Episode 45: What Is Your Internal System Telling You? Part 1 of 3

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Everyday Leader podcast. Shannon is here with me, Conrad. I've been thinking about systems. We work in a lot of different systems, and systems can be clear or unclear. The question I have for you is around our internal system, within us as humans. A dear friend and colleague in the medical space was talking about the nervous system, the circulatory system, and the digestive system. As we work with leaders, we talk about internal systems that maybe aren't as easy to identify or see. How do you introduce that concept to a leader? What do you know about your internal system?

This is a big question. One reason I like it so much is that what we do as coaches is try to name things and frame things for our clients, so we can help orient them. As you were bringing up that question, the first thing that came to mind was: what are all the pieces of our internal systems? Over the last 10 or 15 years, and coaching has really helped this, I've learned about different approaches, modalities, thought leaders, and researchers who have come to define what this internal system is. I like that you're talking about it from the physiological perspective with medicine. There are lots of different frameworks for naming different parts of our internal system. And there are so many ways to name it that I'm wondering: where do you want to go? This could go in so many directions.

It can go in many directions. There are many frameworks that can help bring a system into visibility or awareness. One of our roles as leaders is to make the unseen more visible, more aware, more conscious. In this context, we're talking about an internal system. You pointed to knowing what the pieces or components are as we talk about the system. Maybe we look there: what are the components that make up an internal system within the human? Not the human physical part, but the human being part.

You just gave me a little space to recall one of the first ways I came to understand this for myself: what is here in your mind right now? What's here in your heart right now? What's here in your spirit? Or your heart, your mind, and your body. Those could still be broken down into lots of different pieces, but “my mind is,” “my heart is,” or “my spirit is,” and “my body is” are really good entry points for understanding our internal system. We're not just our thoughts. We have a physical body, and that body can give us information. Not just that we have a leg, but “my leg is jittery” or “my foot is bouncing.” When you talk about “my heart is” or “my spirit is,” that helps us identify what we're feeling and sensing that can't necessarily be seen. What is that settledness underneath it all?

I'm appreciating what you said for two reasons: the simplicity of it and the accessibility of it. That is a great place to start talking about the internal human system and who we are. Another lens, another way to talk about the components, is through our journey in life. There are experiences we have had that shape our internal system. There are values and beliefs we hold that shape how our mind, body, and heart interact. That's another place I like to start: looking at the journey the human has been on from the beginning of their time in this world. What are those significant events, peak experiences, or notable moments that provide information about those experiences, beliefs, and values? How do they add fuel to your thoughts, your body, or your heart?

What has been the journey of you, of this internal system? What's been your journey? And there is something about what is here right now: heart, mind, body.

As we become more aware of our internal components, we can see how they interact, or don't interact, or oppose one another, or have conflict or resistance. That's what I love about this conversation. The more visibility and consciousness we have around what's going on within us, the more agency and choice we have about what we do with those components in service of ourselves, our health, our family, our cause, our purpose, or our team. It starts at home. The more we get to know ourselves through development, coaching, and experiences, the more we can use our instrument well.

This just came to me: our internal system is really our resource. It's our own resourcefulness, in whatever way that looks. That looks different for everyone, on any given day, in any given moment. This started to feel a little bit like therapy for a second. What we do as coaches is say to our clients, “These are your resources. This is your resourcefulness,” and hold a mirror to that. Now what do you want to create with it?

I appreciate you pulling it to the present and future focus, and using that word “resource.” Those are resources to be utilized and optimized for whatever we want to do with them, whatever we want to create together.

Amazing. Love this question.

How shall we pause or continue to sit with this question?

For our listeners, and for ourselves: what do you notice? What do you know to be true about yourself and your internal system? What do you know to be true?

Let us know what you discover, and we'll be together next time. Until then, be well.