0:00
okay so have you ever been out with
0:02
friends or family yeah and like someone
0:05
just starts doing their work thing like
0:07
they can't switch it off you know what I
0:09
mean oh yeah absolutely I've got a
0:11
friend who a lawyer right and like every
0:13
time we watch a movie he's dissecting
0:15
the legal arguments and loopholes it's
0:17
like dude we're just trying to
0:20
relax like come on man exactly Saturday
0:23
night unwinded a little bit well this is
0:25
kind of what we're diving into today
0:27
this whole idea of like when your job or
0:30
maybe even just something you learned
0:31
really intensely follows you home right
0:33
it's called deoration professional did I
0:35
pronounce that even remotely close yeah
0:37
close enough you know it's a French term
0:39
so I always feel a little self-conscious
0:41
yeah I feel like I'm going to butcher it
0:42
so I'm not even going to try yeah it
0:43
basically means like your profession is
0:45
warping how you see things right and
0:47
we've got this really interesting
0:49
presentation that we're using as our
0:51
source material for this deep dive yeah
0:54
and the cool thing is it was actually
0:55
originally given to students so it's
0:57
designed to be super relatable and not
0:59
too AC mic or anything I like it already
1:01
like they get into these examples of a
1:02
soldier who's on vacation but he's still
1:04
like scanning for threats oh wow a
1:08
teacher who just can't stop correcting
1:09
their family at the dinner table oh
1:11
That's a classic and even like someone
1:13
who took driver's headed and now they do
1:14
this super weird thing wait what I'm not
1:17
going to spoil it we'll get to that one
1:18
later okay you got to keep me hooked
1:19
yeah you'll love it so before we jump
1:22
into all the juicy examples yeah let's
1:24
maybe start by like defining what this
1:27
deformation professional thing actually
1:29
is all right so it's basically this idea
1:31
that like the roles we have in our jobs
1:34
or you know even just skills we learn
1:36
from really intense experiences MH they
1:40
start to kind of seep into our personal
1:41
lives right like they're spilling over
1:43
exactly and it's not always a bad thing
1:46
right like sometimes it can be helpful
1:47
for sure but sometimes it can be super
1:49
awkward or even kind of problematic
1:53
totally like imagine a surgeon who
1:55
brings their super sterile habits to a
1:58
barbecue ooh yeah be a little much you
2:00
know like scrubbing everything down
2:02
right like hey man chill out we're just
2:04
trying to have some fun exactly so yeah
2:06
finding that balance is key so how does
2:08
this whole thing actually happen like
2:10
what's going on in our brains well our
2:12
brains are basically efficiency machines
2:15
right like they love to create shortcuts
2:17
and routines okay so when we spend a ton
2:20
of time doing something like for our job
2:22
or even just a hobby we're really
2:24
passionate about M our brains are like
2:27
okay this is important let's streamline
2:29
this process automatic exactly and
2:31
that's great for work yeah right like
2:33
you become more productive you can make
2:35
decisions faster you're in the zone yeah
2:38
but sometimes those same automatic
2:40
responses those shortcuts They Don't
2:43
Really translate so well to other parts
2:44
of our Lives it's like they
2:45
overgeneralize yeah exactly so that's
2:47
where those funny or awkward situations
2:49
can pop up exactly like that driver ed
2:51
example I mentioned oh yeah you got tell
2:53
me about that one okay so picture this
2:55
you're learning to drive you're super
2:57
focused on doing everything right right
2:59
it got to be safe and you practice
3:01
buckling your seat Bel like a million
3:03
times yeah I become second nature right
3:05
so then you pass your test you're all
3:07
excited you get your license you hop on
3:09
your bicycle oh and you instinctively
3:12
reach for a seat belt I can totally see
3:14
that happening right like your brain's
3:16
on autopilot it's like okay got to
3:19
buggle up this muscle memory gone wrong
3:21
yeah but in a funny way okay so that's a
3:24
harmless example I'm guessing it's not
3:27
always so funny definitely not yeah like
3:29
let's take the soldier on vacation okay
3:31
yeah the presentation mentioned that one
3:33
so this guy he was like an elite soldier
3:35
Special Forces or something yeah
3:37
something like that yeah and he's on
3:38
vacation with his family trying to relax
3:41
yeah exactly they're at a shopping mall
3:43
oh pretty normal but he can't chill out
3:46
he's constantly scanning the crowd
3:48
looking for exits yeah checking for
3:50
potential threats oh wow like his
3:53
training just kicked in it's like his
3:54
brain is still in combat mode totally
3:57
even though he's consciously trying to
3:59
enjoy his time with his family that's
4:01
kind of sad it is like his
4:03
hypervigilance is preventing him from
4:07
fully being present and connecting with
4:09
his loved ones exactly and I think
4:11
