What Are Your Good Intentions Today?

Good Intentions Procrastinate Target Checklists
Basal Ganglia Rewire Brain

Do you generally carry out your good intentions or merely set them aside to do at a better time? During my teaching, I note that good intentions separate folks doing mediocre work from those who perform with excellence. What makes some folks put things off till tomorrow? Recent psychological research reveals new findings.

Paralysis and Guilt: According to Maia Szalavitz, “Procrastination is not just an issue of time management or laziness. It's about feeling paralyzed and guilty as you channel surf, knowing you should be cracking the books or reconfiguring your investment strategy.”

Faulty Reasoning: Interestingly, Paroma Basu says, “Anyone who has scraped by a deadline may believe that they do their best work under pressure. A growing body of research, however, suggests that there is no silver lining to procrastination.”

Fear: People may procrastinate to stave off insecurity about failure. The main reason people procrastinate is fear," says Neil Fiore, Ph.D., author of The Now Habit. Procrastinators fear they'll fall short because they don't have the requisite talent or skills. "They get overwhelmed and they're afraid they'll look stupid."

Perfectionism: Other procrastinators tend to be perfectionists, according to Szalavitz, -- “and they're in overdrive because they're insecure. People who do their best because they want to win don't procrastinate; but those who feel they must be perfect to please others often put things off. These people fret that ‘No one will love me if everything I do isn't utter genius.’ Such perfectionism is at the heart of many an unfinished novel.”

Rewire Your Brain for New Outcomes: Understanding how procrastination can take you down is extremely important because recognizing the problem and rewiring your brain can change old ruts that keep you stuck.

A habit like procrastinating is deeply entrenched in your basal ganglia, the area of your brain in which habits and routines are situated. Good news is that you can actually rewire your brain, but how?

Take Action – Set Daily Targets: Use daily targets as a way to overcome your “good intentions” by taking action. By learning to take small bites at a time, you can soon overcome past ways of dealing with your good intentions. OK, where should you start? I suggest you begin with two items: a calendar and a daily memo pad.

In one or two words describe what you’d most like to accomplish in your career. Next find a picture that represents that for you and glue it to the cover of the memo pad. This will keep that goal firmly in your mind.

On the first page of your pad, line up the major activities you must accomplish to reach that target. For instance, if you want a new job, list at least four to five tasks you will need to perform to get that job.

Look at your wall or desk calendar next to set reasonable dates you plan to complete the necessary tasks to reach your target. List that task on the date you plan to complete it.

Daily Checklists: And now, the turning point to ensure you reach your targets – keep a daily checklist. On your checklist, break down the tasks so that they are doable in a day. Be sure to list a very simple task toward your career goal, too. These bite size pieces help you prevent putting off that “major task.”

Enlist Encouragement: Why not take a friend to dinner and share what you plan to accomplish? Describe what you plan to do. In this way you are now accountable to someone else and that person will be curious about how you’re doing and ask you questions from time to time.

Reward Yourself: For every week you keep your checklist and are sure that you have met most of your daily tasks, but most importantly, the ones that will lead to your dream, give yourself a special treat – whether it be a movie, a game of golf or time with a friend.

You Can Stay on Track! When habits are long-entrenched in your basal ganglia, it will be terribly easy for you to slip back. But, most of us learn more from mistakes than successes. So get right back on track. You can do it. Keith Ferrazzi, author of best seller... Never Eat Alone ... urges people to find their passion, follow your bliss, and go after your dreams. Farazzi shares that the people who keep daily targets are the ones who accomplish their dreams.

How about you? Plan to do more than have good intentions? Begin to live in solutions rather than the mire of problems. Remember, in the end, people judge you by your actions, not your intentions!

Use Your Brain in New Ways to Control Anger!

Anger Brain Serotonin Strategies

Is Anger Controlling You?

Do you kind of swallow anger as I used to because anger’s not socially acceptable? Or are you the angry young man or woman who has never learned to control anger? What does all this anger do to us and how can we change our reactions for better outcomes?

