Thought Habits

1
Thought Habits
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please email Alexander.Caillet_at_Accompligroup.com
In utilizing any aspect of this work, please give
full attribution to Accompli LLC
www.accompligroup.com

• Alexander Caillet December 2006

2
Stress Definition Richard S. Lazarus (1966)
A condition or feeling experienced when an
individual perceives that the demands imposed
upon him or her exceed the resources he or she is
able to mobilize
Personal Resources
Demands
Stress
Adapted from Stress Management on
www.mindtools.com, 2004 and Powell, Trevor, Free
Yourself from Harmful Stress, 1997.
3
The Human Nervous System
Cardiovascular system
Autonomic Nervous System
Central Nervous System
Immune system
Urogenital tract
Homeostasis
Gastrointestinal tract
4
The three Ss
Stressor
Stress
Symptom
An external or internal event that is perceived
by an individual as requiring more resources than
he or she can mobilize
The complex set of neurological and psychological
reactions that warn us against these stressors
and ready us for action
A human condition or pathology that can be
generated by stress, if stress is prolonged for
extended periods of time
5
The General Adaptation Syndrome (G.A.S.)
Phase 1 A surge of energy, quickened reflexes,
and production of immune-enhancing substances are
generated by the organism.  This arousal process
acts as an alarm so the organism can recognize
and respond. Phase 2 The body maintains
arousal for a period of time and the organisms
resistance to the stressor is more effective. 
The purpose is to go the distance.  
Phase 3 After a prolonged period of arousal,
the body resources are depleted an can no longer
maintain a normal arousal level. At this
exhaustion phase, fatigue sets in and the immune
system loses its resilience.  The organism
becomes more vulnerable to infections, injuries
and a whole range of stress-related illnesses.
Adapted from Stress Health on
http//web.umr.edu.
6
The biology of stress Mechanics

• Alarm
• Brain (hypothalamus) launches the alarm signal
• Sympathetic nervous system activated and
  catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline)
  released
• Adrenaline from central part of surrenal
  glands
• Noradrenaline from nerve endings
• Time delay Immediate
• Purpose Increase awareness quicken reflexes,
  prepare the body for action and fight or flight
• Physiological manifestations
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Dilated bronchioles
• Increased oxygen flow
• Pupil dilation

N
N
N
A
N
A
A
N
Stressors
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The biology of stress Mechanics

• Resistance
• Neuro-Endocrine system activated and
  cortecosteroids secreted from the external part
  of the surrenal glands and the circulatory
  system Cortisol released
• Immune system temporarily produces a greater
  quantity of B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes
  (white blood cells) and macrophages
  (phagocytic cells in tissue)
• Time delay Progressive
• Purpose Focus attention increase resistance
  eliminate bacteria fight inflammation and
  infections
• Physiological manifestations
• Proteins converted to carbohydrates
• Kidneys and liver convert glycogen (found in fat
  tissue and the liver) into glucose (blood sugar)
  for energy
• Oxygen and glucose sent to power important
  muscles
• Increased sweating to cool the muscles and help
  them stay efficient
• Blood diverted away from the skin to the core of
  our bodies to reduce blood loss

C
C
T
C
B
T
C
C
M
T
Stressors
M
B
M
B
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The biology of stress Mechanics

• Back to Normal
• Individual takes action to diminish stressor
• Brain sends an all-clear message to the body that
  it is okay to stand down (prefrontal cortex)
• Brain learns and forms new memories from
  experience (amygdala ? hippocampus)
• Parasympathetic nervous system cools us the body
  down
• Time delay Depends on amount of stress
  generated
• Physiological manifestations
• Decreased heart rate
• Constricted bronchioles
• Oxygen flow normalized
• Saliva secretion
• Increased motility
• Returned excretion

9
Biological tolerance to stress
-
-
DISTRESS  Bad  stress
-

Biological tolerance to stress
EUSTRESS  Good  stress
- /
Performance

Low levels of stress


Adaption Burns, Stephen MD, The Medical Basis
of Stress, Depression, Anxiety, Sleep Problems,
and Drug Use, 1997
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A point of view
A majority of the prolonged stress we
experience, and the associated negative
symptoms related to this prolonged stress that we
suffer from, are the result of internally
generated thought-based processes
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Thought habits and reality
Data
Thought Habits
F e e l i n g s
Perception
Data
Data
Data
Reality
12
The origin of our thought habits
13
Four types of thought habits
Thinking
Thought Habits
Logic Traps
Worried Thinking
Personal Assessments
The 5 Saboteurs
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Personal assessments

• Personal assessments are
• Positive and negative judgments we have about
  ourselves that we believe to be true
• Assumptions about what we are capable of doing or
  not that we believe to be true
• Personal stories that we tell ourselves and
  others that explain why we are who we are and why
  we do what we do and that we believe to be true
• Core insecurities that fit into the phrase
• I am not ____________________ enough.

