Archive for September, 2011

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September 28, 2011

Recovering From a Crashed Relationship

Broken Heart symbol

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When a relationship with a loved one or someone you work with crashes, the effect takes a big toll on your mental, emotional and physical health. How many of these symptoms can you relate to? What others can you add to the list?

  • Thinking about the situation and playing it back in your mind more than 3 times a day
  • Avoiding contact or feeling apprehensive about the person
  • Finding yourself attacking and/or defending, rather than searching for a solution
  • Having difficulty focusing on your work and other relationships
  • Sleeping less and fitfully
  • Building your case that you are “right” and the other person is “wrong” or “off-base”
  • Experiencing lower productivity and getting fewer things done
  • Feeling a sore throat or cold coming on, new aches and pains

Are you so immersed and drowning in your thoughts and feelings, that you haven’t considered asking some questions that may lead you back to a better state of mind and being?

1. Do you want to heal and improve the relationship? If not, why?

2. What positive outcomes will occur when your relationship gets better?

3. Does the other person want the same or different things?

4. Did the collapse occur over time or instantaneously, without advance notice?

5. What are your insights on the factors that contributed to the collapse?

6. Are you willing to open up and share your thoughts and feelings?

7. How well do you both normally communicate with one another? Does it seem you are on the same or different wavelengths?

Many couples and people who work together are simply not on the same “wavelength” when communicating and processing information. They also are likely to have very different strengths regarding work, personal activities and how they go about solving problems and making decisions. These differences, if you are unaware of them, will inevitably cause conflict and frustration. Being aware of your differences is the foundation for an extraordinary relationship because you cover a wide range of diversity and experience you can tap into and leverage.

Here is a solid and safe approach to repairing the damage in a crashed relationship. Agree to a time and safe place when “cool heads” prevail. Share the discussion questions above in advance. Take each question, one at a time, and allow each other to express without interruptions, judgements or questions. Ask questions after each person completes expressing their thoughts and feelings. Acknowledge each person’s thoughts and feelings by paraphrasing what you heard, observed and felt. Consider learning how you both prefer to exchange and process information if you decide to build a new and better relationship. The author resource provides a helpful website to expand and deepen appreciation and respect for one another.

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September 21, 2011

Checklist for Discovering Your Perfect Job

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Are you unhappy, despondent or fearful about your career situation? Perhaps you are employed and dislike going to work because of a deteriorating relationship or maybe your work is no longer fun and rewarding. You may be asking yourself: “What went wrong?” “Is something wrong with me?” “What are the lessons learned?” “How can I get out of this mess and move my life forward?”

The major reasons why most people are unhappy in their career situation are:

  1. Relationship conflict with one or more people at work
  2. Feeling unfulfilled and totally out-of-sync with the work
  3. Stressful work environment and intolerable management philosophy
  4. Unemployed or fearful their job is at risk

The common themes for the first three reasons involve “misalignment” with people, work activities and the work environment. If you can relate to one or more of these alignment issues, there are practical neuroscience solutions for you to put to work almost immediately. The reason for termination or being at risk for it may be misalignment as well.

Checklist for Discovering Your Perfect Job

Once you complete the following homework, you can align how your brain is wired and what makes you tick with the career, job, people and work environment that will naturally support your passions, strengths and values. You are only 48 hours away from getting your internal GPS calibrated for career and life success.

√   Where does your passion lie? This is a “free association” exercise to identify the subjects that interest you and what you really enjoy doing. A trusted friend who knows you well and has a spontaneous and fun loving nature may be the catalyst to get you through this exercise quickly. Ask your friend to guide the discussion and take notes. Place two categories on the top of your flip chart or white board: SUBJECTS and ACTIVITIES. Use colored markers and work toward identifying single key words to describe your passions in each column. Go as fast as you can and feel free to jump around. When you reach the point where new ideas come slowly, usually within 10-20 minutes, STOP. Take a short break and come back to look for trends and themes. Summarize and record your work for additional homework and future reference.

