A Secret to Accessing Your Superpowers

BY: JEFF BENTON

My firm Paragon Performance Evolution is fortunate to work with several FORTUNE 500 companies, private firms, military special forces, Olympic athletes, premier academic institutions, CEO organizations, the Hollywood elite, and many other interesting individuals, including astronauts. One of the inspirations for starting Paragon came from my personal journey.

I was a rising corporate executive in the sports and entertainment industry who looked “pretty on paper” with credentials and capabilities. Yet, the reality was I was operating in a perpetual state of anger, anxiety, and fear in my dayto-day world. It wasn’t until I experienced a life tragedy, the suicide of my mother, that I was truly able to make a sustainable shift that served me at a higher level and, ultimately, those around me.

Following my mother’s death, I searched for solutions to change how I felt. Through a friend, I was introduced to a few different pieces of training and techniques that taught me, for the first time in my life, how to self-regulate my own emotions.

One training was led by the HeartMath Institute (HMI). This globally recognized organization has been at the leading edge for decades, studying the relationship between the heart and brain and their impact on human behavior and performance.

They taught me how to self-regulate my emotions and, through several simple techniques that I could use in realtime, how to ultimately sustain a state of coherence (HeartMath defines coherence as “An optimal state in which the heart, mind, and emotions are aligned and in sync. From a physiological standpoint, it is where the nervous, hormonal, and immune systems are functioning in a state of energetic coordination.”)

As I entered this state of coherence on a more regular basis, I began to see and experience the world differently. I found joy in the present moment more frequently and the feeling of gratitude for the first time in my life. I truly became a better person.

This shift in my behavior and how I was feeling provided the epiphany — if I could go from this state of fear and anxiety to a deeper state of appreciation and flow, anybody could.

That realization shaped how my business partner, Brett Weinroth, and I built Paragon Performance Evolution. We wanted to implement training programs for our clients specific to key areas of their businesses or organizations, such as leadership, negotiations, team building, culture, communication, flow state, and other popular topics.

But we knew that before we could do that, they had to understand the power of self-regulating their own emotions first. We wanted to show them how this focus at an individual level would ultimately impact and positively influence all of the other programs we would deliver around leadership and high performance.

As we engaged more deeply with clients on this heart-centered approach and enhanced our own practice for building coherence, it became apparent to us that when we prioritize our state of being through self-regulation, this then serves us and those we come in contact with powerfully. When we can shift from an emotional state that might deplete us, including anxiety, anger, and frustration, to more renewing emotions that give us energy, including gratitude, joy, appreciation, and calmness — deep transformation takes place within the body that can even be considered “miraculous.”

The Paragon team continued to witness that when our clients had the ability to self-regulate and shift into a state of coherence regularly, they started to experience greater productivity, improved health, more mental clarity, increased resilience in challenging situations, and heightened energy. Also, we saw our clients reduce their ongoing stress response, which the science and research supports, allowing for significant improvements from a physiological standpoint, including blood pressure, hypertension, autonomic nervous system disorders, better sleep, improved mental function, and decreases in inflammation.

As we worked diligently to support our clients, something very interesting started to happen. Our clients who selfregulated their emotions and entered into a coherent state started to influence their external environment. Not just in a woo-woo, mystical way, but in a way that science and research have proven over and over.

We saw individuals who were shifting into a state of coherence profoundly influencing those around them, including colleagues, clients, family members, and even pets. This state of coherence allowed for more harmony in relationships and personal interactions, calm amid chaos, and more optimal outcomes in situations that would have generated more stress and dissension in the past.

In fact, science and research continue to support that when individuals enter into a state of coherence, the influence on their environment is significant. This is because

HMI has shown through studies that the heart’s magnetic field can be detected and have a measurable effect on others up to five feet away. And, similar to a WiFi signal, our emotions are broadcasted through this electromagnetic field produced by the heart. Extensive studies also illustrate that when smaller groups come together and achieve a state of coherence, there are positive, significantly measurable effects on the global community.

So now that you have a sense of just how powerful you are, what will you do with this new information? How will you create changes in your life so you can become a healthier, more energized, better version of yourself?

There is a Jedi Master and alchemist within you that has the ability to shift your state of being. You can also influence those around you into a more optimal state using simple tools & techniques that can be applied in real time during the most challenging situations. Let’s try one of them now! Coherence Technique to Access Your Superpower

This Quick Coherence Technique is a powerful tool to utilize throughout the day. You can easily create a state of coherence in about a minute by releasing stress and emotions such as frustration, irritation, anxiety, and anger. When you are coherent, your thoughts and emotions are balanced, and you experience ease and inner harmony.

Step One: Focus your attention on the area of the heart, the center of your chest. Imagine your breath is flowing in and out of your heart, breathing a little slower and deeper than usual.

Suggestion: Inhale for 5 seconds, exhale for 5 seconds (or whatever rhythm is comfortable for you

Step Two: Make a sincere attempt to experience a regenerative feeling, such as appreciation or care for someone or something in your life.

Suggestion: Try to re-experience a regenerative feeling you have for someone you love or focus on a feeling of calm and ease.

We recommend practicing the Quick Coherence Technique at least 3 times a day for a few minutes each time. Ideally, practice in the morning, after lunch, and before you go to bed at night. With practice, you may experience better sleep, mental clarity, and more serenity.

About the author:

Jeff Benton, Founder & CEO of Paragon Performance Evolution

Jeff Benton is the Founder & CEO of Paragon Performance Evolution. Paragon creates and implements leadership, high-performance, and resiliency programs for organizations around the world. This includes FORTUNE 500 companies, Special Forces, Professional and Olympic athletes, Astronauts, Premier Academic Institutions, and CEO organizations. Paragon develops and implements customized programs that create measurable change, allowing for greater productivity, inspired purpose, disciplined focus, and authentic communication. Their mission is to empower the world’s elite performers to access and evolve to their highest potential in all spheres of life.

Jeff’s work allows him to combine his deepest passions of connecting people, supporting individuals in their journey of transformation, and being his own human lab, exploring what is possible in this lifetime. He received his bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta. He is a Master HeartMath Certified Trainer, Activating the Heart of Teams Trainer, and Certified Coach with Coach Training Alliance.