Anger destroys your health. Recent news shows that anger can actually set the stage for injury in young men. Researchers found that among more than 2,000 patients treated in an emergency room for broken bones, cuts and other traumas, bouts of anger appeared to boost the risk of injury by up to 8 times. Recent research at Johns Hopkins University shows that angry young men are more prone to heart disease and that 35% of the 600 men in the study had cardiovascular disease by age 56.

Anger can set up a vicious cycle for you. Clinician Lee Scheingold explains, “People who express too much anger often end up feeling alone and distant from others because their sullen, hostile, or sarcastic behavior can make people turn away from them. A vicious circle is then set up: they feel angry because of the way others are reacting to their anger.” What to do deal with anger immediately and begin to break such an imprisoning cycle?

Change Your Focus: Rewire Your Brain to Bring Immediate Well Being

Look for opportunities to change immediate focus: Be aware when you feel anger welling up inside and begin to use brain based strategies that bring serotonin to replace the cortisol that floods your brain with anger. Serotonin is a hormone that you can actually help bring into your brain if you focus on implementing strategies that you can use today.

Here are practical strategies to help you step out of the situation by using different intelligences in your brain:

1. Leave the room and take a brisk walk. As you do so, find one thing in nature that represents a new goal you want to pursue.
2. Breathe deeply for two minutes and picture an activity you really enjoy.
3. Doodle pictures of what "is" and what "can be" for you.
4. Create a pro/con chart listing what does not work and positive actions that could help you change. Then act on it. Good intentions take you nowhere.
5. Develop a “Flip Side” approach to the negatives that come to you daily at work.
6. Forgive and Move On: Revenge is sweet, but letting go of anger at those who wronged you is a smart route to good health. Your focus changes when you think of new pathways for your life and let go of the wrongs done to you. Talking to a friend who has life together or a counselor about the changes you want to make will provide a support system as you take your first steps.

Begin here and help your brain begin rewiring a new you – a you with more to give yourself and others, too! Don't give up if you fall back. That can happen at first, but keep focused and take daily steps on your new path!

What Ideas Are You Playing With?

Play Ideas Question Innovation Working Memory

Have you ever “played with ideas?” Sound crazy? Not at all. Most people can memorize a body of knowledge, learn all kinds of strategies, and talk to others about what they know and understand, but only a very few are capable of going beyond that to “play with ideas” and take a first new ride on a magic carpet.

Why not play with ideas using a “topsy-turvy” approach? By so doing you would tip conventional business wisdom upside down. Well known blogger, Seth Godin, continually pulls this off as he approaches business conventionalities in ways most folks never consider. For instance he says that awkward is his favorite word and that good enough might be the “next big idea.” Check out Seth’s new book, Small is the New Big to learn even more!

What if you ask new kinds of questions as Ellen Weber does? Ellen “plays with ideas” by asking questions to quench her curiosity. She shares, “questions should have two feet – one foot in peoples’ curiosity and the other foot in knowledge on a topic.” To sample a few intriguing questions Ellen recently asked, how would you answer:

What do you do to “come back” when you feel more like running from losses in life … than running a successful business?

Could music add fresh marketing ideas to reach new clients where you work?

Would you do anything different today … if you changed just one belief about business?

Start and end your day with a question such as … “What if…” and watch the new discoveries you’ll make by evening.

OK, your answers? Questions like these help you play with ideas that lead to new actions and new approaches. Ellen left her comfort zone long ago. You?

Ever combine a couple of simple activities to come out with something new? Blogger Tammy Lenski hopes to write a “blook,” which is the combo of a book and a blog. She describes doing a blook as a “plunge into a void” since she has never done this before. Interestingly, Tammy will begin writing the blook using daily blogs. “ I’ll work from an outline of chapters/sections because I believe the structure will help keep my thinking and writing organized into topics that make some sense to the reader,” She anticipates the draft of chapter topics will change organically as she works through the book and that feels ok to her. Stay tuned to this blook, or best ideas brimming from Tammy’s brain.

Because Seth Godin, Ellen Weber and Tammy Lenski play with ideas, they engage the working memory which takes brand new bits of wisdom, high energy and great focus and noodles it around. How about you? What ideas are you noodle-ing today?

Colors Highly Influence Customers!

