Above and Below the Line

Clear, focused thinking is essential to doing your best at work. Sometimes we don’t even realize whether we are in a clear thinking or feeling state until we pay attention to what we’re saying:

“I’m kind of bummed today.”
“I hate Mondays.”
“I’m just in a bad mood.”

WorkSmart employees recognize that how they are thinking, feeling and communicating is critical to their job performance.

Think of having an imaginary LINE which helps you judge your thinking, feeling and communicating at any given moment. When we are “above the line”, we generally think, learn and communicate in highly effective ways. We often feel:

• Optimistic
• Energized
• Creative
• Capable
• Joyful
• Appreciative
• Open
• Aware

When we are “below the line”, we usually think, learn and communicate in less effective ways. We might feel:

• Down
• Under the weather
• Apathetic
• Grumpy
• Tired
• Angry
• Anxious
• “Off"

Knowing where we are—either above or below the line—helps us CHOOSE what to do next.

A few months ago, I was sitting in a staff meeting, and it seemed like nothing was really going right. Have you ever heard someone say, “The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife”? We had a lot to do because we were preparing our yearly budget, we were getting ready to present our strategic plan to the board, and we were making plans for an upcoming trade show. We couldn’t seem to make any decisions that day (or should I say, I couldn’t make any decisions that day?)

I realized in the middle of the meeting that I was “below the line.” I was feeling distracted by a family situation, I hadn’t slept well the night before, and I was discouraged by the onslaught of gloomy financial news everywhere. Clearly, I wasn’t in my best thinking, feeling or communicating mind, and no doubt, everyone else in the staff meeting knew it—except me!

Being AWARE of your Line is important to your choices. When you know where you are on the line, you can be accountable for what you decide to do about it. Being accountable means you “own” your feelings, and you take control of your actions so you can get the best possible outcome.

Think of your own “LINE”. When you are “above the line”, how would you describe your thinking, feeling and communicating?

When you are “below the line”, what words would you use to describe your thinking, feeling and communicating?

Life looks different above and below the line

Our experience in life is greatly influenced by our state of mind, and whether we are ABOVE or BELOW the line

When I am Above the Line—positive, energized, clear and productive—my work seems easy. The people I work with are helpful, we operate as a team, and I feel like we can conquer the world together. I can even appreciate our differences, and value conflicts that occasionally arise.

Let’s go back to the staff meeting. Here’s what was going on in my head because I was below the line:
“What is wrong with these people?”
“Why does he disagree with everything anybody says?”
“We’re never going to get this done!”

When I’m below the line, problems aren’t just problems. They seem more like catastrophes. The same people who yesterday were part of such a great team are today the most annoying and difficult co-workers I’ve ever known!

How could this group of people have changed so quickly?

With this kind of negative thinking, how could I be an effective leader? What could I do to get the best outcome from the situation, even if I was “below the line?”


TRAMPOLINES AND SUBMARINES

Being Below the Line is part of being human. It isn’t a bad thing; sometimes it just “is”. What we do with our “below the line” state is another thing.

We always have choices.

If I’m below the line and I want to get back above the line, I can use TRAMPOLINES. Trampolines are the positive triggers we use to help us feel better, clarify our thinking, and “get back in the game”.

Trampolines might include:

• Taking a break
• Listening to music
• Eating a snack
• Deep breathing
• Getting some exercise
• Talking to a friend

Trampolines help us “re-set” our mental barometers and get back to being productive. What “trampolines” help you get back above the line?

But...

Sometimes we just don’t have it in us to rebound, and we might need to stay below the line for awhile. Being below the line is ok, as long as you’re aware of it, and you take responsibility for how your thinking, feeling and communicating affects other people.

Below the line behavior hurts others.

Use the Submarine

You can contain your below-the-line thinking, feeling and communicating by using The Submarine. Putting yourself in a submarine allows you to accept the way you are feeling, but not hurt anyone else with irresponsible words or behavior.

Being in a submarine might look something like this:

• Closing your office door for a short period and puttin up a sign with a picture of a submarine on it.
• Saying to a colleague, “I’m a little below the line today, so please don’t take anything I might say personally.”
• Focusing on independent work tasks that might be less people-oriented, such as paperwork or computer work.
• Listening to music on headphones while doing manual labor that doesn’t require communicating with others.

CAUTION: The Submarine is a technique intended for use ON OCCASION. If you find yourself in the submarine for multiple days, or if you notice one of your co-workers in the submarine for extended time periods, it might be time to ask yourself or him/her, “WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON?”