Follow-up homework:

Subjects you are passionate about represent potential career categories. List the careers that align with your passions. Think about and record potential organizations that may be your future employer. Being self-employed or a “contract employee” may emerge as an option along with traditional employment. Then, identify the associated knowledge and experience you possess in the potential career fields.

Activities you enjoy doing are your skill sets and competencies. They will align with specific job descriptions. Now take each activity and decide which sensory (Visual, Kinesthetic and Auditory) and cognitive (Sequential and Global) “signatures” they contain. These are your neuroscience brain strengths that accompany knowledge and passion. They describe how you like to learn, think, work, communicate, solve problems and make decisions. Brainpower is the strength category most neglected by employees and employers alike. Use your brainpower strengths as a competitive differentiator. Most importantly, using your brain strengths on a daily basis is the key to fun, engagement and productivity. This may be why you have been unhappy in past jobs.

√  What are your highest and most important values? This is a second-round free association exercise with your friend who helped you previously. Do it as soon as possible to keep the momentum going. Use the same protocol as the first exercise except the two categories at the top of your flip chart or white board are VALUES and ENVIRONMENT. Make this a lively, fun and interactive conversation. Start naming key words of important values that come to mind, like “friendship,” “collaboration,” “service”, “learning,” “excitement, “money,” “competition.” There are no rules or right or wrong answers. You can go back and forth naming “values” and “environment” in any order you want. Examples of ENVIRONMENT key words are “friendly,” “structured,” “casual,” “competitive,” ‘non-competitive,” “kind,” “communicative,” “caring,” “demanding” and so forth. As a quality control check, match up your list of key words for VALUES with key words for ENVIRONMENT. There should be one or more congruent “environments” for each “value.” This exercise is an “insurance policy” to select the right organizational environment in which you can thrive and grow.

Follow-up homework:

Organize your list of “values” and “environments” as a guide to assess future employment opportunities. Review your list occasionally to see if your values have changed and if your job environment is holding up to your expectations.

Do research to determine if the companies you are considering embrace your values and have consistent supporting environments. You will ultimately experience problems if your values are substantially higher or lower than the organizations.

√  Who are the people with whom you most enjoy interacting? Do you prefer communicating with people who learn and pay attention to Auditory input (listening and asking questions), Visual input (seeing and observing to understand) or Kinesthetic input (moving, touching and hand-on activities). Do you relate best to people who strongly prefer to process information in Sequential ways (logical, orderly, realistic, data, accurate), Global ways (big picture, open-ended, possibilities, and options), or a near equal combination of both? Reflection on your preferences will reveal why you have rapport with some people and challenging relationships with others. All successful communications involve aligning “transmitting styles” with “receiving styles.”

In summary, practical neuroscience provides the break-through insights and solutions that finally give you a straight and direct pathway to the career and job you can be excited about each workday morning. It’s all about aligning your brain strengths, passions, knowledge and values with your work and the people with whom you interact.

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September 14, 2011

Three Blessings of Perception to Navigate Life’s Choices

Blind men and an elephant

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When you think about the myriad decisions you have to make each day, you may want an expanded, intelligent basis for making better choices. Understanding and leveraging the three blessings of perception may be the best way to navigate life’s decisions and achieve the outcomes you desire. The alternative is being told what to do by others and/or making poor choices impulsively, without thinking things through.

There are infinite levels of perception and choice when it comes to understanding and applying the principles behind the three blessing of perception. The classic story of the “blind men and an elephant” illustrates the need for open-mindedness to understand different perspectives and comprehend the basis of choice. The story also provides insight into the relativity of perception and the nature of truth.

