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Speaker, Trainer, Singer, Songwriter, AuthorKim RatzHelping people create more harmony in their own life,
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Kim is listed in the Who's Who in Professional Speaking, and aspires to the highest ethics and standards as a professional speaker. One client's comment: Kim: I want to thank you for presenting your new program "Fight or Flight - or Find a New Flow, Recession-Proof Attitudes to Get You Through Hazardous Times' to our Minnesota Chapter of APCO group. The message was timely and needed as was echoed by comments you shared with me and from what I heard from many others attending. As always, your sincere, but yet fun, method delivers a message that needs to be heard. I would highly recommend this program to everyone because the tools it gives are applicable to everybody facing the turbulence and adversity of todayÕs world. Thanks again! Kim is proud to sponsor:
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April 2009 e-Newz Article(Note: This article summarizes my newest presentation by highlighting some examples of the content shared. It's in response to the many requests from meeting planners who are looking for ways to help their employees or team members face the very real challenge of keeping their spirits up and moving forward in the face of unending assaults on our sense of safety and well-being in today's changing and often troubling world ...) Fight or Flight - or Find a New Flow ...Our brains and bodies have been hard-wired to handle hazards for a LONG time. The early hunters/gatherers learned to react quickly when a saber toothed tiger growled and was about to attack, and the survival of the fittest prevailed ... Tracing way back to those cave-people days, our brains have been genetically programmed to immediately generate significant energy and strength so we can either fight or flee. This auto-response is called "fight or flight" (FoF). Just because the wild animals aren't stalking us today doesn't mean we don't perceive hazards. Do you still remember the last incident that triggered your FoF response, and also how you felt when your body zapped itself with adrenaline and cortisol so you were prepared to fight or flee? Was it really a serious hazard to your safety, or was the "saber tooth tiger" something as seemingly innocuous as the daily, attention grabbing headlines about the toxic losses to your investments and retirement accounts, or the falling value of your home, or the rise of identity and other theft?! Maybe it was the staff meeting when they announced that there will be some layoffs and other cutbacks in the near future, but no details were offered ... Or worse, some details were offered and it looks like it could affect you! A social psychologist interviewed recently on Public Radio theorized that because of the increased stress in our world we see the alarming and increasing incidences of classic FoF response through such behaviors as bullying, road rage, and even the recent string of unrelated mass killings all over the country! What's important to understand is that your body and brain are hard-wired for emergency. If you even perceive your safety is in jeopardy, FoF prepares you to be as ready as you can be, without losing time thinking about whether or not you should be alarmed ... Let's take a look at what happens when FoF is triggered - all in a very quick moment:
There are benefits to being in FoF. You've probably heard stories of someone lifting a car to help someone trapped underneath, or of heroic or otherwise extraordinary acts in a dangerous, life-threatening situation ... No doubt the FoF response was a key factor in the outcome. And it can be beneficial even when the threat is only psychological. For example, in times of emotional jeopardy, the FoF response can sharpen mental acuity, helping us be more perceptive, deal decisively with issues, and move to action. Either way, the energy can be dissipated to some degree as we respond. Yet the common trouble we all face is: it isn't always the right or best choice to either take that swing or to run away from the situation. Increasingly, we are required to channel this turboboost of energy into something other than fighting or fleeing, and instead will get things back to a sense of "safe" and "normal" again ... Otherwise, FoF can make us hyper-vigilant and over-reactive during times when a state of calm awareness is more productive, or in our better interest. Some people handle this like they do that little red light on your car's instrument panel that says - "Check Engine." What do most people do when it comes on? Right - they ignore it and keep driving, and then they find themselves stranded late one dark, stormy night, miles from nowhere ... If not properly metabolized over time, excessive stress can lead to a literal "pain in the neck" if you had to restrain "Fight" impulses, or a "pain in the rear" if you had to restrain the impulse to "Flee." In addition, it could lead to more serious disorders of your autonomic nervous system such as: (headache, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, etc.) - and our hormonal and immune systems (susceptibility to infection, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, & allergies.) So when you recognize your FoF response has been triggered, you need to be disciplined to recognize it as a warning signal - something serious may require your attention - and determine how real and critical it really is, then chose what your next move should be. As mentioned above - if there really is an emergency, you'll likely have an outlet to release the energy. For all those other times when you responded to your "tigers" and other hazards without fighting or fleeing - you chose some other action that allowed you to "tame the tiger" ... To channel your energy into something constructive, where you are moving forward again, in a manner that was congruent with who you are and where you want to be heading in your life ... I'd like to suggest a term for this type of choice you've made many times in your life, yet you may not be aware of it. The term I use for this process is: Finding a New FLOW ... In the workshop we discuss the numerous metaphors that the word "flow" represents for different people, and also metaphors for what happens when something obstructs or counters your "Flow," using this basic dictionary definition: flow v. 1. To move or run freely in, or as if in, a stream. 2. To circulate, as the blood in the body. 3. To proceed steadily and continuously. 4. To appear smooth, harmonious, or graceful. 5. To rise, as the tide. 6. To hang loosely & gracefully. -n. 1.a. The smooth motion characteristic of fluids. b. The act of flowing. 2. A stream. 3.a. A continuous outpouring: a flow of ideas. b. A continuous movement or circulation: the flow of traffic.In my presentation I share a story from my University of Oregon days, about an adventure trip we took to go "whitewater snorkeling" in the McKenzie River. The germaine point here is the epiphany I experienced a moment before I expected to be smashed into a big boulder in the first set of rapids we encountered: ... Water does not go through rocks - it goes around them ...I could not swim upstream and fight against the current - it was so much stronger than I was. Neither could I flee the boulder I was being accelerated towards - we were going to meet. Yet the rebounding current of water off the rock, coupled with the redirected flow of water around the rock kept me from getting hurt, and was more of a nano-second-long-brush-off as we proceeded to scoot down through the working (and safe) channels of flowing water to the slower, calmer, safer water past the rapids ... As it turns out, the very vivid drama that quickly unfolded in my mind was much worse than what was really going to happen. In reality, it turned out to be something I enjoyed very much, and in fact came to view as even "extraordinarty," "insightful," and "profound." This "ah-ha moment," coupled with the title of a book I read that same year, "Don't Push the River, it Flows By Itself," by Ms. Barry Stevens, became a very important metaphor for how I would often deal with the many subsequent changes, challenges, conflicts and emergencies in my life. I believe that a sense of "Flow" is what we seek in life (using whatever metaphor you wish, and I understand if it involves a boat and not whitewater snorkeling :). The challenge is feeling more confident and competent in the choices you can make when something happens to disrupt your flow, and neither "fighting" or "fleeing" or going to work for you; you can seek ways to "find a new flow" ... It's there - you just need to find it ... Again ... And in the process it can be scary, so some practice and discipline will come in very handy ... 5 ways to - Find a new Flow ...(Each of these techniques are explained in more detail in the new keynote or workshop)
Like many other people, I use a combination of these techniques and almost always find them to be effective ways of channeling the energy caused by things beyond our control. The importance is knowing that while you can't control many of those external events, you can control your response - you have choices! And if you're a leader, I hope this article has reminded you of the importance of realizing these stresses are real, they are affecting your team members in real ways, and that there are programs you can bring in to help them address these real challenges. You have choices that really can lead to healthy and happy teams, and outcomes! Let me know how I could help by working with you to bring this program to your group or organization in the near future, and we'll help your folks get even better at "taming their tigers" and "finding a new flow!"Positively yours, Kim Ratz |