Color Memory Purchases Brain Branding

Did you realize that color has a powerful impact on your brain? Interestingly, color is part of the powerful spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. These forms include microwaves, x-rays, infrared rays, and heat. In addition, color impacts the brain because it can greatly affect our physiology, since it influences anxiety, pulse, blood flow and arousal.

Color Memory Is Significant: A recent study examined differences in peoples’ recall of words and memory for colors. Results show that people recall color to a higher degree. And when people were asked to recall objects versus color, color memory was significantly greater. Even when people attempted to remember words or objects, color had the greatest affect on recall.

Color Impacts Mood: Peoples’ color preferences affect moods and reactions positively or negatively. Think about it! Have you ever walked into a room and immediately felt uneasy, while in another room you felt joyful and upbeat, and in yet another place you feel drained and down? Chances are the predominant colors influenced your mood and attitude even more than you realize.

Findings on color:

Dark Blue – associated with night, often leads to passivity.

Blue and Green – calming – blue is the most preferred color across cultures

Red and Orange – arousing

Red – may stimulate excitement and is used to light gambling casinos

Pink – interestingly calmed inmates in institutions

For more information on color choices see colors that attract.

Color Impacts Branding: Grossman and Wisenblit warn organizations to be wary in choosing a color to brand your product since past color associations influence consumers and can interfere with marketer’s intents. For instance, outdoor colors, such as green and blue, are associated with sporting goods stores and even though red may stimulate approach behavior in general, it may not be appropriate for retail environments though it works well for lighting casinos. One great branding example is Owens Corning's choice of pink to denote its fiberglass insulation brand. As a next step they included the Pink Panther image to signify a hip and cool product. In so doing, they created their own color association and developed an image around it. Potentially, such a strategy holds long-term benefits as the Supreme Court has ruled that a particular color can serve as a defensible trademark for a product.”

Color Preferences Change: A shift in color preferences is predicted to make an impact in the 21st century. Predictions indicate there’ll be a strong emphasis on blue, with an array of neutrals to complement it such as gray, taupe and pale brown. Soft pale colors like aqua will likely dominate.

Color Affects Consumer Decisions: Though color may appear as a relatively unimportant product attribute, intriguingly, it may play a more important role in decision making affecting purchases that are trivial versus purchases that affect status or ego. A few studies indicate when competing products are not seen as vastly different, colors may affect customers’ behavior even more for everyday purchases than for high ticket goods that influence ego.

Research shows people make up their minds to buy within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products. About 62-90 percent of the assessment is based on colors alone.

OK, what colors will you choose to brand your product and attract customers?

And, folks how might this discussion about the brain influence your next purchases?

Words Can Work for You and Not Against You!

Language Word Choice Linguistic Intelligence Active Words

Thought and language, which reflect reality in a way different from that of perception, are the key to the nature of human consciousness… A word is a microcosm of human consciousness. Lev Vygotsky (1962) Thought and Language

Do you ramble, create an impressionist lens, circle around the "back 40 acres?" Keep in mind the average reader spends about seven seconds on a blog, so experts encourage us to “say much in few words.” How can words in your blog work for you and not against you?

Why not take advantage of an easy strategy to lift the quality of your writing and eliminate empty words and phrases? Use active verbs as much as possible! What do I mean?

Review your blog or website to see how many times you use the following words: is, are, was, were, has been, have been, will be. These words bore readers. Why not become a more dynamic writer?

Try this simple process. Before editing I wrote:

John is good with words.

Please note the change:

John molds words like a potter.

A second example:

Blogs are a great way to express ideas globally.

Blogs express great ideas globally.

Note vitality when you use active verbs? Why not try replacing your boring, static verbs with active verbs? First, write creatively and then use this tool as you proof your work. If you proof as you write, you short circuit creative ideas.

Use this writing strategy to strengthen your verbal linguistic intelligence. The more you use this strategy, the more your brain rewires and builds dendrites so that using active verbs becomes second nature.

How do words in your blog work for you and not against you?

Why Develop Skills in A New Intelligence?

