One of the most powerful ideas in Boyd’s philosophy of conflict is that it doesn’t make any difference how potent adversaries’ weapons might be — or how brilliant their strategy — if they can’t use them. Why might they not be able to use them? Some reasons are simple, such as lack of proficiency. In other words, insufficient Fingerspitzengefühl or its organizational counterpart, Einheit. They know what to do but just don’t have the skills to do it.
There’s another possibility, one that Boyd especially liked, and it applies even if they’re well-trained: Get them confused, discombobulated, or better yet, infected with fear, uncertainty, doubt and mistrust. He suggested many ways to do this, some of which are direct, such as agitprop and fifth columns, and others that fall under the category of “operating inside their OODA loops.” You can read more about this approach in Patterns, particularly around pages 121-125 and pages 46-47 of Strategic Game.
Let’s give our opponents their due. There will be times when they succeed in pumping up our anxiety. How do we protect ourselves against these same effects? One way is to keep the initiative, make the opponent react to you, operate inside their OODA loops. These are great ideas, but what happens if you are already feeling the symptoms of fear and anxiety? Left unchecked, these will keep you from being able to take the actions necessary to reclaim the initiative. And don’t tell me it won’t happen to you; if this is your mindset, good luck.
In his writings, Boyd concentrates on the moral forces that hold groups together, and he did not write a lot on how individuals can deal with anxiety. But if you’re the leader of a group, and you break down into incoherent babble and start sucking your thumb, it may have adverse effects on the rest of the organization. How do you get yourself back in the game? There are some proven techniques, and today’s Wall St. J. mentions one of the most effective, conscious control of your breath.
In “Breathing for Your Better Health,” author Sumathi Reddy notes that
Breathing and controlling your breath is one of the easiest ways to improve mental and physical health, doctors and psychologists say. Slow, deep and consistent breathing has been shown to have benefits in treating conditions ranging from migraines and irritable bowel syndrome to anxiety disorders and pain.
Notice the part about anxiety disorders. That’s what you want to give your opponents, not experience them yourself. But if you do, first recognizing what’s going on, and then deliberately slowing your breath while engaging the diaphragm can be very effective.
Abdominal, or diaphragmatic, breathing is often taught in yoga and meditation classes. Experts say air should be breathed in through the nose, and the exhale should be longer than the inhale. Dr. Vranich recommends trying to breathe this way all the time but other experts say it is enough to use the technique during stressful or tense times or when it is necessary to focus or concentrate.
As the late yogi and professor of anatomy, H. David Coulter, explained in his book, Anatomy of Hatha Yoga,
[This] connection between heart rate and breathing, known as respiratory sinus arrhythmia, involves reflex activity from the circulatory system to the brain steam that causes the heart to beat more slowly during exhalation than it does during inhalation. … it slows the heart rate, and reduces fear and anxiety. (91)
Thinking in terms of orientation, anxiety is like static in the system. Slow, rhythmic breathing for roughly 3 seconds inhalation to 6 seconds exhalation (about 7 breaths a minute) clears the static and allows the implicit guidance and control links to operate normally again. As Reddy describes the phenomenon in the Journal article,
The vagus-nerve activity causes the heart rate to decrease as we exhale, said Richard Gevirtz, a psychology professor at Alliant International University in San Diego. Vagal activity can be activated when breathing at about five to seven breaths a minute, said Dr. Gevirtz, compared with average breathing rates of about 12 to 18 breaths a minute.
This is good hard science, not just mystical musings and naval gazing. Not only are these techniques that you can use, you absolutely must master something like this if you’re going to be an effective leader or even a balanced human being. All programs of leadership and management development, including Service schools and MBA programs, should include these techniques in their curricula because fear and anxiety are what you should be giving to your opponents, not what you’re doing to yourself.
[Disclaimer: I am a certified yoga teacher, technically an RYT-200.]