Compass No.14
Mental models for navigating uncertainty, affective labeling, and a win for the underdogs
Thought provoking quotes
In the book, Creativity, Inc, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull recounts several mental models that Pixar directors use to navigate the uncertainty and the unknown of the creative process.
“There are moments, as a director, where there is so much work to do and so little time to do it that he can’t help but feel fear. But he also knows that if he lingers too long in that frightened palace, he will freak out. ‘So I tell myself that I have time, even when I don’t. As in, ‘Okay, I’m going to proceed as if I have time – I’m going to sit back and muse rather than looking at the clock — because if I sit back and muse, I’m more likely to solve problems.’” (From Andrew Stanton, director of Finding Nemo and WALL-E)
"He imagines himself in a maze when he's making a movie. Instead of running through willy-nilly, frantically searching for a way out, he places the tips of his fingers along one wall as he moves forward, slowing down here and there to assess and using his sense of touch to help him remember the route he's traveled so far. But he keeps moving so as to not panic." (From Rich Moore, director of Wreck-It Ralph)
Tool that stayed with me
Turns out that translating bodily sensations (ie. chest tightness, increased heart rate, sweaty palms) into a language that our mind can process is incredibly beneficial for managing disruptions, setbacks, and uncertain moments.
The technique being referenced is called “affective labeling,” which is essentially just a fancy term for labeling what you’re feeling with words that mean something to your brain. In her book, Tiny Experiments, author Anne-Laure Le Cunff writes about why this technique can be impactful.
“Research has found that labeling our emotions results in higher brain activity in our prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain in charge of executive functioning…it also reduces activity in the amygdala, a region that plays an important role in emotional processing and the fight or flight response.” (p.167)
“The pioneer of writing therapy, James W. Pennebaker, explained that labeling our emotions relieves our brains of the burdensome task of processing them. Once you have those words, it’s much easier to investigate their cause and address the issues underlying those feelings.” (p.167)
If this topic interests you, I’ve written about it in more in depth in a piece on Dr.Lisa Feldman Barrett’s groundbreaking research on emotions. (“Believing is Seeing: Understanding Modern Emotion Science”)
No Directions community spotlight
In last year’s piece, “The Underdog Mentality,” I interviewed Hanna Golf founder, Jared Doerfler, about his journey leaving a corporate sales and manufacturing job to launch his own golf putter brand. He and his wife used their savings to buy two CNC mills. Jared taught himself how use them and now manufactures all of Hanna’s putters directly from his shop in his hometown of Mason City, Iowa.
Less than a year after publicly launching the brand, Hanna Golf attracted the attention of Bridgestone, one of golf’s most recognizable brands. Last week, Bridgestone announced their limited edition Masters collaboration, the Peach Reserve Collection, with putters that were custom made in Jared’s shop. Let’s hear it for the underdogs!