Add life-changing brainpower through 25 recent facts from the brain sciences:
1. Boredom is more a habit formed in brains, and shaped by your choices, than a reality.
2. Environment counts, and a healthy setting helps people transform problems into solutions.
3. Well being comes partially from and is fueled and extended by serotonin chemical hormones.
4. Anger, fear, and frustration are fueled and extended by cortisol chemical hormones.
5. Venting is bad for the brain and creates new neuron pathways to much more of the same.
6. Dendrite brain cells use the outside world and take shape, or grow based on what you do.
7. Music changes brain wave speeds in ways that impact moods and alter productivity.
8. Lectures and talks work against listeners’ brains and benefit speakers’ intelligence mostly.
9. Hebbian workers rewire their brains to kill incentives, limit focus or even shrink their brains.
10. Diversity training commonly works mentally against benefits because of its deficit model.
11. Brain waves can bring either sleep or peak performance, based on how you activate them.
12. Hook even difficult facts onto one thing you know and learning increases in less time.
13. Basal ganglias store facts and create ruts, working memory holds few facts and leads change.
14. Multiple intelligences are common to all, used by few, and can be more developed daily.
15. Cynical mindsets literally block creativity, impact talent, and stomp out innovation.
16. Memory can be outsourced to help people remember, and to free the mind for focus.
17. Plasticity enables people to rewire the human brain in ways that keep it younger and smarter.
18. Encouragement can change the chemistry of a brain through raised serotonin.
19. Meta messages destroy relationships through implications different from what is said.
20. It often takes an integration of hard and soft skills to solve problems with the brain in mind.
21. Stress literally shrinks the brain, and tone in communication acts as a silent killer.
22. Greet a person through speaking that person’s name, for a spike in personal awareness.
23. Inspire creativity and invention through teaching others at the same time you also learn.
24. Create new neuron pathways each time you add a solution to any problem you encounter.
25. Women’s and men’s brain differ biologically and intellectually in ways that few optimize.
What insights do these facts hand you about your brain? How could they increase your brainpower in ways that improve your situation?
on Sep 26th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Your post is very valuable, thanks
on Oct 7th, 2008 at 10:01 am
What a fascinating list, Ellen! You’ve definitely given us a great deal to think about — and implement! I find it quite interesting to learn that “venting is bad for the brain and creates new neuron pathways to much more of the same.” For so long, we’ve been told that it’s good to “get it off our chest.”
on Oct 22nd, 2008 at 11:57 am
Dr. Ellen,
This is great stuff! Would it possible to post the article on my website, http://www.brainbequick.com?
Of course I will list you as the source and provide a link back to this site.
May your brain continue to be quick!
Gene
on Oct 22nd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Thanks for your kind words, and for stopping by Gene! It was great to also discover your site! It’s fun to find others who do the same work in different ways!
Thanks for the kin — it would be my honor! I will bookmark your site and look forward to further exchanges on cool topics. Keep doing it with excellence! Ellen
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on Apr 15th, 2009 at 7:10 am
this is an interesting list. Thanks
I have a question.
over the last 3 years, since I joined the current place I work at, I have realized that I have become more cynical, discouraged and lost a lot of confidence I thought I possessed. It happens to be because of the way I am seeing the overall processes at the workplace not helping me realize any kind of job satisfaction.
In my past 12 years of work life, I had only heard of the phrase – blind with rage. In the first year with this workplace, I actually lived that phrase, and have become frustrated the way people here treat others under the pretext of getting work done.
Am I not being able to make myself see more positivity through the situation or am I choosing to see the negativity?
Is this something to do with my inherent inability of some kind?
could this cynicism and negativity lead to further damage of overall personality and approach to my daily way of being?
on Apr 15th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Thanks Shrikant – Your question is so significant that it invites a full post in response. That’s just what I plan to bring by way of my own 2-bit offering to a great question!
Today I will blog one possibility and hope you and others will also toss in your wisdom!
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