Intelligences Arts Technology Writing

Many folks are hired for strong skills in one intelligence. For instance, some folks daily demonstrate amazing technological skills, a logical-mathematical intelligence. Have you ever considered that developing other intelligences such as the arts or writing could give you an edge in technological work? --an edge that others recognize beyond your workplace?

Erikso has a fun blog to visit. He’s a technological genius, but I also love the artistic flair he often brings to his work. What fun to explore his latest posts! Today as I ventured over, I found an amazing video demonstrating, “hands as cymbals,” a great mix of arts and technology! Human Drums is a project by Mr. Tetsuaki Baba.

Erikso explains this arts/technology phenomenon, “I am of the opinion that the way we separate art from technology today is bad for creativity. And bad for engineering. And bad for problem solving. Here at Siggraph one of the great attractions each year is the art exhibition. Where art meets technology. Just like back in the good old days of guys like Leonardo da Vinci.”

Of the many pieces Erikso created, he says that "My own best attempt to combine technology and something that quite a lot of people interpreted as art has to be The Video of the Seasons in Norway."

A second blogger I stop by to learn from is Marshall Sponder, who frequently approaches technology as an artist. His webmetricsguru blog sometimes steps you through cave art, a walk through a museum and sometimes his own paintings. I enjoy nipping by Marshall’s site now and then to see what’s up with both art and technology. He recently began a blog, focusing on arts in New York City which is even more intriguing. You would enjoy his recent posts on technology to shape photography into new art forms.

A third blogger, Dr. Ellen Weber, has strong verbal-linguistic skills and she decided to develop technological skills to enable her to be a proficient blogger. Though this was challenging, she sees daily progress. Now she uses technological skills added to her strong creative writing abilities to attract more readers to her blog. In fact she has been recognized at Business Pundit, BlogBurst, QN QnA, I Can’t Say That!, ConverStations, Manage to Change, Brain Injury News and Information Blog, Leading Questions, Keeping Your Brain Healthy: Brain/FX, What Would Dad Say, SpotBack science section, Invention Marketing and Del.icio.us amongst others.

When you use more than one intelligence related to your work, you can achieve higher results, recognized by leaders, than when you rely on just your strongest. Perhaps you are strong in technology, but you have not developed yourself as a writer or you have not dipped into the arts. Have you ever considered that developing more of your intelligences gives you an edge at your current work or prepares you for that “dream job” you’d really like to have?

How about setting up an action plan to develop skills in another intelligence in ways that could benefit you?

What Will Be The Long Term Effect of New Drugs On Returning Soldiers?

Ellen Weber had asked, “What else can we do to help injured troops restore their minds…” Recent news reveals new drugs for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder may offer hope as they work to blunt veterans’ painful memories.

Typically, if you have an intense traumatic experience, such as combat in which buddies are shot in front of your eyes, that memory is etched in your brain forever. Currently, large numbers of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan experience trauma from battle. According to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine of trauma victims experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and at least six out of every ten solders returning from Iraq suffer from PTSD.

Good news is that scientists have been “testing a pill that, when given after a traumatic event like rape, may make the resulting memories less painful and intense.” On the other hand has this pill been tested enough to know the long term effects? Is it wise to administer pills that have been tested on small populations? There is much to ponder on both sides of this story.

Psychiatrist Hilary Klein could have offered it to a man who had apparently returned from war whom she treated at a St. Louis shelter over the Labor Day weekend. He had fled New Orleans and was so distraught over not knowing where his sisters were that others had to tell Klein his story.

“This man could not even give his name, he was in such distress. All he could do was cry,” she said.

To show how this new medication has been tested, Canadian and Harvard University researchers reveal, “the first study to test this approach on 19 longtime PTSD sufferers has provided early encouraging results.” A McGill University psychologist who heads the study claims that 10 more people are needed to show solid evidence.

There is also hope based on other studies. University of California neurobiology researchers show that brain protein may be linked to depression. James McGaugh and Larry Cahill are searching for the connection between brain protein and depression. They show that “memories, painful or sweet, don’t form instantly after an event but congeal over time. Like slowly hardening cement, there is a window of opportunity when they are shapable. During stress, the body pours out adrenaline and other “fight or flight” hormones that help write memories into the “hard drive” of the brain.” Here’s how the PTSD research is currently shaping:

Propranolol can blunt this. It is in a class of drugs called beta blockers and is the one most able to cross the blood-brain barrier and get to where stress hormones are wreaking havoc. It already is widely used to treat high blood pressure and is being tested for stage fright.