The theme is that a group of blind men are instructed to touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each blind man feels a different part and they compare notes. One feels the tusk and says it’s a pipe, another feels the tail and says it’s a rope; the one who touches the leg says it’s a pillar; still another, who feels the belly, says it’s a wall and so on. They learn that their experiences differ greatly. After intense and heated disagreement, a wise King explains that all the blind men are right because they touched different parts of the elephant and the elephant possesses all the characteristics described. In actuality, the blind men came to know much more about the nature of an elephant that most people from the entire process. They focused on one aspect and shared their perspectives to construct a more expansive picture with the help of the King. They not only knew about the content of an elephant, they also came to know the essence and context of an elephant. The combination of this knowledge becomes, metaphorically, significant and valuable.

The three blessing of perception are:

Humility

Recognize that there is more going on around you than you perceive. You cannot possibly collect enough accurate observations and data to form a complete picture of anything. The awareness of this truth opens your mind to ask revealing questions, helps you go beyond first impressions and encourages you to investigate the perceptions of others. Remember the story about the blind men and the elephant.

Relative Perception

Everything is a continuum of infinite relativities. One person may say 100° Fahrenheit is hot, but a steel maker will say that 1,000° Fahrenheit is not hot enough to melt all the metallic ingredients to make the desired alloy. A mother may say that standing on the third rung of a stepladder is too high and scary, but an astronaut on the moon may say she wants the exhilaration of going still higher.

Mother Teresa gave selfless service to the hungry, poor and sick people on the streets of Bombay; a bank robber may value stealing from others and then decide to give it up and move to the next level of being a responsible citizen.  Each person here is evolving to higher levels of values and behavior. The point is that everyone is doing the best they can in their environment, given their state-of-mind and available knowledge. The moral of these examples is to suspend judgment of others and to focus on your own life. Suspend judgment of yourself as well and move on to the next level of being the best person you can be.

Trust in Your Trusted Advisors

Sometimes you simply have not lived long enough to accumulate adequate experiences from which to draw wisdom in certain situations. You can, however, use knowledge of other people’s struggles, failures and successes as a basis for making better personal decisions.

Trusted advisors are not necessarily people who have made all the right choices. Great lessons can be learned from people who have made poor decisions and failed. Also, select people you admire and ask yourself what they would do in the situation. These may be people you interact with in your daily life or familiar individuals whose stories and lessons you can learn and absorb from great books, magazines, newspaper articles, movies, lectures and talks, internet or television.

In summary, the three blessing of perception lead to highest levels of making decisions, solving problems and living the best life possible. Humility added to recognizing the relativity of everything and tapping into the experiences of others is a sure-fire formula for continuous learning and raising the bar for a more prosperous, peaceful and fulfilling life.

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September 8, 2011

Performance Strategies For Kinesthetic Learners

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People who have Kinesthetic as their primary and strongest sensory preference for learning, receiving information and performing work tasks comprise 59% of the population. You can add another 30% of the population who have Kinesthetic as their secondary, or back-up, sensory pathway. This adds up to a whopping 89% of the population that relies on Kinesthetic processing as their primary or secondary pathway to learn, make decisions, solve problems and perform at high levels.

Kinesthetic Strengths

Kinesthetic learners remember and work best using hands-on activities, movement, action and touch. They enjoy moving into immediate physical action and have an instinctive feel of people and situations. They generally thrive on the positive feeling of moving projects and initiatives forward. Kinesthetic learners, having Visual as a primary or secondary pathway strength, are potentially good at operating equipment and repairing/maintaining/building things, due to their “eye-hand” skill set. Surgeons, dentists, airline pilots, equipment operators and similar professions rely on their Kinesthetic pathway strengths to perform at high levels. Imagine the consequences if a dentist lost focus and became physically awkward and clumsy when doing a root canal.

Kinesthetic Strategies

These strategies and risk management guidelines are based on practical neuroscience principles involving sensory and cognitive pathways strengths and “blind spots.” They help you perform at high levels of excellence and minimize mistakes and costly accidents.

  • Physical Comfort

You must be physically comfortable and be relatively free of physical ailments or pain to perform at maximal levels. Otherwise, your brain will be distracted by your physical condition rather than the Kinesthetic movements and manipulations you need to employ to do your job properly. It is best to take care of physical body needs before engaging in high-risk Kinesthetic activities.