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Logic traps
Adapted from Cungi, C., Savoir gérer son
stress, éd. Retz, Paris, 2003, and Legeron, P.,
Le stress au travail, éd. Odile Jacob, Paris,
2001.
16
Worried thinking
Worrying is a continued mental focus on past or
future negative events. It is a type of thought
habit that we use to relive a past or future
event. The worry thought habit is often
characterized by such as phrases "If only...,
"What if..., Why didnt I. The challenge
with worrying is that when we are worrying, it
seems impossible to stop. And this generates
unnecessary stress. And we find ourselves
dredging up the past to focus on events that
were negative at the time they occurred, and are
feeling negative again now that we think of them
in the present. We also find ourselves
forecasting future events that would be negative
if they occurred, and are actually feeling
negative as we think of them in the present.

• Facts About Anxiety And Worry
• Anxiety disorders are the most common mental
  illness in the U.S., affecting over 19 million
  people
• People with an anxiety disorder are three-to-five
  times more likely to go to the doctor and six
  times more likely to be hospitalized for
  psychiatric disorders than non-sufferers
• Women are twice as likely as men to be afflicted
  with generalized anxiety disorder and panic
  disorder
• Anxiety is the most common symptom of patients
  seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist

Adapted from http//www.ehealthmd.com/library/anx
ietyworry/AHW_whatis.html
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The five saboteurs
Adapted from Donati, C., Le stress intelligent,
éd. Demos, Paris, 2002.
18
The five saboteurs
Adapted from Donati, C., Le stress intelligent,
éd. Demos, Paris, 2002.
19
The five saboteurs
Adapted from Donati, C., Le stress intelligent,
éd. Demos, Paris, 2002.
20
The 4 step process to change our thought habits
?
?
?
?
Choice
Reflection
Feelings
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Define your current and desired thought habits
?
Current
Desired
22
Assess your feelings, and Reflect
?
?
Reflect
23
Reflection begins with four questions
24
And make a choice
?
X Y
Letting Go
Substitution
? ? ?
Declaration
Refocusing
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Appendix 1Tools
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Personal assessments
27
My logic traps
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The 5 Saboteurs test
Source Renée David Hadjaj
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The 5 Saboteurs test
Source Renée David Hadjaj
30
The 5 Saboteurs test
Source Renée David Hadjaj
31
The 5 Saboteurs test
Source Renée David Hadjaj
32
The 5 Saboteurs test
Source Renée David Hadjaj
33
The 5 Saboteurs test Scoring Grid
Question Score 4 9 14 19 24 29 34 39 4
4 49 TH
Question Score 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
45 50 BS
Question Score 2 7 12 17 22 27 32 37 4
2 47 HU
Question Score 3 8 13 18 23 28 33 38 4
3 48 PO
Question Score 1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 4
1 46 BP
Source Renée David Hadjaj
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Appendix 2Bio
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Alexander Caillet

• Alexander is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner
  of ACCOMPLI, a global consulting and coaching
  firm dedicated to helping leaders and leadership
  teams deepen their capacity and capabilities to
  achieve significant leadership challenges.
  Alexander has been helping clients achieve
  transformational outcomes for two decades by
  appropriately balancing the business and people
  aspects of change.
• His clients are large companies located in
  Europe, the US and Japan and include Amway, BNP
  Paribas, BP, Citibank, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Dow
  Chemical, Dow Corning, Eli Lilly, Gillette,
  General Mills, International Paper, Japan
  Tobacco, Knight-Ridder, LOréal, Pechiney,
  Pfizer, Schroders plc, Sears, SNCF and Vodafone.
  Specific agendas include the design and
  implementation of team-based structures,
  organization restructurings, post-merger
  organizational integrations, functional shared
  services, continuous improvement (Kaizen)
  programs, change leadership programs and
  organization culture change. 
• Alexander is also an executive coach and performs
  high-performance team coaching, process
  facilitation, leadership coaching and management
  training with his clients. This work is founded
  on the principle that human beings possess within
  them a source of innate intelligence that
  provides them the qualities of presence, inner
  peace, clarity, common sense and wisdom. When
  clients access this source, they are able to rely
  on great reserves of energy and resiliency and
  lead themselves and others to sustained
  performance and significant results.
• Alexander is an Adjunct Professor on the faculty
  of Georgetown Universitys Leadership Coaching
  Certificate program and an Honorary Vice
  President of the Association for Coaching in
  London. He is also a frequent international
  speaker on the subjects of change, teams,
  coaching and leadership.
• Alexander is a dual citizen of France and the
  United States, has lived in Europe, the United
  States and Mexico, and is fluent in English,
  French and Spanish. He received a B.S. in
  Psychology from the University of Michigan and a
  Master in Organization Psychology from Columbia
  University. Alexander lives in Paris with his
  partner Janice and his daughters Chloé, Léanna
  and Alexia.

