1879 is often cited as ‘the birthday of psychology’ the year when Wilhelm Wundt created the very first psychological research laboratory at Leipzig University and this has led to Wundt being hailed as ‘the father of psychology.’ Yet of course this is like saying that before 5 July 1687, when Newton ‘discovered’ gravity, that we were all floating around in space; we need to differentiate between formalised academic study and the realities of what has been going in peoples’ lives, and minds, for centuries.
I was re-reading Wordsworth recently and if we drill deep into what he was really saying we can see that he ‘knew’ free association long before the term had been coined and he drew on past strengths to shore him up during times of present angst.
“And think ye not with radiance more sublime
For these remembrances, and for the power
They had left behind? So feeling comes in aid
Of feeling, and diversity of strength
Attends us, if but once we have been strong”
William Wordsworth, ‘The Prelude, Book Twelfth,’ 1799
These beauteous forms,
Through a long absence, have not been to me
As is a landscape to a blind man's eye:
But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din
Of towns and cities, I have owed to them
In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration”
William Wordsworth, ‘Above Tintern Abbey,’ 1789
“While here I stand, not only with the sense
Of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts
That in this moment there is life and food
For future years”
William Wordsworth, ‘Above Tintern Abbey,’ 1789
The brain states are the sub-conscious, (sometimes called the unconscious), and the conscious mind. Every event from birth, and even pre-birth, gets stored in the sub-conscious, without us realising it. The process through which events ‘leak’ out, (or are brought out), from the sub-conscious to the conscious, waking mind is called ‘free association.’ In the 1960s Penfield conducted some experiments around free association and found that all events were recorded and stored. He found that:
• Memory is evoked in a single recollection in detail, rather than generalisations.
• The feelings which were associated with the event are also recorded, therefore we ‘relive’ rather than ‘recall.’
• Memory continues intact - even after the mind’s ability to recall it has disappeared.
• The brain ‘tape-records’ every experience from birth (possibly even before birth) and all this is recorded in the temporal cortex section of the brain.
• The key therefore is that we not only remember the event and remember the feeling, but can feel the same way now.
So we can see that Wordsworth ‘used’ his memories, his experiences of the past, to help him through the present. He would go to places where he had wandered as a young man and he not only remembered, he not only remembered how he felt but he could feel the same way again; and for Wordsworth this was how he drew on his previous strengths to ensure he remained strong during ...”hours of weariness.” Wordsworth was by all accounts a solitary figure and his writing gives us a wonderful insight into how he coped with ‘modern life.’ Predating ‘Psychology’ by almost a century Wordsworth shows us that there is a huge difference between ‘Psychology’ and ‘psychology,’ ie between formalised academic study and the realities of what is going on in peoples’ lives.
For all the books and supposed ‘styles’ of negotiating I think the advice from ‘Getting to Yes,’ by Fisher and Ury still holds true: ‘don’t bargain over position, bargain only over issues.’ By bargaining over position you can cement yourself into a bad place and it also clearly pinpoints your true position to the other person; here is a perfect example.
There is nothing soft or woolly about coaching, listening or giving feedback. Another perspective might simply be that they are guidelines for listening to, understanding and getting the information you want from the people you lead. Many managers find it useful to have some support in this area, particularly those who have progressed from a more technical environment and then find themselves managing people. The main difference between machinery and people is predictability. People are hard to understand, (they rarely conform to laws of physics), and management should be all about understanding your people and getting the best from them. Indeed management is after all a people game - and a contact sport!
You remember the old story about a fisherman walking along the river bank and he comes across a snake with a frog? He feels sorry for the frog as it’s about to be eaten and so he moves it out of the way. Then he feels sorry for the hungry snake and so he takes out his hip-flask and gives it a shot of whisky.
Stress has become ‘the next big thing.’ If we type the word ‘stress’ into the Google search engine there are 18,000,000 pages, each with 178,000,000 articles and websites offering advice, stress tests, statistics and potentially ‘the answer.’ There are stress counsellors, self-help books, DVDs, etc - it is almost as though ‘stress’ has become an industry in itself.