  • Ability to Move Freely

It’s essential that you have the ability to move about freely, without any physical impediments that can get in your way, to accomplish your Kinesthetic activities. The workplace must be clean and free of clutter with no possibility of slipping, falling or bumping into something, while performing.

  • Functional and Available Tools and Equipment

It’s likely that you will need hands-on equipment to accomplish your Kinesthetic activities. This may be as simple and safe as a computer or Fax machine, or potentially dangerous like a chain saw, laser knife, plasma torch, car or airplane. Your tools may be an extensive set of tools, meters or surgical equipment. Regardless of whether you are driving a vehicle, writing a proposal, inputting data, assembling something or doing  complex eye-hand activities, it’s essential that your equipment and tools are in tip-top operating condition. Everything you require needs to be within line-of-sight and comfortable reach. Otherwise, time will be lost and you risk physical awkwardness and clumsiness as you access your equipment and tools.

  • Conducive Environment

Lighting must be adequate for the activity. It’s usually best to work in a cool, yet comfortable temperature to remain alert, awake and focused. Clean water should be available to refresh and oxygenate oneself to maintain high levels of brain function.

  • Avoid Stress and Distractions

Any form of stress or worry has the potential to shift your focus away from what you have to do. Your state-of-mind must be positive and resourceful to achieve maximal performance. This strategy applies to anything you engage in, not just Kinesthetic activities. When doing Kinesthetic/Visual activities (“eye-hand” coordination) it is best to work in a quiet and interruption free environment. A loud noise or sound can startle you and cause an unexpected and unintended body movement that could spell disaster.

In conclusion, imagine the safety and productivity implications of 89% of the population having Kinesthetic as their primary or secondary sensory pathway strength. The practical neuroscience strategies provided help people work safer and get more done in less time.

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September 6, 2011

Unleash Your Genius with Mind Mapping

Mind map of the mind map guidlines.

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Mind mapping is a powerful and underutilized whole brain system to solve problems, make decisions, develop plans, accelerate learning and communicate effectively with others. It’s faster, more fun and covers more bases than traditional outlining methods.

Mind mapping is widely acknowledged as being developed by British psychology author and brain researcher, Tony Buzan. His mind mapping contributions are an integrated approach, combining key words, visual images and symbols into a free-flowing “tree” emanating from a central idea, concept or subject area. “Trunks, branches and leaves” are the associated key points forming the “tree.” The process ends with a logical element of analysis and alignment.  Other practitioners of mind mapping are Nancy Margulies (author and visual mapping artist) and Michael Gelb (author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci).

The core concepts and methodology of mind mapping are well grounded and supported by practical neuroscience. The system taps into the visual cortex that constitutes a large percentage of the brain’s neurons. Mind mapping uses the brain’s imagination, natural curiosity and logical thinking powers. Most people are amazed at how quickly the system captures their ideas, stimulates creativity and formulates practical and realistic solutions to complex problems.

Despite what you may think, mind mapping doesn’t require artistic abilities. Anyone can mind map. Willingness to engage in the following simple and practical neuroscience methodology is the primary requirement to get started.

Materials

Start with a large piece of paper; flip chart paper is ideal. Use colored pens, pencils or crayons. Purchase colored stickers depicting shapes, images and symbols that appeal to you and pertain to the subject matter. These will give your mind map artistic qualities without requiring artistic skill.

Methodology

1. Start In The Middle: Draw a circle or oval with the subject or key concept in the middle of the page. You can use a symbol, image, or key word. Even a small photograph works fine.