that's a really important point that the
4:13
context where we learn these skills it
4:16
really matters right it shapes how those
4:18
skills manifest totally okay so we've
4:20
got the soldier who's a little too
4:22
Vigilant yeah what about the teacher at
4:25
the dinner table you mentioned that one
4:27
too oh yeah that's a good one I think a
4:30
lot of people can relate to that for
4:31
sure especially if you've ever had a
4:32
teacher in your family right so this
4:35
teacher they just can't seem to turn off
4:37
teacher mode even when they're at home
4:39
even at the dinner table like with their
4:40
own family Yep they're constantly
4:42
correcting people explaining things like
4:45
giving a pop quiz right it's like
4:47
they're stuck in that role and everyone
4:49
else is like oh come on can we just eat
4:51
our dinner in peace yeah exactly so
4:54
what's going on there like why can't
4:56
they just switch it off I think it
4:57
speaks to this larger idea about the PS
5:01
professional it's not always a conscious
5:03
choice you know right sometimes these
5:06
habits they become so ingrained like
5:07
they're on autopilot exactly right and I
5:10
think a part of our identity gets tied
5:12
to those professional roles so it's not
5:15
just about skills or knowledge it's
5:17
about how we see ourselves exactly and
5:20
how we interact with the world okay I'm
5:22
starting to get it yeah and the
5:24
challenge like the presentation talks
5:25
about is finding that balance right
5:28
because we don't want to erase those
5:30
skills or deny those parts of ourselves
5:33
no not at all but we also don't want
5:34
them to take over our personal lives and
5:36
like mess up our relationships exactly
5:38
so how do we find that balance that's
5:40
the million-dollar question and I'm
5:42
guessing it's not a simple answer
5:44
definitely not there's no one size
5:45
fits-all solution but I'm sure we'll get
5:47
into some helpful strategies as we dive
5:49
deeper into this absolutely we've got
5:51
some great insights coming up all right
5:52
I'm ready let's do it you know it's
5:55
interesting though because sometimes
5:56
those professional skills they can
5:59
actually be helpful in our personal
6:00
lives right it's not are all bad yeah
6:02
like that teacher with their explaining
6:04
skills that could come in handy when
6:06
you're like helping your kid with their
6:07
homework or trying to assemble some Ikea
6:10
furniture exactly or that Soldier who's
6:12
always alert yeah that could be helpful
6:14
in certain situations like if you're
6:15
walking alone at night or something
6:17
right being aware of your surroundings
6:19
yeah so it's not about getting rid of
6:21
those skills completely it's about using
6:23
them strategically exactly knowing when
6:25
they're appropriate and when to maybe
6:27
dial them back a bit so mindfulness this
6:29
is key totally okay so we've talked
6:31
about how these professional
6:33
deformations happen yeah we've seen some
6:36
funny and not so funny examples right
6:38
now the big question is yeah how do we
6:41
manage this how do we prevent those work
6:45
habits from taking over our lives right
6:47
because nobody wants to be that person
6:49
at the party you know the one who's
6:50
always talking shop or correcting
6:53
everyone's grammar yeah exactly so what
6:55
can we do well the presentation actually
6:58
offers some really helpful strategy
7:00
okay I'm all ears one of the key things
7:02
they emphasize is creating rituals or
7:05
routines rituals yeah like little things
7:07
you do to Signal a clear transition from
7:10
work to personal time oh I like that
7:13
like a mental switch exactly it could be
7:16
something as simple as changing clothes
7:18
when you get home okay or taking a few
7:21
deep breaths listening to some music
7:24
during your commute right create that
7:26
separation yeah basically anything that
7:28
helps you shift gear years so it's like
7:30
you're intentionally leaving work behind
7:33
exactly you're telling your brain okay
7:35
it's time to relax now I've noticed that
7:37
for me if I like immediately check my
7:39
work email when I get home yeah it's
7:41
harder to unwind totally like you're
7:44
still plugged in right so maybe putting
7:46
my phone away in a drawer could be my
7:48
ritual that's a great idea out of sight
7:50
out of mind exactly okay so rituals are
7:52
helpful what else can we do another
7:54
really valuable tool is feedback
7:57
feedback yeah like from people we trust
7:59
yeah because sometimes we're not even
8:00
aware of our own blind spots right we
8:03
need that outside perspective exactly so
8:06
talking to our partners our friends our
8:08
family they can tell us when we're being
8:10
a little too worky yeah like if we're
8:12
using jargon that nobody understands
8:14
we're being overly critical or just not
8:19
present that could be tough to hear it
8:22
can be but it's so valuable because it
8:24
helps us see ourselves more clearly
8:26
exactly and then we can start to make
8:28
