NOVEMBER 02, 2011
Leadership tycoon Warren Bennis once said, “We seem to collect information
because we have the ability to do so, but we are so busy collecting it that we
haven’t devised a means of using it. The true measure of any society is not
what it knows but what it does with what it knows.”
There is a wealth of
information at our disposal today on the latest discoveries in brain science.
While we enjoy reading about these findings and expanding our intellect, how
many of us actually apply these concepts?
We can either drown in
this information or turn it into a lifesaver by extracting its practical
knowledge. This article offers several important tips based on discoveries in
brain research that can help us improve our personal and professional lives, as
well as help others in our sphere of influence.
Use visualization to
learn a new skill
Neuroplasticity is the
ability of the brain to continuously create new neural pathways. When we repeat
a skill that we are trying to master, we strengthen the neural networks that
represent that action. The same happens physically in the brain whether we
perform the action, or simply visualize it—Your brain cannot tell the
difference between an action you performed and an action you visualized.
In a Harvard University
study, two groups of volunteers were presented with a piece of unfamiliar piano
music. One group received the music and a keyboard, and was told to practice.
The other group was instructed to just read the music and imagine playing it.
When their brain activity was examined, both groups showed expansion in their
motor cortex, even though the second group had never touched a keyboard.
Albert Einstein, who is
credited with saying that “imagination is more important than knowledge,” used
visualization throughout his entire life. Why not take advantage of what we
know about brain plasticity and take the time to add visualization as part of
your rehearsals of anything you are trying to master, such as delivering a
flawless presentation?
Achieve your goals by
keeping your mouth shut
This idea was
popularized by Derek Sivers, a professional musician, in his presentation at
TED. As he explains, psychology tests have proven that when you tell someone
your goal, and they acknowledge it, you are less likely to do the work to
realize that goal. This is because your brain mistakes the talking for the
doing—that is, the gratification that the social acknowledgment brings tricks
your brain into feeling that the goal has already been accomplished. The
satisfaction you experience in the telling removes the motivation to do
whatever it takes to actually make it happen.
Heed this information
and keep your goals to yourself. It might just spur you to work harder to
achieve an important goal.
Smile to improve your
mood
The Facial Feedback
Hypothesis indicates that facial expressions representative of an emotion
trigger changes in your body that are similar to those that happen when you
experience the actual emotion. For example, your brain cannot tell the
difference between a posed smile or a genuine smile. A posed smile will elicit,
physiologically, the same pleasure or happiness response as a genuine smile.
Your facial muscles cue your brain to experience that positive emotion. Taking
notice of this, consider how this information can help you to regulate some of
your emotional reactions by controlling your facial expressions.
Try this the next time
you are in a bad mood: Instead of frowning, which reinforces a negative mood,
consider smiling. Research has shown that by doing so, you are likely to
experience a more positive mood.
Understand the
physiology of emotional pain to develop empathy
Research at the
Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University discovered that
social or emotional pain is as real and intense as physical pain. The same
brain networks are activated when a person experiences a physical injury as
when they go through a painful emotional experience. Your brain cannot
distinguish between physical and emotional pain.
“While both types of
pain can hurt very much at the time they occur,” says Kip Williams, Ph.D.,
“social pain has the unique ability to come back over and over again, whereas
physical pain lingers only as an awareness that it was indeed at one time
painful.” Consider for a moment that when we hurt someone emotionally, it may
very well be the equivalent of breaking one of their bones. We can create a
better world in our sphere of influence just by being mindful of this thought
and using it to help develop our empathy towards others.
Lower your stress level
by managing your thoughts
There is ample research
proving that your brain cannot tell the difference between a real and imagined
threat; the physical response is the same. In
Mystic Cool: A Proven
Approach to Transcend Stress, Achieve Optimal Brain Function, and Maximize Your
Creative Intelligence, Don Joseph Goewey provides a powerful tool—called the
Clear Button—to thwart fearful thoughts and stop the escalating stress. This
10-second strategy works because it creates a distraction from the primitive
brain where fear resides. Care to test it out?
Follow these steps.
Imagine that there is a
button in the center of your left palm; imagine that this button, when pressed,
will send a signal to your brain to stop the fearful thinking.
Press the button with
your right hand as you become aware of your breath.
Take three easy breaths
counting them out.
Imagine a different
color for each number.
As you exhale, relax in
the present moment.
Parker J. Palmer,
founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal once said, “Science requires an
engagement with the world, a live encounter between the knower and the known.”
In other words, knowing is not enough. We do ourselves and others a great disservice
when we don’t decide to act on the gift of knowledge. It’s the difference
between hording information and developing wisdom.
Bruna Martinuzzi President,
Clarion Enterprises Ltd.
No comments:
Post a Comment