2. Employ Key Words: Single key words are preferred over phases and short sentences. This may take a little patience and practice at first. Developing the ability to think in key words pays dividends because they are content rich, easy to remember and activate other key word concepts. “Strings” of associated key words eventually describe the context of a situation and the pathways to the insights, solutions and your desired outcomes. Key words are powerful catalysts for both creative and practical thinking. Effective use of key words is a competence worth cultivating.

a. Print your strongest concept key words on lines (to form the “trunks of the tree”) emanating from your subject in the middle of the page. As an example, if you are mind mapping your business, start with words like “PURPOSE,” “CUSTOMERS,” “CONCERNS” and “GOALS.” Be sure to use only one key word per line. Utilize color, images and symbols. This is where your stickers may be a handy aid. Stick figures and other simple, hand-drawn symbols work well.

b. Your key words will stimulate other key words aligned with central ideas. As an example “CONCERNS” may trigger new key words like “FINANCING,” “COMPETITION,” and “LICENSING;” these become new lines (e.g. “branches”) emanating from the “CONCERNS” line. These key words will create another chain or sequence of key words that become more new lines (e.g. “leaves”).  Again, always use color and images to depict and add meaning to your key words. It is best to print your key words.

3. Let It Flow and Go: Spontaneity, imagination and “big picture thinking” are the operative words when mind mapping during this early creative stage. Move as quickly as you can to fill out your page. Go wherever you want. This is not the place or time to be logical and sequential. If you get “writer’s block” with any string of associated key words, move to another key word “trunk” or “branch” that catches your eye and add key words that come to mind. Continue until you feel you have more than enough ideas to work with.

4. Analyze and Align: Take a break and rest awhile before you come back to analyze and align the results of your imaginative, free-association stage. This is the part of the process that will utilize your sequential, analytical and logical powers. Look for themes, patterns and relationships between the “trunks, branches and leaves.” Align and connect parts of your “tree,” using more lines, arrows, symbols and key words to give it additional meaning and provide the outcomes for which you are looking. You may also select what you think are the most relevant parts and eliminate the ones that seem unimportant.

5. Redraw Mind Map: Depending on the application, you may want to redraw your mind map and sequence the key ideas and concepts with numbers in a clockwise manner. This may be appropriate for communication and training purposes or for your use as a daily learning and memory aid to building a business or implementing a significant project.

In summary, mind mapping will reveal and unleash the genius within by utilizing the power of your visual cortex, imagination and logical thinking for planning, learning, solving problems and communicating with others. You have nothing to lose except the opportunity to directly experience the power of your brain to leapfrog your life forward.

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September 1, 2011

Can Practical Neuroscience Methods Help Adults with ADHD?

High Dopamine Transporter Levels Not Correlate...

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A recent St. Louis public TV special on Adult ADHD stimulated my thinking about this rapidly growing phenomenon. My first reaction was that I possess several characteristics of ADHD and wonder what an accurate diagnosis would reveal. I then thought about people I work with who have one or more ADHD symptoms and are competent, accomplished and self-fulfilled individuals with successful careers and harmonious personal relationships. I have used practical neuroscience strategies for over two decades to learn and perform in areas I never thought possible. These thoughts gave me hope that self-help is possible for tens of millions of people suffering from this condition.

My questions are:

  • Can adults diagnosed with ADHD help themselves manage specific negative traits?
  • Is the rate of adult ADHD growing and getting worse, or are increased awareness of the problem and improved diagnosis methods, finally revealing a human condition that has been around for a very long time?
  • What effect does physical environment, the economy and world affairs have on this condition?
  • What, besides prescription drugs and psychotherapy, may help people with mild and severe symptoms?

The following is a short list of Adult ADHD symptoms and traits, which may become more manageable using practical neuroscience self-help methods. Severe behavioral symptoms that typically require a combination of prescription drugs and psychotherapy are not addressed here. The list is organized by the three commonly used ADHD categories. Following each trait is a summary of how self-awareness of sensory and cognitive thinking strengths and “blind spots” may provide some level of relief and increased performance.

