What can neuroscientists and athletes teach us about reality?

How to choose more effectively!

Nobel-prize winning neuroscientist, Dr. Gerald Edelman, says “we must look at all acts of perception as acts of creativity.”  In other words, we create the reality we’re facing by the way we choose to perceive what’s happening.

Neurobiologist William Calvin, in his book, The Cerebral Symphony says “We create the world we see: We surely modify it with experience, but it’s an invented world.  How we emotionally react to something may, in turn, affect how we see it in the future.” 

World-class athletes echo these themes when they say that their greatest asset is a “short memory.”  These athletes quickly forget both their successes and failures.  They realize that flawless performances and failed attempts are both merely fleeting moments in time.  Dwelling on either their successes or failures can only accomplish one thing – limiting their future success. 

How do these athletes develop a short-memory?  The answer lies in William Calvin’s quote above; it’s the word “emotionally.”  It’s not that these athletes are devoid of emotion.  Indeed, anyone who has watched a sporting event knows how high emotions run before, during and immediately after the game.  The key to these athletes’ success is that they are able to quickly set aside those emotions and focus their attention on the next shot, the next play or the next game. 

Conversely, many of us behave as if we are bipolar when it comes to dealing with our emotions.  We’re reluctant to let go of the emotional highs we experience when things go well.  We find it equally difficult to pull ourselves out of the throes of disappointment when our attempts fail.  In essence, we create realities of incredible joy or staggering disappointment.

Now imagine what your reality would be if you chose to view your successes as affirmation that you’re on the right path and your failures as guideposts directing you back onto the path.  Wouldn’t life be a lot more enjoyable if you could consistently maintain these mindsets?  Isn’t that a reality you’d choose for yourself if you simply knew how?

It’s counter-intuitive that, while we can’t avoid emotional reactions, we can limit the amount of time we spend in any given emotional state.  How?  By first recognizing that we are being emotional, then choosing to set that emotion aside so that we can focus our attention on the next thing we need to do to enjoy even greater success.  This simple two-step process helps you choose a reality that minimizes the periods of self-doubt, fear and anxiety all of us experience and replaces them with a “can do” mindset that makes life a lot more fun and exciting.  The choice is yours.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 3, Suspend Judgment, to demonstrate how emotions form judgments which, in turn, determine the reality you experience.   I also employed Step 6, Eclectic Education, to offer insights from two different disciplines, neuroscience and sports, to support my point.  Finally, I used Step 4, Seeing Similarities, to show how two different disciplines reach the same conclusion.

You can learn more about the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program and how it can help you deal with the business challenges you face by clicking on http://www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm

Please share your thoughts, whether you agree or not, by posting a comment.  If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

Each of us has a natural propensity for discovering solutions to problems…

…what’s yours?

In his book, The Cerebral Symphony, William Calvin notes that in the scientific community there are experimenters and synthesizers.  Experimenters are people who exploit new techniques for looking deeper into whatever question they’re investigating. 

Conversely, synthesizers take the vast array of discoveries from a variety of disciplines to piece together a holistic view of the way things work.  Calvin goes on to say that, while both approaches contribute to scientific progress, few scientists employ both.

What does that have to do with you?  First it affords new insights into the way you prefer to work – your natural style.  Here’s a quick question to gauge your preference.  Given a choice of projects would you prefer to tear apart a process to discover ways to improve it or would you rather gather information from someone who has done that analysis and use it to establish new procedures? 

Some people enjoy the investigative intrigue problem-solving affords.  Others prefer to learn from others and use that knowledge to get ahead of the curve by establishing new policies and procedures to avoid the problem in the future.

It’s counter-intuitive, but awareness of your natural style (experimenter or synthesizer) and the style of your colleagues prefer, can help you, your boss and your team enjoy greater success.  Helping guide the delegation of tasks based on natural preferences can increase job enjoyment, reduce cycle times and dramatically improve results now and in the future.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to demonstrate how to import insights and ideas from other disciplines.  In this case I drew from the field of neurophysiology.  I also employed Step 4, Seeing Similarities, to apply those insights to business.

As you share these insights at work don’t forget Step 2, The Persuasion Myth.  Your natural tendency will be to try to convince your colleagues and boss how valuable this approach is.  The more you try to persuade them the more resistance you’ll get. 

Step 2, The Persuasion Myth, suggests that you share the concept with your colleagues, then ask them how they think this approach could be used in your organization.  You’ll find that they’re more likely to embrace the concept once they’ve had a chance to do their own evaluation of it.

You can learn more about the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program and how it can help you deal with the business challenges you face by clicking on http://www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm

Please share your thoughts, whether you agree or not, by posting a comment.  If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.