Archive for July, 2011

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July 29, 2011

Looking for Solutions in All the Wrong Places

Advice

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There seem to be more people than ever worried about having enough money to pay bills, do fun things, cover emergencies and retire someday. People are worried about their careers, employment security and where their next job lies, should they become unemployed. Basic needs and survival issues are putting unprecedented levels of stress on relationships at home and work. Stress is compromising our mental, emotional and physical health. People are searching for direction and solutions leading to a better, safer and more predictable life.

We can no longer depend on the “historically dependable employer” for job security, or on government and institutions “too large to let fail” for solutions and bailouts. Historically, people depended on wise parents, grandparents, clergy, teachers and close friends for counsel and advice. The problem is that many of these people are now struggling with their own challenges. It’s hard to think clearly and help others when you are hurting and struggling.

Looking for solutions outside of ourselves is the wrong and worst place to go. People have too long given their power to other people, organizations and institutions, allowing these others to tell them what to do and letting them make decisions on their behalf. This trend must end now, if we want to reverse what we are experiencing. This is an ideal time to look for solutions in the only places they can be found: our own brains and those of our “trusted advisors.” We must use our brainpower at higher levels than ever before to create new outcomes and realities. The thinking and actions that created our current situation are incapable of making it better; they can only give us more of the same.

Hierarchy of Decision Making (From Best to Worst)

  • You and your “trusted advisors”
  • You
  • Businesses and services providers having demonstrated integrous values, services and products
  • Self-serving individuals, organizations, institutions and business

The reason for placing “trusted advisors” at the top is because they share your values, have common goals, believe in the “power within” and are committed to helping you in return for you helping them. Trusted advisor groups know that they can do more together than individually. They recognize that “flying solo” is a lonely and potentially dangerous act.

In conclusion, if ignorant and selfish thinking created our current colossal mess, then focused integrous thinking becomes the new pathway to a better future. Practical neuroscience is available to anyone interested leveraging their brain strengths, knowledge and experience to solve problems. This is a call for action to form critical masses of like-minded people to combine their brainpower for a more prosperous and peaceful life.

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July 26, 2011

Practical Neuroscience Approach for Homeschooling Parents

Studying

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Homeschooling parents undertake the monumental responsibility for facilitating their children’s education. Taking on the role of “teacher,” as opposed to being a “facilitator of learning,” is a potential deterrent to successful learning outcomes for parent and child, alike. The two greatest gifts a parent can bestow on their children are instilling a lifelong desire for continuous learning and helping them develop the life skill of “learning how to learn.” These two elements of practical neuroscience all but guarantee the development of young minds into responsible, successful and self sufficient adults and future leaders. This applies to all parents, regardless of whether they home school or not.

John Naisbitt, American author and futurist, said:

“In a world that is constantly changing, there is no one subject that will serve you for the foreseeable future, let alone for the rest of your life. The most important skill to acquire now is learning how to learn.”

Many homeschooling parents may associate “learning how to learn” with learning styles. The practical neuroscience definition of learning styles is your child’s preferred sensory sequence to take in information and their cognitive preference to process it.

Sensory Pathway Preferences

It’s important that you, as a parent, and your child, both know the child’s most and least preferred ways to take in new and challenging information. For successful learning outcomes, the inflow of information must be presented in the student’s two strongest sensory pathways. Your child should pursue self-directed learning, whereby they request and select learning resources and delivery methods best suited to the way their brain is naturally wired to learn.

Sensory Learning Aids for:

Kinesthetic Children

  • Allow student to move around and be comfortable while learning
  • Encourage making flash cards for key learning points
  • Let student squeeze a small ball or work with another manipulative, while learning

Visual Children

  • Provide material to look over and read before class
  • Give instructions, homework, and key learning points visually
  • Minimize words and maximize symbols, pictures, charts, illustrations

Auditory Children

  • Allow extra time for questions and discussions
  • Suggest reading notes and study material aloud
  • Encourage student to discuss and tell others what they are learning

Cognitive Pathways Preferences

Cognitive processing is required to solve problems, make decisions, and develop skills and competencies to navigate life. Your child’s tendencies for Sequential and Global thinking may be established from birth or may be dependent on their environment and how you influence them. By the age of 7, the preferences for cognitive processing can usually be observed. The strongest cognitive preference should be acknowledged, while allowing opportunities to use and strengthen the least favored one. This approach helps build an integrated and balanced “whole brain.” If resistance is experienced, let your child follow their natural instincts. Both Leonardo da Vinci (Global) and Isaac Newton (Sequential) have made significant contributions in the world.

Cognitive Learning Aids for:

Sequential Gifted Children

  • Connect the key learning points and steps to one another to form central concepts
  • Organize assignments into logical steps and sequences
  • Encourage students to complete one assignment at a time
  • Formal physical environments are favored: straight back chair at table, quiet, bright and direct light, cool room temperature, snacks and drinks limited to breaks

Global Gifted Children

  • Explain major concepts and the big picture first; then provide the detail, if necessary
  • Allow student to multi-task as long as learning progress occurs
  • Provide for frequent breaks to maintain interest and focus
  • Informal physical environments are favored: Casual furniture, dim and indirect light, warmer room temperature, snacks and drinks while learning

In summary, each child has distinct interests, gifts and styles for receiving and processing sensory information. Homeschooling parents can lighten their “teaching load” by helping their children become self-directed, lifelong learners. Parents can also role model what they teach, provide a smorgasbord of learning opportunities and assist with making learning resources available.

