Some time ago I spoke in front of a group of medical doctors in Belgium. The topic was the role of their State of Mind when treating their patients. I showed a graph that made it crystal clear that we, as humans, make much better decisions when we are in a high State of Mind. In fact, making important decisions when in a low State of Mind increases our chance for bad judgements by 400%. It got pretty quiet in the room as I saw a lot of reflection going on.

Afterwards, during dinner, I got a lot of questions about the role of State of Mind and what it exactly is. And I get that. Nobody teaches us this stuff.

Yet, the biggest untapped resource in any organization is the State of Mind of its people.

In the work we do, like treating a patient or making an investment decision, we are culturally raised as if good information is all we need. We need to be the expert. And so we study, go to seminars and read books.

A lot of the people I work with are addicted to information; they have at least 2 books next to their bed.

Because information is king right? If only I knew how to do that, I’d be able to do anything.

That’s one of the biggest lies of our western society: the addiction to information.

Look, it doesn’t matter how good I am, technically, as a basketball play when I’m playing on an shiny hardwood floor with my socks on. I would have no grip, no traction and I’d fall on my face all the time, probably hurting and injuring myself in the proces.

Working from a low state of mind is the same. I make bad judgements, I get in confrontations with people, I get stuck in my head and I overthink things way to long. The list goes on an on.

Working from a high state of mind is like playing with the latest Air Jordan’s on your feet. You’re quick on your feet, you can make quick adjustments, you can run at full speed and you can use the most out of your potential.

The biggest untapped resource in every company is the State of Mind of its people.