Archives for October 2015
Dream Big, Expect Small
October 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
While it may sound contradictory to dream big and, at the same time, set low expectations, it isn’t. The reality is that when you pursue any dream or major initiative it is an emotional roller coaster ride and you need to manage the emotions associated with those ups and downs. Your dream creates the long-term vision that keeps you focused on the big picture. Your expectations with respect to overcoming the day to day hurdles, however, are short-term matters and should be low. This way you are better able to either meet those expectations or exceed them.
Too many unmet expectations will lead to a feeling of hopelessness and result in a negative mental outlook. This negativity is like a cancer that eats away at your confidence and mental toughness. If a negative mental outlook takes root it can become emotionally too much to bare, causing you to raise the white flag and quit on your dream.
Conversely, if you set low expectations and exceed them, this increases your confidence and strengthens your positive mental outlook, infusing you with optimism, enthusiasm and an overall sense of contentment. One of the things I learned in my research and in this Rich Habits journey I’m on is that achieving success is contingent on maintaining a positive mental outlook. Managing expectations makes that possible by smoothing out the emotional wrinkles one experiences in pursuing success. Setting low expectations will keep you from quitting on your dream.
Your Beliefs Forge Your Habits
October 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Your beliefs are likely holding you back in life. We form habits from our beliefs. If we have negative, limiting beliefs, we will adopt daily habits that mirror those beliefs. “I’m not smart” forges the habits of not studying, not listening and not focusing. “I can’t lose weight” forges the habits of eating too much, eating poorly and not exercising.
Become aware of your beliefs. Identify those that are negative and are holding you back. Once you change your beliefs, changing your habits becomes easier. The main reason habit change is so hard is because we fail to change the beliefs behind the bad habits we have.
Want Power Creates Willpower
October 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Willpower is the ability to force yourself to focus on something for hours a day, day in and day out. Willpower is a limited resource that forces the brain to consume a lot of brain fuel (oxygen and glucose). Because the brain cannot store its fuel, this means every time you force the brain to work it must send a signal to various organs and glands to increase production of glucose. The brain would rather not do this. It will fight you when you are engaged in forced focus of any kind. When you want something enough, however, this Want Power overrides the brain’s natural inclination and forces it to secure more glucose. The brain has no choice but to obey the command.
If you want something bad enough, your brain becomes your servant. If your passion for something is not that great, the brain becomes the master and will force you to stop engaging in forced focus. Want Power creates willpower.
Here’s Why Habits Are So Important
October 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Habits represent unconscious behavior, thinking, choices and emotions. A habit is formed when neurons (brain cells) talk to one another repetitively. A neuron is three things: the nucleus, the axon (cable) and the dendrites (branches similar to a tree). When neurons get mapped inside the brain as a “habit” here’s what happens:
- The myelin sheath (fatty substance that surrounds each axon) gets thicker. Thicker means healthier and better.
- The # of neurons talking to one another gets reduced.
- The chemicals released by the axons and received by the dendrites speed up.
Why is this important to know? The larger the myelin sheath, the larger the axon. Large axons translate into higher intelligence. Bigger axons increase your IQ. The lower the # of neurons needed to talk to one another, the lower the consumption of brain fuel (glucose and oxygen). The brain cannot store brain fuel. It has to get it from the body. So the brain naturally prefers habits. The faster the release and receipt of chemicals by the axons and dendrites, the less effort is required by the neurons. The end result is a more efficient, better communication process between neurons.
In short, habits make the brain work better. The brain is always looking to create habits for this reason. Habits put you on autopilot. If you adopt good, daily success habits, this puts you on autopilot for success.
Your Brain on Learning
October 1, 2015 by 1 Comment
What happens to your brain when you engage in daily self-education?
When we engage in learning, our brain releases a protein called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). The release of BDNF has the effect of turning on a part of the brain called the Nucleus Basalis. When the nucleus basalis is turned on it releases a chemical called acetylcholine. The purpose of acetylcholine is to excite neurons to talk to each other. When neurons start talking to each other, a new synapse is created. The nucleus basalis is then turned off by this same protein (BDNF) and this new neural connection is locked in (sealed, so to speak) and the new learning then becomes a memory. The more we review the new learning, the stronger this new neural connection becomes and the easier it is to recall that information.
BDNF is fertilizer for the brain. It’s purpose is to help nerve cells (i.e. neurons – also known as brain cells) grow. When we make learning a daily habit (i.e. reading every day to learn) we turn on this nucleus basalis, create more neural connections (synapses) and, thus, our brains grow bigger and we become more intelligent.
There is another side benefit of daily learning that is only now being studied by neuroscientists – the more synapses we have the less likely it is that we will fall prey to Alzheimer’s disease, particularly if we continue to engage in daily learning after age sixty-five.
