By Steve Zanon, Company Director, Proactive Ageing Pty Ltd.
Contrary to popular belief, winning in life has little to do with IQ, your circumstances, your financial resources, or even luck. But it has everything to do with creating a failure-resistant brain. Every time you think a thought, feel an emotion, or execute a particular behaviour, your neurocircuitry changes, and the good news is you can take charge of this process. Yes, the key to success really is all in your head.
In a recently published book “The Winner’s Brain”, Harvard-trained brain experts Dr. Jeff Brown and Dr. Mark Fenske explore the science behind motivation, focus, and extraordinary achievement. They present evidence that “winner’s” brains operate differently from the average person. They go on to explain how the brain can be reshaped and rewired, and that what sets the owners of a “winner’s” brain apart is the desire and know-how to take charge of the process.
In “The Winner’s Brain,” Brown, a cognitive-behavioural psychologist, and Fenske, a neuroscientist, present evidence showing that the brains of the high-achievers operate differently from those of the average person and they say brain scans measuring neutral activity show these processes at work. They go on to explain that the brain can be reshaped and rewired by gradually adopting more of the strategies successful people use to overcome obstacles and reach their goals.
“The brain is active and subject to change no matter what you do – this is one of the key discoveries of modern neuroscience,” they write. Winner’s Brains adapt in exceptional ways over time, actively harnessing a natural biological process that we all have known as neuroplasticity.
Brown and Fenske say that transforming your thinking, emotions and behaviour alters the physical structure of your brain, which is not unlike doing bicep curls to reshape and add inches to your arms. The authors have identified eight crucial “Win Factors” commonly used by successful people:
• Train your brain to achieve
• Make emotions work in your favour
• Practice developing your memory
• Look for opportunities in problems
• Tune out distractions
• Choose the right risks for higher rewards
• Cultivate your drive to win
• Keep your brain healthy
While none of the above will come as “news” to most people the book is helpful in that it describes how to acquire these win factors using a number of learnable cognitive skills: self-awareness, motivation, focus, emotional balance, memory, resilience, adaptability and brain care.
The good news is that brain research has advanced to the point where several leading neuroscience universities around the world have translated their work into user friendly cognitive assessment and training tools. This means that we can now objectively measure a variety of different cognitive skills to gain a greater awareness of our true mental strengths and weaknesses.
Scientists have also developed a variety of computerised training exercises to enhance a number of core cognitive skills. In particular to boost attention, memory and mental flexibility. This also triggers biochemical reactions within the brain that enhance long-term brain health. Research has shown that this type of brain training helps regulate dopamine receptors, which counteracts the effects of the stress hormone cortisol. By doing so it helps to reduce stress levels and increase emotional resilience when you’re under pressure to perform.
Perhaps what I like most about the premise of this book is the view that what sets owners of a winner’s brain apart is their desire to want to know how to actively take charge of their own development process. I guess we knew that already but now there are the brain scans and tools to prove how it happens. And we can all benefit from that.
Adapted from extracts from the book “The Winner’s Brain” and a book review by Duncan Ferguson.
