Too many minds, too much overwhelm.
Most martial disciplines and Zen Buddhism strives towards achieving the state of the empty mind known as Mushin. Hard to fully capture in English, but roughly translated it means ‘No mind’.
In the movie The Last Samurai, this principle was depicted in the scene where Nathan Algrin (Tom Cruise) was learning sword fighting. After repeated defeats, Nobutada shared his wisdom: “Mind sword, mind people watch, mind enemy. Too many mind. No mind."
In the West, we liken this to flow state or being “in the zone”.
Through the many years of coaching executives, capable leaders can get in their own way when their mind is preoccupied by the distractions of performance and their beliefs about themselves. This adds up - too many minds aka too many narratives.
Think back to when you had to give a high-stakes presentation or express your views in a board meeting and nerves hit hard. Recall if you were thinking about other people’s opinions, imposter signals, your memory, the tension in your shoulders, whether the message would land, etc. Was there “too many mind”?
This is not mushin. This is a sparring match where you’re in competition with your self-critical thoughts! Remember that inherently people want you to succeed. You’re in the room for a reason. You belong there. The audience are not the enemy. Your crowded mind is!
Like all peak performance, prepare in advance.
Then, at game time, let go and focus on one thing: execution.
Lose yourself in the delivery not the thoughts about your delivery.
When you empty your mind of self-judgment, your leadership vision and hard-won attributes can naturally surface. That’s Black Belt Leadership.