 
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July 20, 2011

Two Quick Ways to Kick-Start Your Personal Productivity

Productive

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You’re not alone if you think you should be getting a lot more done in a day, considering all the time you put in. Continuous low productivity degrades your morale and builds stress. Besides running the risk of losing your job, you compromise your immune system and increase the probability of stress-related health problems. You also escalate the chances of making mistakes or having a work related accident.

You may not know that the way your brain is wired to work, think, learn and communicate has an impact on your personal productivity. Practical neuroscience provides the understanding and actionable tools to improve your current situation.

Practical Neuroscience Principles of Personal Productivity

You engage with what you’re most attracted to. This includes subject matter and the value received from engaging with the subject. When you don’t like certain tasks at work, there’s a natural resistance and push-back, making it difficult to engage with them. This is the genesis of productivity problems.

You always get more done in less time, with fewer mistakes, when you’re interested in the subject and your brain wiring is aligned with the activity. Conversely, you avoid things that don’t interest you or tasks with requirements misaligned with your brain strengths. Resistance to doing what you naturally don’t want to do decreases engagement and productivity. This builds stress, anxiety and guilt. It can lead to loss of health, peace-of-mind and your job.

Two Quick Ways to Kick-Start Your Personal Productivity

1. Establish value or give yourself a reward

If you’re in a job you intensely dislike, what are its most positive aspects? Examples may be a paycheck, medical coverage and two weeks paid vacation. Concentrate on your most positive thoughts during the workday to help you focus and engage with work activities; then, when you get home, start imagining and working toward a new and better job.

Establish rewards for accomplishing one to two hour “chunks” of work, having identified recognizable progress milestones. Rewards may be short breaks to take a walk, enjoy a snack, look at a travel magazine, write in your journal or look at family photos. Your “mini-rewards” should always involve getting away from your direct workspace, even if it’s for 10 minutes or less. On a macro basis, look forward to the end of each day and imagine doing something nice for yourself and your loved ones. You will be happier and find yourself getting more done.

2. Create the optimum physical environment for the activity

Your brain performs best when the physical environment is aligned with the sensory and cognitive components of the task. For hands-on (Kinesthetic) activities, provide for physical comfort and freedom of movement. Be sure to have all your tools and equipment within easy reach. Visual tasks are best completed in organized and attractive environments, where your eyes can focus on your work. Attentive listening (Auditory) requires a quiet and interruption free environment. Sequential tasks, calling for accuracy and focus, are best accomplished in bright light and cooler temperature. Global work, involving imagination and creative problem solving, requires dim light, warmer temperatures and comfortable furniture.

Keep a positive mental attitude, remember to breathe deeply and drink water throughout the day to oxygenate. Take frequent breaks to refresh and reenergize. These simple methods alone will raise your personal productivity and improve the quality of your work life.

In summary, you have more control over your personal productivity and the quality of your work life than you may imagine. No matter how bad your current work situation is, you can take immediate steps to improve it. Practical neuroscience and knowing how your brain is wired are your pathways to a better and more prosperous life with less stress.

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July 11, 2011

Using Practical Neuroscience for Fast, Easy Learning

Group of students studying Bible

Image via Wikipedia

Practical neuroscience and how your brain is wired to learn and think are the keys to successful, self-directed, accelerated learning. Few people know that a secret to fast, easy learning is teaching someone who is interested in the same subject you want to learn. This method reduces traditional learning time by 50% or more. When people of like-mind come together and learn from each other, by teaching one another, the highest form of collaborative learning occurs.

William Glasser, MD, American psychiatrist and author says:

“We LEARN:

  • 10% of what we read
  • 20% of what we hear
  • 30% of what we see
  • 50% of what we both hear and see
  • 70% of what is discussed with others
  • 80% of what we experience personally
  • 95% of what we TEACH to someone else”

It’s really quite easy to reach that 95% plateau referred to by Dr. Glasser. The first practical neuroscience principle embedded in this model is that multi-sensory learning increases retention. The second principle is that teaching strengthens your resolve through a personal commitment to a fellow learner. The third principle is that there is a synergy of minds joined to learn something together.

The following steps will guide you through the process:

Step 1: Identify the benefits

Document the benefits desired from the learning experience upon which you are about to embark. Learning is voluntary and your brain must have powerful reasons and positive emotions to stay focused, particularly when distractions arise and available time seems to diminish. Ask yourself questions like: Why do I want to engage in this learning process? What are my desired outcomes? How will I and/or others benefit from my newly acquired knowledge and skills? How will I feel, as I progress and reach my goals? Will I be happy that I expended energy and time for this learning experience one year from now? Be sure to commit your ideas in a visual form like a “mind map.”