Dr. Roger Pitman, a Harvard University psychiatrist, did a pilot study to see whether it could prevent symptoms of PTSD. He gave 10 days of either the drug or dummy pills to accident and rape victims who came to the Massachusetts General Hospital emergency room.

In follow-up visits three months later, the patients listened to tapes describing their traumatic events as researchers measured their heart rates, palm sweating and forehead muscle tension.

The eight who had taken propranolol had fewer stress symptoms than the 14 who received dummy pills, but the differences in the frequency of symptoms were so small they might have occurred by chance — a problem with such tiny experiments.

Still, “this was the first study to show that PTSD could be prevented,” McGaugh said, and enough to convince the federal government to fund a larger one that Pitman is doing now.

Meanwhile, another study on assault and accident victims in France confirmed that propranolol might prevent PTSD symptoms.

I sense there is great hope for our returning troops but I have questions about how fast we should jump in to provide these precious men and women medications that are based on research studies with small numbers of participants involved and which have not been studied for long term effects.

Get Out Your Sneakers for Your Brain’s Sake!

Exercise Brain Health Breathing

We all know we should exercise more… but have you ever considered that exercise affects how your brain will be functioning when you’re older? I don’t know about you, but when I’m older I don’t want to see myself sitting in a nursing home with my head drooped onto my chest because of low mental functioning. OK, what can we do?

Breathe a sigh of relief because you can do plenty to increase your brain's efficiency according to some of the latest research findings. One way is to fight against hypertension. Hypertension silently impacts brain functioning. Research shows that high blood pressure, or hypertension, is at the root of much cognitive decline that has previously been attributed to aging.

You might find yourself amongst the estimated 65 million Americans who have high blood pressure, putting you at increased risk of dementia amongst a host of other physical problems. OK, what to do? Dr. David Anderson has several suggestions to overcome High Blood Pressure.

A fascinating approach is to practice deep breathing. You can begin by trying to take just 10 breaths a minute right at your desk. Were you able to do it? Keep trying throughout your day and develop a routine! Deep breathing can boost your brain’s output right on the job!

As far as I’m concerned, I’m putting on my sneakers and exercising today and at least four other days this week, but in the meantime I’m going to take fewer breaths as I work at my computer! And I’m giving up those tempting chips! You?

…In the meantime sure to stay in touch with your doctor and keep taking meds!

Why Are Some Folks Cranky When They Waken?

Cranky Brain Waves Sleep

How many of you wake up feeling in-sync first thing in the morning? I’m suspecting a great many of you do not. Fact is, some friends tell me they feel cranky first thing in the morning? What causes early morning “cranks?”

Interestingly, feeling out of sorts first thing in the morning might have more to do with the brain than it does with feelings or emotions, though out-of sync brain waves can affect your feelings.

What actually happens? As you fall asleep, your brain waves move down from the more active waves where we operate in the day, beta, alpha or theta to the delta, or slowest waves.

And, there’s more to sleep than you might think. Harvard researcher, Lawrence Epstein, distinguishes “sleep architecture.” He describes two different types of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM or quiet sleep. And, these two types of rest are as different as night from day! Quiet sleep has been defined as "an idling brain in a movable body," since thinking and most physiological activities slow, but movement still occurs. On the other hand, intense brain activity often associated with dreams occurs during REM sleep.

When some folks waken, they try to move faster than their brain waves are moving, especially if rock music jars them out of quiet sleep. This abrupt, unsettling change leads to “crankiness.” I suspect that “hyper” folks experience this out-of-sync sensation often, but now can understand why. So, what to do?...

Grab that newspaper and mug of coffee or something else you enjoy, like tune into ambient music or watch the birds at your feeder for a few minutes, while your brain waves catch up! Brain friendly activities are in sync with slower brain waves.

Meantime, I’ll guard against going to work as a “crank!” You?