Expect Top Possibilities?

Expect Possibilities

What specific dividends do you expect today? Yes, even in the face of problems that defeat people around you. Life tends to take a forward leap – toward new possibilities anticipated, for those who act on what could be. Despite naysayers and doubters, the brain kicks into gear in response to expectations. While it took a solo flight to reach her top prediction, one high school kid Hani, simply ran toward the best and remained solidly in the direction of her dream, until it materialized.

A poor Indonesian girl in dog-eared clothes, waited till she spotted a teacher in the parking lot of an elite Indonesian school. Hani approached the teacher, and in a soft voice asked, "Could you help me with English?" Jamie Winship, an idealistic young English teacher, saw courage in the girl’s approach, especially since she likely knew this school shunned under-privileged Indonesian students.

When Jamie asked why Hani wanted to improve her English, she responded without a pause, …” to attend American university." Moved by the young girl's raw boned dream, Jamie agreed to meet after school. The language lesson extended into months, as Hani refused to waver no matter how much work it took. As soon as she finished her regular school day, she rode the bus for an hour to work on new English lessons that Jamie prepared. Not only did Hani’s study habits outrank top efforts in the elite school, she pushed herself to master the basics in college level English. Hani stuck to a daily grind of meeting every challenge that English raised between her expectations to attend a US college and her underprivileged station in life.

By focusing on possibilities Hani harnessed creativity enough to act on them. In this way she rewired her brain for more of the same. Luckily human brains reshape by what you do in a day, so that regardless of setbacks, a finer big picture can shape and drive expectations.

As customary, new scholarship opportunities arrived in Jamie's mail. As she read vast requirements, Jamie feared Hani had no hope to qualify. She could not list an involvement in clubs or sports. Hani's school had none. Jamie mentioned the scholarship to Hani, and at the same time told her to plan more "realistically" for her future. Hani looked somberly at Jamie as she ran through the fine print, and when Jamie finished, she asked her mentor to submit her name. When naysayers doubt your chances, do your expectations hold?

Jamie didn’t have the heart to turn down Hani, and though she explain the truth about Hani's academic life, she also described on the application, Hani's courage and willingness to work for what she expected.

Jamie then prepared Hani to take an English Fluency test, in Jakarta. That meant Hani needed to learn to use computers, in spite of never having touched one before.

On the test day, a letter from the university arrived in Jamie's mailbox. Jamie thought it was a cruel time to receive a rejection letter, but to prepare Hani for the disappointment, she read the letter out loud. Hani had been accepted! Jamie was ecstatic and leaped for joy around the room. This bewildered Hani, who sat quietly smiling – watching.

Jamie learned something that day, that Hani had known all along.

As I read Hani's story in Chicken Soup for the College Soul, I was inspired and energized by Hani’s reward for sticking to possibilities expected, rather than focusing on problems. Yesterday, as Dr. Ellen Weber and I responded to new contacts, and moved the MITA Center forward, we made top progress. Today, we expect more of the same despite rough spots in the current recession. What do you expect, and what step today would start you in that direction?

Stick to It - You Can Do It!

If you're going to achieve anything, you've got to stick with something. ... it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein

My eight-year-old Toshiba laptop died last week. A 14" light, Toshiba Satellite, with long lasting battery power fit my needs to a T. But, its systems were new and unfamiliar. My basal ganglia, the brain's storehouse for memory was full of patterns that were familiar and comfortable. In trying to get new email operating smoothly as in past, I fought against data systems that did not allow me to insert needed information. Everything was totally different. The fight to work with the new laptop's systems taxed my brain to the utmost.

You see I had begun to work in my brain's working memory. Trying to get everything up and running caused much discomfort since all was new and unfamiliar. When I reached that point, I set everything aside to come back at a later time when I could think more clearly. Then, I worked a chunk at a time so that I did not get overwhelmed.

This morning a technician gave me a hand to convert my Outlook Express mail to Windows Live Mail. Expert help lifts us over the bumps. I can already see advantages to the new.

Our brains have great plasticity. We can accomplish things never before accomplished by using parts of your brain never before used. ~ Ellen Weber

Act Opposite to Feelings - Kindness Counts

Kindness is acknowledging the judgmental voice and dismissing it so to have an authentic, present conversation with a loved one [or colleague].  Kat Tansey

To do the opposite of what you're feeling goes against the grain especially when another person is set in her ways or he is mad at you.  Turning things upside down frequently involves going against common sense and your intuition all at once.