Step 3: Identify learning resources

Use your instincts, when selecting ways to search for resources. They may include consulting with a subject matter expert, Googling key words or browsing the subject area of a library or book store. Your instincts will guide you to research methods that will be most effective for you. Think about your strongest sensory pathways to learn (Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic), when selecting your resources or courses. As an example, if you are a strong Kinesthetic learner, you will want a hands-on approach, as well as to be physically comfortable and have the ability to move about. Most people least prefer Auditory learning, so lectures and audio tapes would typically represent a poor choice.

Step2: Select another person or two interested in your subject

This is the most important part of the process. Find people you get along with, who have similar interests and values.  Share your reasons for learning and ideas about learning resources. Discuss the ways your “learning team” prefers to learn and think. This will guide your “learning plan.” Be sure to develop goals and milestones to measure progress. Create visual documentation of this process and review it from time to time.

Step 3: Teach one another

Teaching one another will come naturally and easily from the previous steps. The process may be a combination of self-directed learning, coupled with email and interpersonal interactions. Consider video conferencing when face-to-face meetings are not possible. Communicate key learning points and insights. Socratic questions are always a great way to learn. The more questions the better; the brain that composes a great question already has an inkling of the answer. It’s only a matter of time until awareness, connections and break-through learning occur. The time frame is accelerated when two or more people engage in the Socratic process.

In conclusion, teaching is the highest form of learning. It’s fun, easy and quickens the learning process. You can trust your brain and the brains of your “learning team” to achieve outcomes beyond your wildest dreams.

 

©2011 The Hadron Group, Inc.  All rights reserved

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July 5, 2011

Three Secret Hot Tips for Exceptional Rapport and Communication

Communication

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Nearly everyone desires exceptional rapport and communications with people they love and care about; this is the key to building successful and healthy long-term relationships. Professional relationships also require communication excellence to convey information efficiently and gain understanding quickly for people to do their jobs properly.

The core premise for exceptional rapport and communication is anchored in practical neuroscience. Achieving communications excellence requires attentiveness to everyone’s unique preferences for taking in and processing information. When you align your transmitting style with another’s preferred receiving style, you exponentially increase the probability for greater rapport and understanding. This is because people immediately become aware that you are on “their wavelength.” It is also important to respect the other person’s views, values and where they are coming from. These principles have enormous implications in all human relationships.

Hot Tip #1: Seek to understand before being understood

People relate to one another better when there is mutual respect and some level of caring about each other’s well being. In work situations, be sure to take the time to build sound relationship foundations, even if there are areas of disagreement and conflict. These foundations are particularly useful when time is of the essence to get things accomplished in stressful situations.

Interrupting one another to drive-home points-of-view, before paying attention and understanding each other, is a “dead end street.” Interruptions usually result in confusion, anger and resentment. It’s not necessary to agree with one another. Understanding respective positions, rationale and thinking, however, are required to co-exist peacefully. One can always find areas of commonality to move forward, no matter how far apart you may seem.

Hot Tip #2: Align with the person’s sensory and cognitive thinking preferences

Auditory learners prefer to listen and ask questions. Be sure to ask them to paraphrase their understanding of what you said; likewise, repeat back to them what you heard them say. They need quiet and interruption free environments to listen deeply and process what was heard.

Visual learners prefer to see instructions, progress reports and general information in visual form with a minimum of words. Use email, mind maps and white boards to convey key points. They prefer uncluttered environment to avoid distraction from what they are looking at.

Kinesthetic learners prefer hands-on interactions, when receiving and processing information. They need to incorporate movement and touch, when looking at or hearing about the subject matter. Provide for physical comfort, movement and frequent breaks.

Sequential thinkers prefer information presented in orderly, logical and realistic ways. They want facts, figures and data from reliable sources. Sequential thinkers prefer bright light and a formal work environment.

Global thinkers prefer the “big picture,” possibilities and options. They thrive in open-ended situations where they can use their imagination. Global thinkers prefer informal and unstructured environments.

Hot Tip #3:Match, Match, Match

Rapport language means specific types of words, which resonate with Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic learners and Sequential and Global thinkers. Use the appropriate rapport language to match the preferences of others. To learn more about this, contact the author for a free, one-page Rapport Language List. The email link is on the Brain PathWays™ web site.

Vocal speed varies, depending on the person’s strongest sensory pathway. Pay attention to the other person’s vocal speed and match it respectfully, so they experience language alignment with you.

Body Language reveals what the person is experiencing and feeling. Imagine yourself as their dance partner. Be respectful and match subtly with similar, but not exact, movements. Make comfortable eye contact when eyes meet. Staring may make a person feel uncomfortable, whereas no eye contact may send the message that you are not interested.

In summary, secret hot tips for exceptional rapport and communication are simple and quick practical neuroscience methods that connect you with another person on deep and meaningful levels. These practices are based on conscious and respectful transmission of your message, in the way that the other person’s brain is wired to receive and process information most effectively. All personal and professional relationships you care about will benefit from these brain-based hot tips. The outcomes are always greater understanding, increased respect and enhanced ability to solve problems and move forward together.

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