a solution but that might not be the best one, so its good to pause, think, revisit the problem again and see if we can find another way to resolve it. Talking to someone in such cases might help for sure.
Focus on Growth: It is pivotal to cultivate a growth mindset that is well-tuned and matched to your personality. Ensure you never are in a situation of stagnation, because that might be not good for your mental health. Growth focus both in terms of yourself and those around you, both people and organization can be a very interesting thing to do. Plan and execute your plans, it might sometimes not happen the best way but there is always room for course correction.
Avoid Negative Distractions: Focus brings distractions along with it. It is normal to get distracted when you are focusing on something. What is crucial in this is to avoid or eliminate negative distractions. Be invested into your efforts and one needs to clearly demarcate and draw a distinction between positive and negative distractions. At times when you are overthinking or having anxiety its good to have positive distractions. But in a normal course of work, negative distractions can de-track you and can prove harmful.
These five things have been my mental agility mantras. Tried and tested and I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to be happy, especially at your workplace. It’s better to be ‘agile’ than to be ‘fragile’ for the fragile breaks and the agile makes… makes its way to happiness and success.
