change your mind, change your business: how to train your brain for optimal success

© 2009 Global Change Management, Inc.

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Change Your Mind, Change Your Change Your Mind, Change Your Business:Business:

How to Train Your Brain for Optimal SuccessHow to Train Your Brain for Optimal Success


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mLogos of Some Companies Served…


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mWhat Causes Our Brains to Under Perform?


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Autonomic Nervous System


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mFight or Flight

Heart pumps faster: Increases

risk of heart attack or stroke

Skin impacted by sweat glands: Can

slow wound healing and increase risk of

infections

Breathing quickens: May

exacerbate asthma and/or trigger panic attacks

Stomach stops digesting &

stomach acids increase: May cause nausea,

trigger IBS, etc.

Internally hormones are

secreted: Corrodes bones & muscles, weakens

immune system


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Judgment diminishes, aggression

may increase

Impact On Mental Clarity

Problem- solving abilities reduced

Difficulties accessing long-term memory

Ability to remember decreases, impacting learning

Message receptors

shut down, terminates meaningful

rapport


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mChronic Stress Cycle

Sympathetic System

Activated

Cortisol

“Stress Hormone”Hypothalamus


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What You Hold to Be TrueWhat You Hold to Be True

10:07


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SubjectiveSubjectiveObjectiveObjective

What Actually What Actually HappenedHappened

The Story You The Story You Told Yourself Told Yourself About What About What HappenedHappened

Beliefs and “Brain Expectations”


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mBrain Expectations…

When your boss calls in into his or her office, do you immediately assume you are going to be reprimanded, or complemented?

Do you assume you will get a promotion, or are you so sure you will not you do not even apply?

Do you view the recession as an opportunity to grow your business, or do you “just know” your business will suffer?

How do these “expectations” impact your productivity and outcomes?


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mThe Good News…Your Brain Can Change!

The brain can change itself. It is a plastic, living organ that can actually change its own structure and function, even into old age. Arguably the most important breakthrough in neuroscience since scientists first sketched out the brain’s basic anatomy, this revolutionary discovery, called neuroplasticity, promises to overthrow the centuries-old notion that the brain is fixed and unchanging. The brain is not, as was thought, like a machine, or “hardwired” like a computer. Neuroplasticity not only gives hope to those with mental limitations, or what was thought to be incurable brain damage, but expands our understanding of the healthy brain and the resilience of human nature.

- Norman Doidge, M.D., author of The Brain that Changes Itself


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mDiscover How to Change the Brain

What is brain training?

“That is exactly what we find most exciting about this emerging field of neuroplasticity: the awareness that we can improve our lives by refining, ‘training’ our brains...”

- Dr. Judith Beck, author of The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person

"What research has shown is that cognition, or what we call thinking and performance, is really a set of skills that we can train systematically."

- Dr. Daniel Gopher, Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Human Factors Engineering at Technion Institute of Science.


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The Dalai Lama & Neuroscience

Address to the 35th annual meeting of the

Society for Neuroscience


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The Neuroscience of Mindfulness

What is Mindfulness? Being aware of, and accepting, your

present thoughts, feelings (and circumstances)

Without judgment, reaction or distraction (without subjective “stories”)

Usually initially involves focusing on your breathing…stop, breath, relax


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mDetaching From Emotions…

- D. Creswell, PhD & D Lieberman, Ph.D. of UCLA

Simply labeling your feelings forces you to call them something. It’s part of noticing and detaching from those emotions versus letting them hijack your bliss. It’s about helping people develop that pause button, so they can observe emotions.

The brain of someone who practices mindfulness may be physically different from the next person’s.


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Mindfulness Can be Practiced in Many Situations…

?

Sports

?

Walk

-ing

? Tai

Chi?

Yoga

?

Exer-

cising

?

Medi-

tation


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Mindlessness vs. Mindfulness

Mindlessness:Mindlessness: ClosedClosed RigidRigid Restricted/LimitedRestricted/Limited External locus of controlExternal locus of control FearfulFearful JudgmentalJudgmental Cluttered/ConfusedCluttered/Confused Frantic/AgitatedFrantic/Agitated Lack of solutionsLack of solutions Few or no choicesFew or no choices MultitaskingMultitasking Dwelling in past/futureDwelling in past/future

Mindfulness:Mindfulness: OpenOpen FlexibleFlexible Spacious/Room to growSpacious/Room to grow Internal locus of controlInternal locus of control Confident/CourageousConfident/Courageous Accepting/UnbiasedAccepting/Unbiased ClearClear CalmCalm Creative processingCreative processing PossibilitiesPossibilities Focus on one taskFocus on one task Living in the “now’Living in the “now’


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mMindfulness Research Results

Clinical research findings related to MBSR and other Mindfulness-Based

programs over the past 25 years are very encouraging. Those

completing these programs consistently demonstrate and report long

lasting improvements such as:

- Enhanced self-esteem and activity levels

- Increased social activity and vitality

- Reduced tension, anger, and fatigue

- Improved sleep quality

- Improved emotion regulation, reduced anxiety

- Decreased blood pressure

- Fewer and less intense headaches

- Brain activity associated with positive emotion

Source - www.SteveSHealyPhd.com


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mThe Principle of Mutual Exclusion

If your body is relaxed, your mind is relaxed…If you are in the parasympathetic mode, you cannot be in the sympathetic mode…If you are laughing you cannot be tense…


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mComing to Your Senses: How to Activate Your Brain…


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We absorb information about an event through our senses, translate it into electrical signals (some for sight, others from sound, etc.), disperse those signals to separate parts of the brain, then reconstruct what happened, eventually perceiving the event as a whole.

Our senses evolved to work together – vision influencing hearing, for example – which means that we learn best if we stimulate several senses at once.

Stimulate more of the senses!

- John Median, author of Brain Rules

Sensory Integration


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Right Hemisphere:

Working holistically

Creativity

Symbols & images

Emotions

How to Activate Your Brain & Increase Learning

Left Hemisphere:

Working linearly

Logic

Verbal Language

Basic Math

Use the Left & Right Side Use the Left & Right Side of Your Brain Together ...of Your Brain Together ...


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mWhat Your Notes Might Look Like…


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mRecommended Reading…


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mThe Brain Learning

“What you do and learn in life physically changes what your brain looks like – it literally rewires it.”

– John Medina, author of Brain Rules


Dreams Can Come True…But first you have to have one


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mWhole Brain Functioning…So how can you use the natural power of both sides of your brain to not just dream but also make those dreams come true? Here are some tips for you:

When creating your goals stimulate the right side of your brain by putting logic aside for a while and allowing yourself to dream and be creative – unleash the power of your imagination.

Use as many senses as possible to record your goals. For example, write it down, draw it or find pictures that represent what you want to achieve…because each sense has its own location in your brain, the more senses you involve the more of your brain power you’ll use.

Once you have created and recorded your goals it is time to simulate the left side of your brain – the practical side. Think of the goals you created as the destination and now plan concrete and logical steps to reach that destination and make it a reality.

Ned Herrmann, a neuroscientist and author of The Whole Brain Business Book, calls this sort of processing, “whole brain functioning”


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mYour Reticular Activating System…

It’s like a GPS system for your It’s like a GPS system for your

brainbrain


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mDo You Believe You Can Multitask? Recent neuroscience research proves multitasking is a myth

that can be harmful to your business! The human brain is a sequential processor, unable to fully pay

attention to two tasks at the same time. We can do simple tasks like walking and talking at the same

time, but when it comes to true multitasking, your brain just can’t do it.

Because attempting to “multitask” drains a lot of mental and physical energy, we feel like we’re productive – we worked hard and used energy so we must have produced a lot. Wrong.

Studies show that a person who is attempting to multitask takes 50 percent longer to accomplish a task and he or she makes up to 50 percent more mistakes. Therefore, a person working sequentially is 50% faster and up to 50% more accurate!


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mIf Multitasking is a Myth…What Can You Do to Increase Productivity & Accuracy? Organize and prioritize your tasks in advance.

Become familiar with your natural rhythms and know what time of the day you have the most energy, mental and physical, and schedule tasks accordingly.

If possible, vary the sort of tasks you work on throughout the day – your brain functions better when it has variety.

Create interruption-free time zones during the day to work on selected tasks – this will greatly increase productivity.

Focus on one task at a time, complete it, then focus on the next task and repeat the process.


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mContinued…

Acknowledge the satisfaction you feel after the completion of each task, no matter how small the task – this will reinforce sequential task completion.

Schedule times during the day when you will check your e-mail and voicemail – and be strict about only checking it during those designated times.

Turn of your e-mail notification, phone ringer, IM program, BlackBerry, etc. – distractions that can waste your time and give you an illusion of being productive and important.

Take “brain breaks” about once an hour. For example, stand up, stretch, and take a few slow deep breaths. Your brain will function better with movement and more oxygen.

Perform the above actions for at least a week then check to see whether you are more productive and accurate in your work than when you “multitasked” – you will be!


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www.StartUpNation.com

Episode Spotlight“Join our hosts as they talk with Jonathan Jordan, psychotherapist and entrepreneur, about training your brain. Business planning and employee training are both affected by stress and attitude. Jordan speaks on topics that help you find out how you can keep your mental and emotional health in check. Get tips on time management, stress management and how thoughts and beliefs can influence your behavior. Also find out what Jordan's real 'Brain Age' is, and how that game can help keep your brain fit.”

Radio Interview on Website or Podcast“Putting Your Brain to Work”

Presenter Contact Information

Jonathan Jordan

President, Global Change Management, Inc.

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.MindfullyChange.com

Twitter: MindfullyChange

Thank You!