Hard...? You bet!

Doable?  It can be done...  because the brain holds plasticity and can rewire.  Good news is that fresh experiences lead to neuron growth even in maturity.  The brain rewires itself following such an experience. As you focus more on that disagreeable person's good qualities and act kindly, the more these actions are rewired into your brain's basal ganglia.

Ellen Weber suggests we need to snip our amygdala, when temper flares. 

Even today, you might feel the sting of words spoken by a trusted colleague, open a card from a family member and find any affection obvious from its absence, or encounter a person you care for who makes plans that deliberately exclude you. Each encounter that stings, rejects, criticizes, or diminishes you also locks steel jaws onto your amygdala. Luckily though, jaws that create intense emotional pain, can also become a trigger to snip your amygdala before you snipe back and intensify the damage. How so?

Rather than judge a culprit’s motives, regret your own weaknesses, or focus on deciphering what that person could be saying in meta-messages spoken, simply snip away. Sure, use good tone, and name the problem honestly rather than deny it exists, but then take mental scissors to snip your well being from any tethers to maligning words or thoughtless acts. The snipping leaves you mentally in a place to grow from the experience, or even offer an olive branch in response – rather than in a place of depression.

When someone nose dives into your well-being, it can cause pain in the chest.  But, showing simple acts of social kindness can blunt the brain’s response and lead pain to subside.  Act opposite that nudge to put out a person's lights and watch your own brain reignite.

Change begins within...  Kindness counts!

Stretch Past Ability Myths

"…I opened the page and scrolled all the way down to the bottom of the page, expecting to see ourselves in the last 10 positions for the Best Coaching Blogs 2009," Frederique Murphy relates…

"As you know this is not where we had been ranked at, but that is where I first looked. That means that for a quick second or two, my little voice (yes, you know that one…!) had decided that there was no way I could be anywhere else other than the bottom of that list."

If you entered a contest and received results in an email, would you first look at the top or bottom to see where you ranked? Please take a minute to complete the poll you see just to the right of this blog.

Frederique says she quickly interrupted the pattern -- of seeing herself as lesser than and began to look at the top in the belief that she truly could rank at the top.

Evidently over time, Frederique had wired into her brain she was not in the top ten for accomplishing a big goal, such as writing one of the 10 Best Coaching Blogs 2009. No doubt the mindset that she might not be right at the top began in childhood. She's not alone according to research.

I can relate to this because I developed a similar mindset through varied experiences K-12. For instance, I was one of the last players chosen for any of the kickball teams all through elementary school. So I began to think of myself as not good in sports. Do you relate to this as well? Though, a late bloomer, I took up golf and have played tournaments and won... in my 60's!

Thinking of ourselves as "lesser than," when it comes to performance, is but one of the many myths we create in our brain about our capabilities. Myths such as this one are wired into our brain's basal ganglia, the storehouse of patterns and routines we experience daily over time. The number of times we wire these into our brain, the more deeply entrenched the belief. Dr. Ellen Weber explains this myth in relation to beliefs about learning and performance...

MYTH: Some things are impossible for some people to learn or perform well, in reasonable time limits.
Reality: Hook even difficult facts onto one thing you know already and learning or doing new skills increases in less time.

Frederique said she listened to the little voice for one or two seconds... the voice that told her to look at the bottom.

All of us face situations when we revert back to patterns and routines stored in our brain's basal ganglia. Frederique points out that she stopped her glance quickly, to glance at the top of the list. As a coach, she was very mindful about what was happening. So she immediately changed her unthinking first move to look for her name at the top of the winners list, fully showing her confidence.

Rather than allowing our minds go into autopilot when doing something, we can instead take thoughtful actions... that transform.

Good news is that the human brain has great plasticity so that enables us to change habits or beliefs about ourselves that we formed long ago. The more you do something in the opposite direction, the more you rewire your brain for the new. Stretch and go for it!

If you have a story to add or comments, please do comment. I'd welcome your thoughts.

