The 2x2 grid that instantly upgrades your brain’s decision making and forever reduces your stress levels
Yep, this simple 2x2 grid changed my life. It’s easy to learn and I want to share it with you.
As a practitioner of mindfulness, it took very little time to incorporate this grid system way of thinking into my everyday thought processes.
Take a moment to absorb the grid layout and take notice of the counterclockwise motion of the arrows.
The top-left 💡💡 is an awesome place to be.
The bottom-right❓❓ is where indecision, stress, and mistakes occur.
The other two boxes are steps in the cycle for moving yourself back to where you can once again and confidently Know What You Know.
A few years ago I attended a keynote speech at a mentoring event. Retired Major General Ronald Johnson introduced the grid, officially called the Johari Window, to a room full of mentees and mentors. It was a powerful moment that instantly upgraded my thinking. The General has used this grid in his thinking for over 40 years!
I can’t even count how many times I’ve drawn this grid and shared it with others. From motivating staff members to mentoring students, the grid has come quite handy. It’s so universal because our mind is sometimes already made up about something and we close off additional thought processes when confronted with new knowledge.
💡💡 You Know, What You Know
In this top-left part of the grid, your mind clings to what’s familiar to you. You trust the decision or thought you have because you’ve either made it before or you haven’t been wrong about it so far.
In psychology, this is often called the mere exposure effect, in which you like to do things a certain way simply because it’s familiar to you. A related psychological concept is the illusory truth effect, where you’re likely to believe a familiar statement over an unfamiliar one. At this part of the grid, you will feel:
- Confident
- Expertise
- Experienced
- Self-Worth
❓💡 You Don’t Know, What You Know
If your mind is here, then you’re probably not aware of it. That’s because you’ve become comfortable with your knowledge and you haven’t taken time to evaluate changes and learn new things.
This doesn’t just have to relate to skills knowledge, it could be as simple as a road closure on your way to work that you didn’t see coming even though the detour signs were posted for days.
If someone tells you information that conflicts with your beliefs, you may be reluctant to change. This is called inconsistency avoidance tendency, which means that you avoid change or inconsistencies with your usual way of doing things. In this state, you can unknowingly be:
- Overconfident
- Egotistical
- Micromanaging
- Condescending
❓❓ You Don’t Know, What You Don’t Know
A lot of people spend time here and never get out of this box because they think they don’t have control over solving a problem or making a decision. People say “I don’t know” out loud frequently in conversations and never realize it.
It’s important to hear yourself say, “I don’t know”. That’s how to succeed.
Additionally, you don’t need to be upset or mad at yourself or anyone else. The reason stress gets introduced is simply that you don’t have all the facts or information and that lets your mind wander to places of fear.
If you’ve been here before — and we all have — you feel:
- Stress
- Fear
- Indecisive
- Incompetent
💡❓You Know, What You Don’t Know
This one is very important. It helps you break out of that terrible place. Simply admitting you don’t know what you don’t know is the first step to opening your mind to new and different things. Those who are mindful of this and have the willingness to figure out what they don’t know can quickly start moving forward again and quickly start to feel:
- Relieved
- Inquisitive
- Humble
- Focused
The Ego
If you have an ego, you’ll struggle with moving through the grid.
That is because you want to be right all the time and hate admitting when you’re wrong or when you need help.
To become happier in your life, you must be willing to let go of that control you have over knowledge. Things won’t stress you out as much. Whether it’s your boss, spouse, friend, or child, you’ll realize that it’s perfectly fine to not know things in life.
Not knowing something does not need to ruin your day.
As someone who is blessed with a high IQ, it’s taken me years to tell my ego to hit the road. Since my journey includes being the Founder & CEO of Sharp Hue since 2006, I know that I’ve made significant progress. I recognize that practicing mindfulness is how I learned to improve several areas of my life.
Our brains do strange things based on our biology and evolution, which is at odds with the way society needs us to operate.
Humans who learn and work towards an ability to override their default evolutionary/reactionary systems can become excellent leaders.
The Transition
As you may have noticed, the grid is like a cycle. It emulates life beautifully and how things evolve and how we must adapt. You won’t stay in one part of the grid forever. You might experience setbacks. And then, there will be times when you’ll move forward.
Have you heard the saying, “One step forward and two steps back?” Yep, that’s the grid. That’s life.
Sometimes, we get in our own way and our anxiety activates our fight-or-flight responses, which clouds our judgment and keeps us from making solid, mindful decisions.
In order to be civilized in modern society where misinformation is everywhere, it’s essential to be mindful of our thoughts. Instead of believing everything we see/hear and gravitating to what’s familiar, we need to challenge ourselves to be patient and find the facts, truth, and knowledge.
Mastering the grid allows you to keep your composure and demonstrate great leadership by recognizing your shortfalls and constantly update your knowledge.