WorkSmart employees pay attention to their own line, and are aware of others’ lines as well. Checking in with others lets them know that they matter!

The good news about a submarine is that it always COMES UP (eventually).

Think of a time when you were Below the Line and needed to stay in your submarine. What helped you bring your submarine back to the surface (above the line)?

Were you wondering what happened at the staff meeting? After I became aware that I was Below the Line, I called a ten-minute break in the meeting. I knew I needed time to breathe, center myself, and make a phone call that was nagging at me. I also went to the break room and gathered some juice and snacks for everyone. When we resumed the meeting, I let my colleagues know that I had been feeling below the line, but wanted to get things back on track now. It was amazing how quickly they responded; we became more focused, productive and finished the meeting on much better ground than we started.

Practice:

During the coming week, pay close attention to whether you are ABOVE THE LINE or BELOW THE LINE at various times during the day. You may want to record on your calendar or in your planner what you observe.

Notice:

Was your position above or below the line a result of INTERNAL or EXTERNAL conditions?

What trampolines did you use to bring you back Above the Line?

If you chose to submarine, how long did you stay there? How did you come back up?

Framing Change

Is there an area of your life where you are not getting what you think you should get? Are you honestly trying to make changes, but ending up in the same spot? Do you wonder why the same challenges and patterns keep showing up in your life, even when you keep trying to change them?

The change strategies I hear most frequently focus on modifying behavior. If you want to lose weight, for example, you have to eat less and exercise more, right? While this may be true, it’s not complete. Without even being aware of it, we have thoughts, beliefs and opinions that may be directly impacting the results we get in our lives. Changing only behaviors will bring some change, but it will almost always be small or short-lived.

Check your frame

If you are really interested in change, one of the best things you can do is "check your frame".

The Frame is a technique that helps you understand the connections between how you see, feel and act in a situation, and the results you get. Imagine a picture frame, and in each of the outside corners of the frame, starting in the upper left corner and moving around in a clockwise direction, are the words "See", "Feel", "Do" and "Get". "See" is how you view a situation; it includes your thoughts, beliefs, opinions, interpretations, and values. What you "see" usually evokes a feeling response. Feelings happen quickly, and are generally connected to our historical memories and associations. Feelings often generate an “action” response. How I feel influences what choices I make, or what I "do". And what I do most often determines the results I "get". Finally, what I get influences how I continue to see this or other situations in the future.

Let's take a look at how this works in real life: Sometimes my desk gets a little cluttered with papers. (OK, let's be honest. It gets cluttered a lot.) When I see my desk, I often think, "I have a lot to do. I’ll never get it all done."

If I think I have a lot to do, I begin to feel overwhelmed and discouraged. When I feel overwhelmed, what do I do? That's right: Nothing. Because if I'm overwhelmed, I can't see a good starting place, and I don't know what the end could look like. And so, in my frustration, I do nothing.

And if I do nothing, what will the result be? You've got it: The same cluttered desk. And this result--what I "get"--reinforces my belief that I have a lot to do, and I can't ever get organized, and I may never be successful, and around and around we go.

Change the frame

If I really want to change the mess on my desk, I need to change the way I see it. It's really just a mess on the desk. It doesn't mean anything, except for the meaning that I’ve given it (that I have a lot to do).

What if I looked at my desk, and viewed my papers as indicators that I have many interesting and diverse activities going on in my life? (OK, that’s a stretch. Let’s not get carried away with a sappy glass-half-full example.) What if I just saw the papers for what they are—papers—looking for homes in the file cabinet or the recycle basket? I’ve then reduced my feeling response of being overwhelmed to that of being neutral, or even a bit amused. (Poor little homeless papers.) With this feeling, I have more available energy to do something about the papers (like clean them up). And the result I get? A clean desk, of course.

As simple as this all seems, having a clean desk enables me to see future messes differently, and not lose so much energy feeling overwhelmed or dreadful. The emotional energy we spend in anxiety, worry, dread, fear and frustration takes away from our ability to be present in each moment, and to be aware of our seeing-feeling-doing-getting connections in everyday life.

Check your frame in just one area of your life, and follow the connections to your results. The Frame can be a simple way to increase your awareness and lead to change that sticks. And if you want to see a powerful example of The Frame in real life, check out the story of our friend, Drew Wuestman, in Still Flying, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjBpzJUz0g4.