Say you find yourself working with peers who cling to obsolete turf. Or perhaps you’re stuck in a rut with a boring routine you feel helpless to change. In both cases you’ve likely defaulted to operating from your brain’s basal ganglia. which can make every action you do part of the “stuck… Read more »
Conflicts and clashes are as common at most workplaces as black coffee on Monday morning. If you’re looking to axe communication completely though, try ramping up curmudgeonese and then watch its magic spin. Bickering is usually where curmudgeons nail their hottest acts. Get to water coolers early to … 1. Fire your best missiles –… Read more »
To kindle new ideas takes circles of trust. Teams that consciously cultivate trust, open spaces for new ideas. The iPod’s inception, for instance, started with an innovative idea that Steve Jobs’ team kindled into revolutionized communication. Similarly, Fast Company’s awesome design moments unveiled original ideas that emerged from committed teams. Passionate communities, such as Apple and Fast Company, differ mentally from typical workplaces, just as brains of genius inventors vary from minds of complacent masses. How so? The brain’s hippocampus releases a shot of dopamine the brain chemical for kindling novelty.
What possibility will you choose? Look up first, but then leap forward. How could you advance with a new mantra?
Never say you can’t. Get on your bold. Try! What fuels your brain to take risks?
In the midst of downsizing, recession, and the hectic rush to keep current at work, we often wonder, “Where is our call?” “Where can we find mental calm that brings meaning to what we do? How can we become who we want others to see in us?” “What would guide us through deeper questions and the desire for more meaning, that makes sense of the inner labyrinth of our thoughts, feeling and emotions?”
Mita-One-Minute-Mind-Move
These questions point to our deep desire to live mindfully, and open possibilities for clarity and purpose at work.
Imagine a workplace where you design & implement an innovation the world craves. Meetings where you play with what if … kinds of challenges. Yet innovation isn’t ideas delivered in talks, but it’s a design you invent, lead, and perfect. How will you stack the deck today for more creative risks?
Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chair, challenged leaders in today’s Associated Press, for US organizations to view a new economy with stronger job creation. Bernanke warned the White House to come up with a plan for job creation. Since the unemployment rate sneaked up to 9.5 per cent it’s a critical… Read more »
1. Trust builds the kind of chemical and electrical circuitry that sparks confidence and intelligence. A lifetime gift! No wonder The King’s Speech is winning top awards, as it showcases the trust lost in many circles, craved by most and often regal in its healing and growing power when present…. Read more »
The human brain comes with unique equipment to build and sustain new neuron pathways from old habits to new innovations. It’s really about moving from STUCK to UNSTUCK! (Can you identify with this video?) When mentoring leads to mind-guiding then we both teach new neuron paths and learn them from… Read more »
Heaven or Havoc? Which of these characters work with or in you? Serotonin Sam: “Feelin’ good – hey guys you’re welcome to share, anytime.” Cortisol Carol “Touch my stuff and you die!” Plasticity Patty: “Glad to know I can still nail this new knack at any age.” Amygdala Arnie: “They… Read more »
Take advantage of recent neuro-discoveries and that illusive growth you’re looking for tends to follow far faster. Have you seen it happen? Think of plasticity as the brains ability to change itself, based on what we do. Think of chemicals such as dopamine as the risk-taking adrenalin that moves us… Read more »
If you believe violent videos don’t create violent cultures, or constant terrorism talk doesn’t chill human brains, you’d likely also deny that fear creates frantic financial failures too. Fact is, it’s doing just that. In reality, financial experts increasingly warn us that fear can drain an economy, and it makes… Read more »
Only after you hit unethical walls raised by scorn from the cynic, do you value freedom flights toward its opposite – the curious mind. I’m speaking of that chronically negative person, who expresses disdain for innovative ideas, where stressed brains rely on habit and distrust reigns. For Russel Lynes, cynicism’s… Read more »
Experts tell us that when the going gets rough – brain chemicals get going. My question is, Do they move you into calm or chaos? If you’ve ever felt your amygdala heat up when a person upsets you – or if you’ve basked in inspiration of genuine encouragement, you also… Read more »
Did you know that your brain’s equipped to change rapidly and to biologically reshape itself through chemical and electrical activity? Or that plasticity will sizzle brain power into any task? This brain trick can speed up learning or jump start successes most people crave, and yet too often miss out… Read more »
Unfortunately, both drug addicts and obese people show reduced numbers of D2 dopamine receptors in the brain’s reward areas, compared to people with healthier appetites. Researchers suggest that fewer receptors is the brain’s attempt to compensate for the repeated surges of dopamine stimulation with drugs or food. It more a matter of balance though, than of simply decreasing dopamine. Why so?