Hyperactivity

1. Impulsive movement, fidgeting and touching things

A high percentage of the population is comprised of Kinesthetic learners. Their world revolves around physical movement, hands-on activities and how things feel. When Kinesthetic preferences are significantly stronger and more dominant than Visual and Auditory preferences, the Kinesthetic traits associated with ADHD become more observable and may appear extreme. This imbalance can be managed by strengthening the next strongest sensory pathway, Visual or Auditory. Jobs, household activities, hobbies and sports activities, requiring extensive use of Kinesthetic skill sets, are healthy and productive outlets for highly Kinesthetic individuals.

Impulsivity

2. Interrupting others

Most people are poor listeners and do not realize how little meaning they extract from what is said. Very few are able to detect underlying feelings and intention by listening to tone-of-voice. Talking over other people and interrupting is frequently an unconscious act of people with low Auditory preferences and can undermine relationships. When individuals know their Auditory acuity is low, they can improve communication effectiveness in conversations by merely being more aware that they are poor listeners. This shift in awareness actually improves their listening ability through focus on their “non-preference.” Paraphrasing what they heard, making comfortable eye contact and asking questions to gain clarity strengthen listening ability, while improving relationship harmony. Everyone can gain from these practical neuroscience communication methods.

3. Switching tasks rapidly

Some people’s brains are wired to think Globally, in terms of the “big picture.” They live in a world of possibilities and options and are comfortable with open-ended situations. They naturally tend to jump around from task to task, giving casual observers the impression that they are accomplishing very little. Global thinking people have much to offer the world, however, when it comes to identifying future solutions and outcomes for current situations in need of change. Individuals with this cognitive preference should align themselves with Global activities to make use of their strengths. Global thinkers should also consider seeking help with life’s practical matters from Sequential-thinking, trusted advisors.

Inattention

4. Time management and organization

Issues with time management and organization may share the same core cause as rapid task switching. Time management and organizations skills can be learned under most circumstances. This is where Sequential-thinking family members and co-workers can  role model and coach Sequential skills.

5. Work related mistakes and accidents

Every person has “blind spots” related to their least preferred sensory and cognitive pathways.  Decreased attention to these pathways means increased likelihood of mistakes and accidents. Examples include:

  • Low Auditory – may not hear something important
  • Low Visual  – may miss seeing something important
  • Low Kinesthetic  – may be physically awkward and clumsy
  • Low Sequential – may not follow logical steps or safe protocols
  • Low Global – may miss identifying possibilities and options when logic fails

Awareness of “blind spots” allows for increased focus, when the risk of a mistake or accident is highest.

It’s also advisable to have trusted friends “cover your blind spots” with their strengths.

6. Taking longer to complete tasks than others

This condition is common to all people, as a function of their sensory and cognitive thinking strengths and “blind spots.” You tend to get more, productive work done, when using your strongest and most preferred pathways. What most people do not know is that they can boost personal productivity by creating a physical environment conducive to doing specific tasks and activities. Examples:

  • Auditory tasks – quiet and interruption free environment
  • Visual tasks – organized, attractive, uncluttered environment
  • Kinesthetic tasks – comfortable environment that allows movement
  • Sequential tasks – formal environment
  • Global tasks – informal environment

Performing tasks in compatible environments often boosts productivity by 20% -60%.

7. Relationship conflicts

Nearly everyone has difficulty communicating with some of the people in their life. This is when his or her “transmitting style” is out-of-sync with another person’s “receiving style.” Some combinations of sensory sequence and cognitive processing style place a person at high risk to be out of alignment with a large percentage of the people they interact with at home and work. Knowing the communication preferences of others, allows adjustment of one’s “transmitting style” to their “receiving styles,” thus enhancing rapport and understanding.

In conclusion, you have nothing to lose by learning how your brain is wired to receive and process sensory information and by knowing your “blind spots.” These insights may be what you need to know to manage your ADHD symptoms, regardless of your diagnosis. You may be delighted and surprised by how much you can improve and achieve with self-administered and safe practical neuroscience knowledge and tools. Look online for trusted sources of statistically validated practical neuroscience assessment products like Brain PathWays™ to help you and your loved ones relieve Adult ADHD symptoms.

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