Uncover Your Brain Power To Use The World Tool.
Uncover your Brain power to use the world Tool.
Along with the
other things that you have found out as you unpacked your brain, it is helpful
to appreciate some of the principles that underlie the operating systems of
your mind.
1. The brain loves to explore and make sense of the world
An important consequence is that, to ensure that your brain is powered
up, you need to give is as many new experiences as possible, as well as the
time to make sense of them. Another practical result is that, like any explorer,
your brain tends to do better when it has a map or at least knows where it is
going!
2. The Brain likes to Make Connections
In fact, your brain is so good at making connections that it will often
try to fill in the gaps even when it is missing information. You see a cat
moving along behind a fence and, although part of the cat’s body is obscured by
the posts of the fence, your brain fills in the rest and thinks it is seeking a
complete cat. Or when someone tells us a half-truth or only gives us part of
the information we need, our brain immediately starts to make up the missing
bits. If you are trying to solve a problem, this tendency is a positive one.
But if you are trying to communicate to your colleages or family and only give
part of the story, it can lead to suspicion, gossip, and unease for other
people as their brains try to fill in the gaps.
3. The Brain Thrives on Patterns
As your neurons establish the same or similar connections with each
other over time, so patterns are established. pattern making is at the heart of
your brain’s filing system, its ability to make sense of what it has learned.
If you have never seen a lion, the first time one rushers at you may think it
is some kind of horse. Assuming you survive this ordeal, the next time one
attacks you will make yourself scarce. Your brain has noticed that a creature
with a tawny mane and a worrying roar is not going to be friendly. A pattern
has been established. All lions appearing in the future will be “filed” in the
part of the brain labeled “dangerous animals.”
Our ability to make
patterns is at the heart of our civilization. We organize our communities into
houses and streets and towns. We lay out road networks. We create languages and
number systems. Interestingly, this very positive attribute can also limit our
potential when certain patterns become ingrained and we consequently become
resistant to change.
4. The Brain Love to Imitate
Until a synaptic connection has been made there is no “knowledge,”
except what we are born with. The most efficient way for connections to be
established is by watching what others do and copying them. So, we learn to
speak and talk when we are young by watching and listening to others. We learn
many social customs by observation.
The capacity of the brain to
mimic others is important. “Sitting next to Nellie,” as it is sometimes called,
is a great way to learn. The use of role models and modeling certain behaviors
at home and at work are powerful methods of passing on learning. In the workplace,
coaches help to accelerate this process of intelligent imitation. In most
families, much of the learning takes the form of copying other family members.
5. The Brain does not Perform well under too much Stress
Your brain has evolved form the bottom upward. The most primitive
functions are at the bottom of your brain, the brain stem. It is here that
rapid decisions of life and death are taken, those normally referred to as
“fight or flight.” If your reptilian brain and cerebellum perceive a major
threat to your survival, they have to act fast. In practice, they trigger the
release of chemicals like adrenaline and noradrenaline (also known as
epinephrine and norepinephrine), which put your body into a state of heightened
arousal. Either your arms and legs begin to fight your attacker or your legs
start to move rapidly as you flee form the scene.
When your brain is under
severe stress, it can only think of survival. Blood and energy that would
otherwise be available for higher-order thinking in your mammalian and learning
brains are simply diverted into ensuring that you live to fight another day.
This is not the same
thing as saying that all stress is bad for you. On the contrary, without the
challenge on which your brain also thrives, you simply would not grow and
evolve. Nevertheless, few people find it easy to think about complex issues
when they are staring disaster in the face. For effective learning to take
place there needs to be a balance between high challenge and low threat.
Think back over the last 24 hours. What have you
consciously explored? What new connections or conclusions have you made? How
have you categorized the things that have happened to you recently? What have
you admired and who was doing it? Might you imitate them? Think of all the ways
in which you make sense of the world around you, the links you make in your
everyday life, the way you process and “life” experiences, and the capacity you
have for learning by copying others. Have you been under undue stress recently?
Or was the balance of threat and challenges such that you enjoyed the
experience?
This is taken from power up your mind
Written by Arshad. A