changes okay so rituals and feedback
8:30
those are two great tools what about
8:32
like actual mindfulness practices oh
8:35
yeah those are super helpful too because
8:36
I know mindfulness is all about being
8:38
present right being aware of our
8:40
thoughts and feelings and our bodies
8:42
exactly and that can be really helpful
8:44
for catching those professional
8:46
deformations like how well imagine
8:48
you're at a family dinner okay and you
8:51
notice that you're feeling really tense
8:53
okay your shoulders are tight your jaw
8:55
is clenched those physical Sensations
8:58
could be a sign that that you're
8:59
bringing work stress into your personal
9:01
life even if you're not consciously
9:03
thinking about work exactly your body is
9:05
giving you a clue wow I never thought
9:07
about it like that yeah so paying
9:09
attention to those physical Sensations
9:11
can be really helpful it's like an early
9:13
warning system totally it's like hey you
9:15
slipping back into work mode time to
9:16
shift gears exactly so we've got
9:19
rituals feedback and mindfulness yeah
9:23
that's a pretty solid toolkit it is and
9:26
I think the key takeaway here is that
9:28
yeah it's all about a awareness
9:30
awareness of our habits yeah of how our
9:32
work is influencing us and once we have
9:34
that awareness then we can start to make
9:36
conscious choices about how we want to
9:38
show up in different parts of our Lives
9:41
exactly this is really making me think
9:42
about some of my own habits me too I'm
9:45
definitely guilty of bringing work home
9:46
sometimes yeah we all do it but I think
9:48
just being aware of it is a huge step
9:51
right it's the first step towards change
9:53
totally okay so we've talked about how
9:56
to manage those professional
9:58
deformations yeah but I want to Circle
10:00
back to something you mentioned earlier
10:01
about how these skills can actually be
10:04
Assets in our personal lives right
10:06
because it's not all bad yeah so how do
10:08
we find that sweet spot that's a great
10:11
question where those professional skills
10:13
are actually helping us yeah without
10:15
taking over like I'm imagining that
10:17
surgeon with their super sterile habits
10:20
yeah maybe they're the one who always
10:23
barbecue and everyone's grateful right
10:26
so it's not always a bad thing
10:28
definitely not it's about using those
10:30
skills intentionally exactly so how do
10:32
we do that how do we take those
10:34
strengths we've honed at work yeah and
10:36
apply them in a way that actually
10:38
benefits our personal lives that's where
10:40
things get really interesting well it's
10:42
all about being mindful right right like
10:44
you said it's not about using a
10:46
sledgehammer for every problem it's
10:49
about choosing the right tool for the
10:50
job exactly so like let's say someone's
10:52
a software engineer they're amazing at
10:55
like breaking down complex systems and
10:59
how can they apply that at home without
11:01
being like super annoying well instead
11:03
of trying to optimize every family
11:04
decision right like with a spreadsheet
11:06
or something yeah exactly they could use
11:08
those skills to help their kid with a
11:10
math problem okay or like research the
11:13
best vacation options for a family trip
11:15
right or even just troubleshoot a broken
11:17
appliance yeah make themselves useful
11:19
exactly it's about channeling those
11:21
analytical Powers into something
11:23
productive right instead of just being
11:25
controlling yeah exactly okay that makes
11:27
sense what about someone who's really
11:29
persuasive like they work in sales oh
11:32
yeah they could use those skills to
11:34
advocate for a cause they care about
11:36
okay or help a friend through a tough
11:39
situation or even just Express their
11:42
love and appreciation for their family
11:44
oh that's sweet right it's about using
11:46
those communication skills for good I
11:49
like that using our powers for good
11:51
exactly so it's not about getting rid of
11:53
those professional skills I at all it's
11:55
about being aware of them and using them
11:57
consciously exactly this has been such a
12:00
fascinating conversation no right this
12:02
really makes you think it does and I
12:04
think the biggest takeaway for me is
12:06
that we're not just our jobs we're
12:08
complex human beings with all sorts of
12:10
skills and experiences and those skills
12:12
and experiences they can shape Us in
12:14
both positive and negative ways exactly
12:17
so it's up to us to be aware of those
12:19
influences and make conscious choices
12:21
about how we want to live our lives well
12:23
said so to wrap things up we want to
12:25
leave you with a question to ponder okay
12:28
what's one professional habit you might
12:30
want to leave at work tonight ooh that's
12:32
a good one and what's one skill you can
12:34
use to make your personal life even
12:36
better I love that take a moment to
12:39
think about it yeah and until next time
12:41
keep those brains curious and those work