Posts under ‘stress’

Government Funds Promote Failing Secondary Schools
People say stimulus money simply creates new layers of bureaucracy that prolong broken secondary school programs. My question is: How will the White House Campaign to Promote Science and Math Education support teens to climb new mental  peaks?  Will successful schools proliferate through fast growing charters?
President [...]

Ever notice how Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to bring out blues in some and blessings in others? Or how lonely people see vast spaces between themselves and others – even at festive  holiday tables?
First glances  show people blessed with close family and  friends feel blessed over holidays while those alone feel abandoned. Not so. Loneliness [...]

What makes MITA renewal so different from other top leadership and learning improvement models?

Thanks to Dr. Robyn McMaster’s masterful handiwork with cameras and talented online solutions, we’re able to carry on the MITA renewal conversation I’d been looking forward to for some time. Hope you’ll jump in to share your renewal stories, so we can [...]

When you rev up mental equipment daily to either sink or swim, you discover how creativity and curiosity will trump criticism and intimidation. How then can you experience mental power in settings where no brain is left behind?
One friend and fellow leader Dave Caiazza, put it this way:

Work against the dangerous twins of jealousy and [...]

Yesterday,  on a walk in the woods with a gifted young leader, I once again saw his ethics, openness and willingness to become vulnerable in order to learn new skills. Without notice a mountain biker appeared on our winding path and startled my friend’s dog Jack, who in return snapped at the bikers feet. The [...]

Conflict strikes all of us with about 22 stressors on a normal day. So why do some take stressors in stride well yet others snap back?
Recent research puts new emphasis on breathing deep when stressors hit. A deep breath helps you to tame the amygdala triggers for emotional outbursts.
Take a few more deep breaths [...]

It’s now believed that you have both angel and devil brain parts and these two forces stay in consistent battle for your actions. Do you agree? Researchers looked at activity in the brain for healthy and unhealthy food choices and what they found may surprise you.
Angel brain parts help people to consider abstract decisions such [...]

Each step to renew your workplace ethically and with the brain in mind – casts lights on mental barriers that prevent change in stagnant organizations. How so?
To rethink old approaches is also to take a stand against Hebbian hardwired thought that defaults back to ruts and routines.
To upgrade motivation and achievement at secondary or higher [...]

Conflict grows perilous for those who lack brainpowered tools, yet disagreement’s add linchpins of growth for those equipped with sharp mental tactics. 
Watch warfare where you work and you’ll likely see 1 of 10 instigators:
1. Angry folks show few skills to tame their amygdala.
2. Stubborn people often lack mental ability to let it go.
3. Fearful [...]

Ever shifted locations, and noticed new solutions to problems as a result?  Or have new ethical insights added zest to a project after a redesigned workspace? If so, you’ll be interested in research about buildings as mental stimulants for creativity and productivity. Have you seen it?
It makes sense since IQ comes from your gene pool [...]

Tone takes you deeper into any topic because it allows the other sides to emerge without persecuting people who express differences. Tone’s also the honesty you speak about hot spots, and the calm respect you show to those who disagree. But can good tone come in tough times? Or can it define those who excite [...]

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 the pseudo-intellectual’s substitute for intelligence. For [...]

Have you ever wondered why some people appear more attracted to nature than others?  Or did you know that your brain comes with its own unique naturalistic intelligence?  Nature teaches people how to live life to the fullest, by providing lessons from an outside environment, to extend mental growth. You may relate patterns that show [...]

Have you ever observed a skilled facilitator use tone tools to turn around a tough situation? Tone skills open mental gateways both to speak ethically and to feel heard. They also communicate respect across differences, and find winning solutions within opposing views. What’s your tone IQ?
People who engage others, through tone practices that support and [...]

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 know a brain’s hormonal force. [...]

Imagine a climate of peace, with language that inspires, and people who cheer on your talents. Would you agree that peace would have been a better plan than war in most cases you’ve observed? Not a passive peace, but a robust plan where many angles from different viewpoints move forward together on common ground. Have [...]

During my two years on Baffin Island, up near Greenland, while teaching for McGill University, I both slept more and ate more during dark months where we saw no sunlight at all. Likely your shifts from light to dark are less extreme, but nevertheless, the brain’s reactions to daytime darkness cause intense problems for many [...]

You start your day with fresh coffee aromas, serotonin spikes a sense of well being in response, and a warm muffin tops off your shot at winning on another day.  Energized by a good sleep,  creativity stoked,  you’re set for career adventures people only dream of attaining. Life is good.
Suddenly stuff hits your path!  No,”hit” [...]

Your hardest hitting efforts fall short of others’ expectations.  Fun melts away like ice cream on a scorching afternoon. It’s too cold, or too hot for, but rarely right. Health suffers and anxiety spikes. Would peers describe you as perfectionist? If so, you’re likely habitually late, and likely armed with excuses that could set death [...]

Life-changing answers will come more from progressive innovators,  than from leaders who languish in stress and former failures.
Have you seen it too?
A brainpower boom is on the horizon for a rejuvenated global economy,  and it’s already touching daily lives. Will you be on board with the best brains out there to help usher in mind-bending [...]