Reflect to Adjust and Change

Each of us does a lot of thinking daily, but some are more effective than others. "We all think about our own thoughts, feelings and decisions," Dr Steve Fleming of UK's University of London notes. "Even if we don't get feedback when we make a choice, we often know intuitively if it's a good or a bad decision," Fleming adds. Ever think about your own thinking?

Introspection, or deep reflection differs from decision-making or learning, which can be assessed by measuring improvement in the performance of a task, or whether choices are made correctly.

On the other hand, it would be hard for others to judge your reflective acumen since they may not necessarily see outward signs of improvement.

Want more intrapersonal intelligence? Dr. Ellen Weber, CEO of The MITA Brain Center, provides insights you can use to improve yours.

Leaders need intuitive brainpower for better decisions, common sense for keen insights, contentment in your own company, simple ability to laugh more on a busy day. Thanks to neurogenesis, we now know these intrapersonal traits (that grow novel leadership) also increase with use. Panic a bit too fast? Feel sidelined a bit too much? Run from risks or new adventures? Grow sad when others celebrate family ties without you? Leaders who enjoy a heaping dose of intrapersonal smarts, add contentment and turn tough challenges (such as attack from another) into opportunities to move forward without sinking.

Interestingly, people strong in intrapersonal intelligence have a bigger associated area in the brain.

You'll find additional insights about building courage, values, curbing anger, common sense, and coping in toxic work environments.

What if... and where to from here? Be the person you most want to be as you increase reflective wisdom to adjust and change.

Losing Your Ability to Concentrate?

My experience is what I agree to attend to William James

Easily distracted? Though many jobs require high concentration, psychologists are finding out that even when people try to focus on a task, they tend to lose concentration... within 40 minutes and sometimes as little as 10.

"You can drive yourself crazy trying to multitask and answer every e-mail message instantly," says Winifred Gallagher, author of Rapt, a guide to living a focused life.

Ever go to a coffee shop or a restaurant where there's a TV and find your eyes quickly diverting to something that catches your attention on the screen to take your focus away from your conversation with a work colleague? I've noticed that if I have TweetDeck on one computer monitor and my work on the other, my focus on work is soon disintegrated. Why is that?

When something bright or novel flashes, it tends to automatically win the competition for the brain's attention. Dr. Robert Desimone, M.I.T. neuroscientist, calls that "biased competition." He found that neurons in the prefrontal cortex, the brain's planning center, start oscillating in unison and send signals directing the visual cortex to heed something else. So if you're reading a book and a television commercial diverts you, you may not have enough resources left to focus on the words.

Why it's hard to multitask

Doing too much makes you slower and dumber

90% of American adults are multitasking. However, they may not be more productive since six out of ten agree they're "busier," but often feel like they get less done.

Multitasking is notoriously inefficient though at certain optimal times it can be efficient.

What helps increase focus then? Gallagher advocates

Meditation exercises

Concentrate on most important task of day during first 90 minutes at work

Use ear plugs to shut out distracting noises

I'd add three:

Play baroque music softly as you write or work

Turn off cell phone, TV and electronic gadgets

Use new and creative approaches for routine tasks

I want to spend every day very mindfully to accomplish work and find pleasure in it, too. Winifred Gallagher discovered she had cancer so she viewed time with new perspective.

How do you overcome distractions to accomplish your daily work?

Cartoon source: Ming.tv

Tune-in Tasks to Stay Mentally Fit

Distractions interrupt the brain's memory-making ability, especially in older brains. Twittering when trying to balance the bank book or reading? Annoying noises and other environmental disruptions can cause increased activation in certain regions that normally should be quieter or tuned down. So your memory processes can be short circuited...

Older brains show greater susceptibility according to a recent study at Canadian Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest. “The auditory cortex and prefrontal cortex, associated with external environmental monitoring, were idling too high," claims Dr. Dale Stevens. Interestingly, older brains processed too much irrelevant information from surroundings.

Researchers scanned brains of 12 younger adults and 12 older adults with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Both age groups looked at pictures of faces and later indicated which they recognized.

When both groups failed to recognize a face, the researchers saw decreased activity in the memory encoding regions of the brain, including the hippocampus.

However, when older participants looked at faces they later forgot, their brains showed increased activity in a region that should have been quiet during memory encoding – the auditory cortex, the part of the brain that processes sound in the environment. The older adults averaged 70 years old.

"This indicates that older adults were not able to suppress or filter out the noise of the fMRI machine," said Stevens. "We did not see this in the younger adults at all."

So what possible strategies might folks use to increase attentional skills? Here're 10 starters...

1. Play soft music in background while working since music moves your brain waves.

2. Choose baroque music to increase focus while working or studying

3. Outsource memory on daily planner - include last minute "to-do's."

4. Keep items in a specific place. Determine fixed place for keys at all times. For example, use belt hook or hook on purse. Never set items down willy-nilly.

