Do you Perseverate or Ruminate?
April 15, 2015 • 9 Likes • 4 Comments
Carrie Arnold, PhD, MCC
Author | Leadership Consultant & Executive Coach | Public Speaker | Evidence Based Coaching Program Director at Fielding Graduate University
As an executive coach, I work with clients on a variety of leadership issues. Recently the distinction between perseveration and rumination has surfaced in my work. Many clients will use a coaching session to debrief and untangle their thinking about something that has already happened. For different reasons, they cannot let go of the conversation. They are perseverating.
When you perseverate, you have the tendency to repeat an experience over and over (especially when you are trying to sleep at night). This is not positive, and it keeps you in a place of self-doubt, questioning everything you said and did. It’s almost like your brain will not allow the memory to be stored, and you keep reliving the experience. It can be exhausting with little return. It corrodes confidence and is a barrier to leadership effectiveness.
An answer to this cognitive energy drain is to move from perseveration to rumination. Rumination is something our cud-loving cows do quite well. They chew again what has already been slightly chewed and swallowed. It’s when a person goes over something repeatedly, in their mind, but in a slow and casual way. It’s a contemplative state allowing you to mentally chew on something. One could ruminate about the patterns of someone’s behavior or the fears that keep one from taking action. It’s the difference between being on the dance floor versus on the balcony. An elevated view brings a different perspective.
Rumination allows you to see something more objectively and disentangle yourself from some of the emotions. The following questions can help you shift from perseverating to ruminating:
More at the link.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-you-perseverate-ruminate-carrie-arnold-ma-pcc-bcc
For the record, I think I do both but not to the point of extremes.
❤pants
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