Your Mental Operating System Is a Choice
By Ann Elliott
Your mental operating system may be the most important predictor of your results. If fear, for example, directs your actions, your results will be different from your results if respect directs your actions….in the same situation.
In your computer, the operating system is the interface between your hardware and software. Your operating system, which determines how your computer works, is essential. Without it, your computer is useless. 
Today many people operate from fear. I encountered this situation. Robert, the director of a division in a large company, that has been repeatedly reducing its work force is pressuring Barbara, one of his supervisors, to complete an impossible number of projects in an unrealistically short time. Robert is afraid his division will lose money. Barbara is afraid she will lose her job. People throughout the company are on edge and uncertain about their future.
The problem is that you are frequently unaware of your mental operating system. You boot up every morning and jump into the activities of the day. It is business as usual without any thought to your operating system. Are Robert and Barbara aware of their mental operating system? (Not their real names.)
Without even realizing it, you can be undermining the important goals in your life. Your mental operating system feels normal and justifiable to you. You can explain why you are anxious or resentful. Who would not be under the same circumstances? In the case of Barbara, she is working six or seven days a week and staying up half the night to complete her assigned projects. You can understand why she is afraid to say no, can’t you?
Here is the good news. You have complete control of your mental operating system. Choosing your mental operating system is as easy as flipping a switch. The secret is knowing that you produce a different, more desirable outcome for you and those around you by simply flipping the switch from fear to respect, for example.
Consider this. How would your life, personally and professionally, be different if you changed your mental operating system? Would your relationship with colleagues, customers, family and friends improve?
Just for today, make this commitment:
“Whatever I do today, I choose to do it with ______________, ___________________, and _______________.”
Fill in the blank with one to three “instructions” for your unique operating system.
If you want some help getting started, here are some suggestions:
Today many people operate from fear. I encountered this situation. Robert, the director of a division in a large company, that has been repeatedly reducing its work force is pressuring Barbara, one of his supervisors, to complete an impossible number of projects in an unrealistically short time. Robert is afraid his division will lose money. Barbara is afraid she will lose her job. People throughout the company are on edge and uncertain about their future.
The problem is that you are frequently unaware of your mental operating system. You boot up every morning and jump into the activities of the day. It is business as usual without any thought to your operating system. Are Robert and Barbara aware of their mental operating system? (Not their real names.)
Without even realizing it, you can be undermining the important goals in your life. Your mental operating system feels normal and justifiable to you. You can explain why you are anxious or resentful. Who would not be under the same circumstances? In the case of Barbara, she is working six or seven days a week and staying up half the night to complete her assigned projects. You can understand why she is afraid to say no, can’t you?
Here is the good news. You have complete control of your mental operating system. Choosing your mental operating system is as easy as flipping a switch. The secret is knowing that you produce a different, more desirable outcome for you and those around you by simply flipping the switch from fear to respect, for example.
Consider this. How would your life, personally and professionally, be different if you changed your mental operating system? Would your relationship with colleagues, customers, family and friends improve?
Just for today, make this commitment:
“Whatever I do today, I choose to do it with ______________, ___________________, and _______________.”
Fill in the blank with one to three “instructions” for your unique operating system.
If you want some help getting started, here are some suggestions:
- respect
- joy
- curiosity
- gratitude
- love
- humor
- ease
- dignity
- wisdom
- cooperation
- wonder
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