5. Turn off cell phone while driving. In addition, avoid "deep conversations" since they take your brain off focus on road.

6. Avoid multi-tasking. Brain focuses well on one thing at a time, whether it be driving or writing.

7. Keep eyes on work tasks as you complete them to make sure all's truly finished and clutter removed, and tools returned to designated sites. Clutter exacerbates attentional problems.

8. Observe a person's face carefully and repeat name after introduction. Make mental note of an animal you might connect to that person. Ask the person a question about something s/he enjoys. That adds to a viable memory.

9. Look into person's eyes as you speak so your mind does not wander around the room.

10.Turn off TweetDeck and other techical devices that may interrupt during creative work times. Distractions shut down focus for creativity not matter your age.

Interestingly, as you look at this list, you can see that folks of all ages, teens to seniors, exerience interruptions throughout a day. What do you do target and tune-in, rather than tuning-out?

The Brain Behind "March's Child Is..."

How do you describe your personality? C.B. Whittemore challenged me to describe mine by using a list of traits connected to my birth month. Hmmm... wonder how a person's traits connect to the brain? It's fascinating!

C.B. inspired me by finesse she used to circumvent words that are "difficult" parts of a person's personality.

So here's...

March's Child is... from the brain's perspective.

Attractive personality. The great part is that we can hone our brains to become more the person we'd like others see in us. For instance, if I awaken cranky, I can turn that around by encouraging others rather than grousing. Ever tried that? The result... people react in positive ways. Choices help shape personality. And, there's more...

Sexy. Yes, the brain is very sexy to study and understand just a wee bit more... It also frames sexy in more energizing and exciting ways than the world or tabloids do.

Affectionate. Yes. Over time, I built many dendrite brain cells for affection and that quality's affirmed by those I love.

Shy and reserved. We each have hidden areas in our brain we'd like to probe more deeply and understand. Since I was shy as a child, I have been learning more from cognitive research about how shyness develops. Thankfully, the human brain has great plasticity, and by stretching to take "risks" I have wired a schema for more confidence in my brain's basal ganglia. Now, I'm able to interact easily with others during a conference.

Secretive. The human brain holds many mysteries, of which I am beginning to plummet the surface. As the brain yields some it's more enticing secrets, we can learn more of how the brain influences our choices. I'll keep you posted as I keep learning...

Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. The medial section of the brain's prefrontal cortex has been associated with empathy and regulation of negative emotion. Researchers are learning more... Over years I've learned that as I give away, I receive much pleasure. Hopefully I will rewire my brain in this direction over the next few years.

Loves peace and serenity. When I am in an environment with chaos or strife, it shoots Cortisol to my brain and disturbs mental peace. In the last few years as I've learned so much more about the brain's serenity, I use tactics to turn it around negative barbs, into positive high points.

Sensitive to others... Loves to serve others... As I help others, or extend hospitality around a meal, it brings a sense of calm and serenity to me. That's because it primes the pump of Serotonin, a chemical of well-being, to begin flowing through my brain.

Easily angered. When I miss a golf shot, I admit I used to get a little feisty. My first reactions to anger were emotional and the right side of my brain spun into a tailspin, preventing my logical left side to take over as quickly as I would want. Over time, I've learned how to combat the Cortisol that flows when I'm aroused by anger by tricking my brain as I focus it to a new area. This helps me step back and look into my logical left brain for a sensible response.

Trustworthy.Since I was raised in a loving family, in whom I built a deep sense of trust. By living what was modeled in my life, the schema for this is deeply embedded in my brain's basal ganglia.

Appreciative and returns kindness... Observant and assesses others.By practicing these qualities in our actions, we build a routine for that in the brain's hippocampus. Since these qualities are those I want to possess even more, I focus more on the way I react to others - to be sure that this happens. Because I do this, I am "using" this part of my brain and I am not apt to "lose" my sensitivity to others as I grow older.

Revengeful. Moody. Loves attention. Everybody's nature has two sides and there's much hope to guard against a proclivity for choices that go against the nature and personality we most want to develop. Fact is the less we use it, the more likely that brain cells we've built in this area will begin to die off. When you don't use it, you can actually "lose it" in part through death of brain cells. So personality traits you wish to diminish will take extra focus so that you do not react quickly through emotive responses.

Loves to dream and fantasize. We need to turn things around so dreams and fantasizing help people put together new possibilities. And, to insure I'm thinking logically, I take one extra step to "keep my feet on the ground."

Loves traveling. Seeing the world and working with people of many cultures stimulates my brain. At the same time it provides needed down time to be "good to me."

Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Often at first sight we are blind to another person's likes and dislikes. My marriage weathered differences because it is built on love trust, commitment, intimacy and attachment.

Loves home decors. Ambiance affects well-being.

Musically talented. Music is actually a mirror of the mind. Just to give you a snapshot of where I stand, in high school I played the trombone in Select Band, Dance Band, and Marching Band. I loved the unpredictability of the instrument.

