Quotes by Elizabeth Thornton - Page 1

Objective leaders identify their unproductive mental models and tweak them for greater effectiveness.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Effectiveness
Models
Tweak
Unproductive
Identify
Objective
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We are not a victim of our emotions or thoughts. We can understand our triggers and use them as tools to help us respond more objectively.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Tools
Triggers
Respond
Objectively
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One of the most powerful transformational catalysts is knowledge, new information, or logic that defies old mental models and ways of thinking.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Knowledge
Information
Logic
Models
Most Powerful
New Information
Powerful
Thinking
Mental
Ways
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Our brains have the ability to reorganize themselves by forming new neural connections throughout our lives. This ability is called neuroplasticity.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Ability
Connections
Our Lives
Brains
Forming
Neural
Themselves
Throughout
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When there is a problem, always identify and evaluate your underlying assumptions that may be contributing to the problem or preventing you from seeing the problem clearly.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Contributing
Evaluate
Preventing
Always Your May
Assumptions
Clearly
May Always Your
Identify
Underlying
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We all have mental models: the lens through which we see the world that drive our responses to everything we experience. Being aware of your mental models is key to being objective.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Models
Lens
Objective
Responses
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To be an effective leader and make sound decisions, you must be able to gather data by seeking out diverse perspectives and be willing to consider points of view other than your own.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Data
Diverse
Seeking
Effective
Gather
Perspectives
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To increase our objectivity, we must learn to switch off the mini-movies. Objectivity requires us to be mindful, present in the moment, and experiencing what is happening without judgment.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Increase
Judgment
Objectivity
Experiencing
Happening
Mindful
Present
Requires
Switch
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When we can see things as they are, without projecting our mental models and fears, we are being objective. When we can understand and consider another person's point of view, we are being objective.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Models
Point Of View
Fears
Objective
Projecting
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There are times when we are just not very kind to ourselves. The problem with our negative thoughts is that the latest science has revealed that thoughts are very powerful, even impacting us physically.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Negative
Negative Thoughts
Powerful
Physically
Latest
Revealed
Thoughts
The Problem With
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New Year's Resolutions come and go. Some we keep, some we don't. In order to make lasting changes in our lives, we must first change our minds. We sometimes forget, and we often feel stuck, but we all have the power to do so.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Lasting
Stuck
Come And Go
Resolutions
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Sometimes our childhood experiences are emotionally intense, which can create strong mental models. These experiences and our assumptions about them are then reinforced in our memory and can continue to drive our behavior as adults.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Intense
Models
Assumptions
Emotionally
Reinforced
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It is important to remember that a thought is harmless unless we believe them and act on them. As the subject, since thoughts are an object of your awareness, you have the power to challenge every thought. You can decide if you want to make that thought real.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Challenge
Harmless
Object
Subject
Unless
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If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that sometimes our assumptions and preconceived notions are wrong, and therefore, our interpretation of events is incorrect. This causes us to overreact, to take things personally, or to judge people unfairly.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Causes
Events
Honest
Interpretation
People
Sometimes
Admit
Judge
Assumptions
Take
People Sometimes Things
Wrong
Incorrect
Ourselves
Notions
Personally
Preconceived
Therefore
Unfairly
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We perceive through our senses a person, a situation or an event, and in an instant, we project our mental models - our fears, background and experiences - onto that perception. This often results in cognitive errors, which means we judge and respond incorrectly.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Cognitive
Instant
Models
Perceive
Senses
Respond
Event
Fears
Incorrectly
Onto
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Complete objectivity is not an option. We are all subjective about the way we respond to 'what is,' whether it's the people we encounter, the circumstances in our lives, or ourselves. What we can do is reduce our subjectivity - what I call 'I see, therefore it is.'
Elizabeth Thornton /
Circumstances
Objectivity
Our Lives
Subjective
Call
People Way See
Complete
Respond
Option
Encounter
Reduce
Therefore
Whether
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Most of us know when we are about to react emotionally. We can feel it. Often there is a brief warning before the amygdala hijack. For some of us, it is butterflies in the stomach; for some, it is an increased heart rate, and for others, it is a feeling of agitation.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Agitation
Heart Rate
Rate
Stomach
Warning
Brief
Butterflies
Emotionally
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To be an objective leader means aligning your models with the needs of the organization. There is no question anymore that collaboration, seeking out diverse perspectives and developing new ways to look at challenges and opportunities, is a key leadership competency.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Collaboration
Developing
Diverse
Models
New Ways
Seeking
No Question
Objective
Perspectives
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Because of the power of neuroplasticity, you can, in fact, reframe your world and rewire your brain so that you are more objective. You have the power to see things as they are so that you can respond thoughtfully, deliberately, and effectively to everything you experience.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Brain
Respond
Deliberately
Effectively
In Fact
Objective
Thoughtfully
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The key to creating the mental space before responding is mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of being present: paying attention to and accepting what is happening in our lives. It helps us to be aware of and step away from our automatic and habitual reactions to our everyday experiences.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Space
Accepting
Attention
Creating
Everyday
Habitual
Mindfulness
Our Lives
Reactions
Responding
Automatic
Aware
Before
Experiences
Happening
Helps
Mental
Present
Paying
Step
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The truth is many of us have been socialized to think that if we are not the very best, if we are not at the top 1 percent of whatever it is we do, then we are not good enough. To reinforce this already pervasive mental model, society has established a competitive hierarchy for just about everything.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Hierarchy
Not Good Enough
Truth Is
Best Truth Good
Established
Competitive
Pervasive
Reinforce
Socialized
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Our thoughts are certainly part of us; they come from us, but we are not our thoughts. Have you ever woken up in the morning and said to yourself, 'I am not going to think today; I am too tired'? No, of course not. Just as breathing happens and is constant, thoughts happen, and they are also constant.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Constant
Tired
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Many high school students are under so much competitive pressure. They are sometimes taught that if they don't have a 4.0 GPA, score in the 99th percentile on admissions tests, and demonstrate leadership in sports and participate in clubs, they won't get into college anywhere. Even highly credentialed professionals get caught up in this.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Admission
Caught
Clubs
High School Students
Score
Competitive
Demonstrate
Participate
Professionals
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The key to transforming mental models is to interrupt the automatic responses that are driven by the old model and respond differently based on the new model. Each time you are able to do this, you are actually loosening the old circuit and creating new neural connections in your brain, often referred to as self-directed neuroplasticity.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Brain
Connections
Creating
Driven
Transforming
Time Your New
Time Brain Your
Automatic
Based
Circuit
Respond
Each Time
Model
Interrupt
Mental
Neural
Referred
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When we are fully conscious and aware, we actually know when we are about to overreact. When we are mindful, we have the mental space and are aware of when our moods change. When we are mindful, we are aware of when our mental models are being challenged and when expectation does not meet with reality, which can trigger an emotional response.
Elizabeth Thornton /
Conscious
Models
Response
Challenged
Expectation
Mindful
Moods
Trigger
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Elizabeth Thornton Quotes - Page 1

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