Challenge Your Brain to Learn Spanish

"Does it matter when, during the day my Spanish lessons get the greatest benefit from brain plasticity at night?" Lisa Haneberg asked on Twitter. I answered, "the brain is more likely to work on last things in your mind just before bed. Give it problems regarding your Spanish and it works on solutions overnight."

Since you and many business leaders learn Spanish and other languages, you'd be interested in additional brain based tips to enhance the process and your retention.

Think of words as belonging to clusters of meaning Daniel Tammett, a savant, offers savvy tips about learning a language in Scientific American Mind (April, 2009).

For languages, I think of words as belonging to clusters of meaning so that each piece of vocabulary makes sense according to its place in my mental architecture for that language. In this way, I can easily discern relations between words, which helps me to remember them.

Sleep strengthens memory and learning

"Sleep consolidated learning by restoring what was lost over the course of a day following training and by protecting what was learned against subsequent loss," said Howard Nusbaum, Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago...The results demonstrate that this consolidation may help in learning language processes such as reading and writing.

Sleep boosts ability to learn a language. In an earlier study University of Chicago of Chicago professors found that...

Ability of students to retain knowledge about words is improved by sleep, even when the students seemed to forget some of what they learned during the day before the next night's sleep.

Teach Others As you Learn for Higher Rentention Dr. Ellen Weber shares a learning pyramid which shows that when you teach others Spanish as you learn it, you will retain more. What about volunteering to help teach an English as a Second Language (ESL) or English Language Learner (ELL) in a local school or local Chamber of Commerce? It would help you and help a Spanish speaker learn English as you gain the kind of proficiency you desire.

Stretch past what you think you can do and brain rewires The more you work with the Spanish language and use it in many contexts, the more your brain will rewire for using it. Lisa had mentioned this in her initial Twitter message. The brain has great plasticity, as Dr. Ellen Weber points out, enabling you to push forward and achieve new goals such as learning a new language.

Invite a Spanish speaker to your home for a meal. By extending hospitality to someone who might live in your vicinity, you may develop a relationship so that you are invited into that person's home. You will then get a good grasp of the culture, which may include music, art, and learning about the things they value. This enhances your language learning.

And here's an added benefit to you for pushing yourself to learn Spanish, Lisa...

Learning and using a second language can slow the aging process in your brain Senior citizens who speak more languages test for better cognitive functioning.

A person who speaks more languages is likely to be more clear-minded at an older age, Dr. Gitit Kavé, a clinical neuro-psychologist says, in effect “exercising” his or her brain more than those who are monolingual. Languages may create new links in the brain, contributing to this strengthening effect.

Lisa, you can see that your answer deserved a bit more depth. Added to your studies through Rosetta Stone, these activities should boost your brainpower to learn and retain Spanish.

Folks, if you know other strategies that work well to learn Spanish or any new language, please do share.

Why So Many Negative Attack Ads in Politics?

Negative political attack ads boil over on media these days. And, in election debate follow-ups, many news media channels point out half-truths and distortions. Ever wonder why seemingly decent people resort to so many half-truths and outright falsehoods? Negative political ads influence young voters most according to a report in the April issue of Journal of Consumer Research. You'd be intrigued by what happens...

Negative ads significantly impact the mind of registered voters aged 18-23 in comparison to positive ads, according to the research findings. Though negatives are distasteful, they carry enough weight to change preference and behavior of younger minds.

Thus, "successful politicians rely on the 'pervasive power of the particular,'" according to Frank McAndrew, in Scientific American Mind Oct/Nov, 2008. They build on anecdotes and personal narratives to make political points.

Trouble is, the more people hear stories repeated, they are more likely to accept them. And it's related to the plasticity of your brain. Here's why...

"Any act of remembering re-weights memories, tweaking them to try to be more adaptive for the next time you try to remember something," explains Anthony Wagner, Stanford Psychology researcher. "The brain is plastic—adaptive—and one feature of that is not just strengthening some memories but also suppressing or weakening others." Amazing that repetition, whether negative or positive, can reinforce and change memory.

No doubt you begin to see why the narratives displayed must be questioned and thoroughly researched. Repetition can otherwise trick the brain.

For a more thoughtful approach:

• Study what the candidates say about the issues
• Check the facts presented
• Watch several media news sources to get a bigger picture: Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, National Public Media
• Turn off the attack ads
  

What would you add to get the big picture and avoid persuasion through negative attack ads?