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Appendix 3References
37
Stress Energy

• André, Dr. C., Lélord, Dr. F., Légeron, Dr. P.,
  Le Stress, Editions Privat, Toulouse, France,
  1998.
• Benson, H., Allen, R., How Much Stress Is too
  Much?, Harvard Business Review, 1980.
• Brealey, Erica, Ten Minute Stress Relief, Cassell
  Co., London, 2002.
• Centre for Stress Management, Definitions of
  Stress, www.managingstress.com.
• Cunji, C., Savoir gérer son stress, éd. Retz,
  Paris, 2003.
• Donati, C., Le Stress Intelligent, éd. Demos,
  Paris, 2002.
• Gabriel, Gerald, Hans Selye The Discovery of
  Stress, www.brainconnection.com.
• Holmes, T., Rahe, R., Social Readjustment Scale,
  Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1967, vol. II
  p. 214.
• Homeostasis Resistance to Change, Principia
  Cybernetica Web, http//perpmc1.vub.ac.be/HOMEOSTA
  .html, 1997.
• Ivancevish, J., Matteson, M., Richards III, E.,
  Whos Liable for Stress on the Job?, Harvard
  Business Review, 1985.
• Legeron, P., Le stress au travail, éd. Odile
  Jacob, Paris, 2001.
• McCraty, R., Athinson, M., Tomasino, D., Science
  of the Heart Exploring the Role of the Heart in
  Human Performance, HeartMath Research Center.
• Office Ergonomics Safety Guide, 4th Edition,
  Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and
  Safety, 2001.
• Panzarino M.D., P., Schoenfield MD, L., What is
  Stress?, MedicineNet.com.
• Powell, Trevor, Free Yourself from Harmful
  Stress, Dorling Kindersley LT., London, 1997.
• Stress Health, http//web.umr.edu.
• Understanding Stress and Stress Management
  modules of Managing Stress for Career Success,
  www.mindtools.com, 2004.
• Wilkinson, Greg, BMA Family Guide to Stress,
  Dorling Kindersley Ltd., London, 1999.
• Zaffran, M., Le Stress et ses Conséquences,
  Readers Digest, Montréal, Canada, 1998.

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Neurobiology

• Claxton, G., Hare Brain Tortoise Mind (New
  Jersey The Ecco Press, 1997).
• Claxton, G., Noises from the Darkroom The
  Science and Mystery of the Mind, (London
  HarperCollins, 1994).
• Demasio, A.R., Descartes Error Emotion, Reason,
  and the Human Brain (New York G.P. Putnams
  Sons, 1994).
• Greenfield, S.A., Journey to the Centers of the
  Mind Toward a Science of Consciousness (New
  York Freeman, 1995).
• LeDoux, J., The Emotional Brain The Mysterious
  Underpinnings of Emotional Life (New York Simon
  and Schuster, 1996).
• Humphries, N., A History of the Mind Evolution
  and the Birth of Consciousness (New York Simon
  and Schuster, 1992).
• McCraty, R., Athinson, M. and Tomasino, D.,
  Science of the Heart Exploring the Role of the
  Heart in Human Performance (HeartMath Research
  Center).
• Ornstein, R. and Sobel, D., The Healing Brain
  Breakthrough Discoveries About How the Brain
  Keeps us Healthy (New York Simon Shuster,
  1987).
• Rock, D., Quiet Leadership Six Steps to
  Transforming Performance at Work (New York
  HarperCollins, 2006).
• Captured Light Lord of the Wind Films, What The
  Bleep Do We Know!? (California Twentieth Century
  Fox, 2004).