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580. Writing to Slow Down: Turning Thought into Intentional Influence · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily influence where our mission is to deliver a daily dose of positive influence that can uplift you personally or be shared within your sphere of influence.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: While not every episode may directly apply to your unique circumstances, we strive to provide insights and inspiration relevant to most people's daily, weekly, and monthly lives.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Whether you are tuning in during the morning, noon or night, the daily influence is here for you.
• 0:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, share, and embrace the power of influence in your life.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everybody, Brian Smith here with the iM team series and your daily influence and today we're exploring one of my favorite tools for slowing down and that's writing writing helps us to, you know, process our thoughts and game clarity and connect our influence to.
• 1:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: our purpose.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And purpose is a moment.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Purpose changes.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's not just this over our team purpose that we have, but, you know, in each iteration of our days and our weeks, our purpose can fluctuate and pivot.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So slowing down and having more control of that in its moment is amazingly important.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It's why slowing down,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: is the longest chapter in our first book, individual influence.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It's why everybody hears me say it.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And I hear myself say it all the time.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So let's talk about putting words on paper.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: and how putting words on paper can help us to slow down and move forward more effectively.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, one thing about writing is that it is a tool for reflection, and it doesn't have to be saved for journaling, writing it in a diary or anything like that, because writing forces us to slow down your hand moves slower than your thoughts, and it gives you space to process
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  [SPEAKER_00]: What's happening in that moment?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes I will agree and say that it's really hard to slow down and to stop leaning into what's happening at the moment and to begin that writing process.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But you know, I keep these everywhere.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As a matter of fact, if I show you right now,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: three of them on my desk and that just shows you how chaotic sometimes our lives can be in just how much support some of us need in that slowdown process.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So one thing about writing is that
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  [SPEAKER_00]: it really does transform the emotions of the moment into intention and it makes our thoughts more specific.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It makes our emotions more measurable and you know when it does out, we can reflect better.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: We can reflect better through our writing and it really can help us to see what's important
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  [SPEAKER_00]: or do something that might not really support where we're at that time.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, one thing I'd have you ask yourself is, do I ever write just to understand what I'm thinking?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's something that you have to develop as a habit.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't just come naturally to most people.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But once you begin to do that, you will see just how much of value slowing down and writing to yourself in a place where you can really sit back and understand what contextually and emotionally is going on.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Another thing that writing does when it slows us down is it creates an opportunity or a better opportunity for responsible communication and slowing down for slowing down when we're writing, you know,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: builds awareness of our tone.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It helps us understand our audience better.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Who we are speaking to and thinking about how I might communicate better?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And the purpose of the communication, what do you really want from this communication?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Do you just want to feel better?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Or do you really want to improve whatever it is that you're dealing with?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And this part of smart communication is the discipline.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of you haven't heard us talk about smart as a discipline, but for us, it is a discipline.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It's not just a framework that guides us.
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's a discipline that we try to live within, that we try to hold ourselves accountable to.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And so being deliberate before you influence others is part of that discipline.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And writing to slow down is a tool that we can use.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: writing also gives you this chance to respond thoughtfully rather than emotionally.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So again, ask yourself, am I reacting through my words or responding through reflection?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So when we respond through reflection, writing slowing down, we oftentimes give our better self to that situation and we re-engage our core values and who we really want to be even in the most
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And the last point is writing as a practice of mindful influence and, you know, writing synchronizes, thoughts and feelings.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It creates a balance between our mind and our heart.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And it helps us to really get that inner peace through situations that are otherwise really challenging to us as human beings.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And each of us has a different threshold for that challenge.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But writing can help balance that out and make
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  [SPEAKER_00]: whatever is going on, a little bit easier for us to deal with.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: It turns internal reflection into intentional action.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And really that is a hallmark of responsible influence being not only reflective but intentional about how we share that reflection and what we do with it and what it gives us to improve a current situation or issue.
• 6:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: even five minutes of journaling or not taking a day can help cultivate calm, give you focus, and bring some clarity to some of the things that otherwise can cloud your mind, cloud your emotions, and really get in the way of being positive and responsible, and really sometimes just liking who we are in these difficult, and sometimes not so difficult
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  [SPEAKER_00]: What might improve if I wrote my thoughts before sharing them out loud?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: How might I get myself and what I am trying to convey across any more smart and meaningful way?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Look when we write, we slow the world down just enough to catch up with ourselves.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Writing isn't just a communication skill, it's a leadership habit.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: and take a few minutes today right, reflect and reconnect with your influence because when you slow down your words and your influence become that much stronger.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for joining me today on daily influence.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: I look forward to talking to you again soon and I hope you have an amazing day.