Find Oomph in Creative Editing!

Thoughtful comments filled the box following my post on why creativity shuts down if you stop to edit as you write. Want to find some excitement in editing? Joanna Young approaches editing creatively and offers refreshing tips to put a punch in your editing. Here're brilliant approaches to try...

Robyn, thanks once again for exploring some of the brain science behind this common complaint. Fascinating stuff as usual, though I'm curious - do you literally change hats? Or put an editor's hat on?

I think I might distinguish between the editor and the critic. Editing can actually be quite a creative task, just different from getting the words down. It can be enormously satisfying cutting, shaving and polishing so the best words show off in all their glory.

Or to put it another way, to cut the excess words and allow the natural rhythm of the piece to flow - to find the punch, the oomph, the unstoppable force which will leave your readers reeling

The critic I think of as the person who asks: is this a good idea? should it be written like this? now? or saved for later. Think on, think hard.

When things go skewiff is when we let the critic talk to us before we've written anything, because he (why does the critic appear as a he? well he does in my mind!)is likely to anticipate our very worst, mediocre, dull boring writing... and stop us writing anything

This gets worse when we compare our feeble efforts (not yet written) to the demands and expectations of our audience. It'll never be good enough, people will laugh... that is, we anticipate criticism

The way I get round this is to focus on my purpose. A positive purpose like: to express a powerful idea, to share some important news about brain research, to inspire someone, to let people know about the fantastic work we've been doing. Something that makes me feel positive, enthusiastic, and motivated. I keep focused on that, then let the words flow.

It's the most effective way I know to keep the critic at bay and let the writing job be done.

Gosh, that was a long comment, almost a post. I've been meaning to write a post on this, so might use this as the raw material for it. Thanks!

Joanna, thanks for taking your time to let us see editing from a whole new perspective. Writers who go skewiff might learn even more by asking purposful questions before putting pencil to paper...I know that they'd gain much from your series on how to ask purposeful questions. As you say it's a matter of knowing and being excited about our purpose. There's the crux of the issue.

I'll now approach writing and editing tasks with much more verve. What about you folks? Anyone who loves to play with words can learn to be a playful editor! After all, your brain has amazing plasticity so that we can develop new ways of doing tasks!

Do readers have additional ideas to edit more creatively?

Dance with Your Strengths!

What happened at your last performance review at work? Perhaps a manager started naming strengths, but zeroed in on "areas for improvement." And, once a deficiency's mentioned, likely an action plan follows... If you're like me, when your mind replays such a scene, all you recall is the weakness. Seems this dance is a bit out of step... Here's why...

People are much more intimately acquainted with their weaknesses, largely because evaluations throughout life — from grade-school report cards to job performance appraisals — are aimed at identifying and fixing weaknesses. Following "yearly reviews," most people do not think about "strengths," and how to tap talent since the mind tunes in to what's wrong and negatives. Do you find that the case?

Unfortunately, many people move from one "yearly fix" to the next, according to Tom Rath, never quite feeling satisfied at work because the dance shoes are too tight. In fact, Rath, best-selling author of Strengthsfinder 2.0, reports that out of 10 million people surveyed in the workplace, 7 million fall short of playing to their strengths according to Gallup research.

Added to that, another Gallup Poll found 69 percent of Americans aren't engaged at work, a sure sign most aren't employing their innate strengths according to Marcus Buckingham, senior vice president of the Gallup Organization and co-author of Now, Discover Your Strengths.

No doubt that leads to many grouches at work...

"The opinions of others exert especially strong influence on individual attitudes," according to Indiana University researchers, "when these opinions are negative." Even more important, "negative opinions cause the greatest attitude shifts, not just from good to bad, but also from bad to worse."

So, how do people shift from a lifetime focus on weaknesses rather than strengths?

You can literally shift your brain's focus. It takes targeting your strengths. The good news is that your brain has great plasticity, that is by changing old routines, you can begin to be the person you most want to be.

I'm more productive when I play with words and express ideas through images, which are two of my strongest intelligences. Best work comes when people tap strengths since the mind easily goes into "flow" and optimizes outcomes. Has been your experience? Here're strategies to get your gifts and talents up and running where you work.

Want to dance to a new tune? Step to the beat of the drum and see the big picture... More in the next post.