Loves special things. The things I love don't cost money, since the best things in life "Come Cheap -- Even for Millionaires." I love a great talk with one of my grandsons or just spending time in nature, or working with leaders around the globe.

What about your personality traits? Here are the rules to step up and meet the challenge to describing you in relations to traits listed below for your birth month:

1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back.
2. Pick your month of birth.
3. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below).
4. Highlight the traits that apply to you and if you would like write some wit or not.
5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them.
6. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it!

I'm tagging folks in the list below along with readers and friends who're up to the challenge:

Al at 7P Productions

Ann at Manage to Change

Dan at Idea Sellers

Darlene at Interview Chatter

Galba at Tune Up Your EQ

Hsien Lei at Cotton-Pickin' Days

Jeanne at Writer's Notes

Laura at Writing Thoughts

Maria at Beauty Is Within

Rosa at Managing with Aloha Coaching

Scott at McArthur's Rant

Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace

List of traits used for each month...

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas.Difficult to fathom.Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

Fears Can Strike when Life's at the Peak

Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment. J. Donald Walters

Do you ever wake up at four a.m. with thoughts of losing your job or some other calamity that never materializes though things could not be better at work? Fears like this are incredulous. Once a worry takes hold in the night, it's hard to get more zzzzz's. That ever happen to you? I've experienced it at times.

Loss of sleep leaves me drained in the morning. The result - clear thinking eludes me on the job... My head seems cloudy on such days. Strange part is, life is really good and I don't have stingers that might bring fear. So, what's up?

Interestingly, many people live a good life, yet fall into a trap of fear or anxiety. These folks get the notion that when life is good, there's soon to be a downturn, something like going to the top of a roller coaster and then taking a plunge. Do you find you fall into the mindset of "What if..." in the night? You're not alone... In Psychology Today, Edward Hallowell notes that

Worry is amazingly common. At least one in four of us—about 65 million Americans—will meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder at some point in our lifetime. Even those individuals whose lives are going well may worry excessively on occasion.

At its worst, worry is insidious, invisible, a relentless scavenger, roaming the corners of your mind, feeding on anything it finds. It sets upon you unwanted and unbidden, feasting on the infinite array of negative possibilities in life, diminishing your enjoyment of friends, family, achievements, and physical being—all because you live in fear of what might go wrong. People who worry too much suffer. For all their hard work, for all their humor and willingness to laugh at themselves, for all their self-awareness, worriers just cannot achieve peace of mind.

Worries generally don't become realities Dr. Thomas Borkovec, Penn State University researcher discovered that fully 85 percent of the things we worry about never occur.

Reasons people worry "Worriers hope to gain a feeling of sureness," according to Robert L. Leahy, PhD, author of The Worry Cure. "They want to avoid disappointment or staunch a problem before it gets out of control."

Some folks worry because of low self esteem, Alexander Rich, PhD, finds... "Rather than attribute their successes to their lovableness, competence or skills, worriers may say, 'Well, I was lucky that time.' Or 'It's only because I worked 10 times harder than anyone else.' That kind of thinking leaves you feeling inadequate, whatever you accomplish."

On the opposite pole, some people fret because they think they have more control than in reality. Leahy says, "They believe everything is up to them... If you always think, What did I do wrong? you're probably giving yourself too much credit."

Anxiety Survey If you want to see exactly where you stand take the Psychology Today Anxiety Test

Fear and Worry in the Brain Ellen Weber notes that complex systems in the brain control your reactions to fear … research has been breaking the codes lately. Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging in London recently mapped out mental responses to show how the brain responds to different levels of fear.

The brain's response changes the closer a threat gets. Apparently, unique defense mechanisms are needed depending on the severity of the threat. When threats seemed more distant or less likely to strike brain activity was observed in lower parts of the prefrontal cortex.

This cortex area … just behind the eyebrows … increases activity during anxiety and helps control how you’ll respond to threats. When threats appear closer, your mental activity shifts to an area of the brain that operates more primitive responses – and this is where your brain helps you decide to run or fight.

Amygdala - Brain's emotional center Researchers are noting differences between fear and anxiety... Fear involves a quick hit-and-run process in the brain. Anxiety stirs a slower reaction that lasts a while. Studies show that different parts of the amygdala process anxiety versus fear.

Other research shows...

the amygdala can get information about the emotional significance of an event prior to our awareness of it. If you subliminally present faces expressing fear to subjects, the subjects aren't actually aware of seeing the faces, but the amygdala responds. This makes some sense evolutionarily, because if something is dangerous, you want to have an early-warning system.

Tactics to combat fears and worries... To get over fears and worries we need excellent tactics. Stay tuned for strategies...

What do you do when life is good and fears strike out of nowhere in the night?

Let's hear what works for you...

Top Photo from Flickr: Vaguely Worried Camgirl by merlinman