What`s a Saboteur – you ask?

Understanding Positive Intelligence and PQ

Last 2 months have been a real game changer for me. Together with my fellow coaches from coaching studies in London I joined a coaching program with a positive psychologist Shirzad Chamine and discovered a brilliant and simple tools to incorporate in my busy daily schedule to increase my productivity and mental and emotional well-being. Now I have the operating system I missed to radically improve business and family life by strengthening my brain muscles – just like a mental gym.
The program I took talked about the Positive Intelligence quotient (PQ) which is the measure of the balance between two modes of our mind: one that acts as our friend and another as our enemy. It reflects how well your mind works in your best interest.

It reminds me about the old story of feeding one of the hungry wolfs – the good one or the bad.

Essentially, PQ determines the control we have over own mind and our ability to achieve the true potential. Your PQ score, expressed as a percentage from 0 to 100, indicates the proportion of time your mind serves you versus sabotaging you. This score is critical in determining the level of success and happiness you attain. Let me tell you a little more about Positive Intelligence and PQ impact.

How it all started – the Birth of Positive Intelligence and PQ

The idea of Positive Intelligence came from a real need to be happier and more successful. Shirzad Chamine, who came up with it, made these methods based on his own life experiences. Even though things didn’t always go well at first, he kept going until he figured out how damaging the “Judge” in our minds can be. This is how Positive Intelligence started.
Now, Positive Intelligence is used in many places, like big companies and personal coaching sessions. Chamine’s own time as a CEO and coach shows how well it works to make people perform better and feel happier. The great thing about these methods is that they target certain parts of our brains. This means people can get better without needing to understand deep psychology. These simple methods show a clear path to reaching our full potential in all the important parts of life.

Here is the Ted talk Shirzad Chamine`s words ““it’s because I’m me”  led part of audience in tears.

MEETING THE SABOTEURS

To really get what Positive Intelligence is all about, you need to know about the saboteurs inside us. These are like patterns in our thinking and behavior that mess up our success and happiness by making us feel bad about ourselves. They can be sneaky, like the Judge who’s always criticizing, or the Stickler who wants everything perfect. We might not even realize these saboteurs are at work. So, figuring them out and making them weaker is super important if we want to boost our Positive Intelligence. It’s like clearing the roadblocks on our journey to feeling better and doing better in life.

The Saboteurs are our internal enemies occupying our mind. Saboteurs are a universal phenomenon over various cultures, genders, and age groups—because they are related to the functions of the brain that focused on survival. As the author Shirzad says in his book – “Positive intelligence”: “The question is not whether you have them, but which ones you have, and how strong they are.

Meet the Saboteurs

JUDGE

The Judge is the master Saboteur, the one everyone suffers from. It generates much of your anxiety, stress, anger,
disappointment, shame, and guilt.

AVOIDER

Focusing on the positive and pleasant in an extreme way. Avoiding difficult and unpleasant tasks and conflicts.

CONTROLLER
Anxiety-based need to take charge and control situations and people’s actions to one’s own will. High anxiety and impatience when that is not possible.

HYPER-ACHIEVER
Dependent on constant performance and achievement for self-respect and self-validation. Latest achievement quickly discounted, needing more.

HYPER–RATIONAL
Intense and exclusive focus on the rational processing of everything, including relationships. Can be perceived as uncaring, unfeeling, or intellectually arrogant.

HYPER–VIGILANT
Continuous intense anxiety about all the dangers and what could go wrong. Vigilance that can never rest.

PLEASER
Indirectly tries to gain acceptance and affection by helping, pleasing, rescuing, or flattering others. Loses sight of own needs and becomes resentful as a result.

RESTLESS
Restless, constantly in search of greater excitement in the next activity or constant busyness. Rarely at peace or content with the current activity.

STICKLER
Perfectionism and a need for order and organization taken too far. Anxious trying to make too many things perfect.

VICTIM
Emotional and temperamental as a way to gain attention and affection. An extreme focus on internal feelings, particularly painful ones.“
Wich saboteur do you recognize as visiting you most often?

Actually everyone can get the saboteur assessment at: https://assessment.positiveintelligence.com/saboteur/overview

Embracing the Sage

The Sage is like the wise and kind part of us, totally opposite to the saboteurs. It’s the part that helps us see things clearly, be kind to ourselves and others, and come up with smart solutions to problems. When we listen to the Sage and use its way of thinking, we can handle tough times better. It’s important to know that the Sage is in us and to let it guide us. This way, we can make good changes in our lives and boost our Positive Intelligence.

Three Strategies to Improve PQ

Improving Positive Intelligence involves three main strategies:
1) making the saboteurs weaker,
2) making the Sage stronger,
3) building up our PQ Brain muscles.

Each of these strategies deals with different parts of how our minds work. They help us fight against negative thoughts, become more resilient, and stay focused. If we practice these strategies every day, we can slowly make our Positive Intelligence better. This means we’ll have more chances to be successful and feel happier in our lives.

To enhance Positive Intelligence, three strategic approaches are outlined: weakening Saboteurs, strengthening the Sage, and building PQ Brain muscles. Each strategy addresses different aspects of the mind, from challenging negative thought patterns to cultivating resilience and focus. By integrating these strategies into daily life, individuals can gradually elevate their PQ and unlock greater potential for success and happiness.

Path to Elevated PQ

After going through the course I now help my clients to activate their PQ Brain, which in turn gives
greater access to their Sage perspective and powers.
Each of these three strategies—weakening your personal Saboteurs, strengthening your Sage, and strengthening PQ Brain muscles—can be carried out by using techniques that take ten seconds or less. They are designed to fit your busy work schedule and personal life. Through targeted strategies and practical exercises, anyone can embark on a journey towards heightened PQ, unlocking newfound levels of success, happiness, and fulfilment.
And definitely this positive psychology research based approach has given me a new dimension that clients love – due to being so simple and so effective.
Reach out to book a free intro session to find out more how positive intelligence tools can win your saboteurs!