It’s Not the Size of Your Brain, But How You Use It
I remember when I was growing up that adults tried to scare us away from things like drinking and drugs because they killed brain cells. And once a brain cell dies, that’s it. Your brain now has one less neuron. So if a person kept doing these things, then eventually their brain would die.
Also, when I was growing up, we wore leg warmers even if we weren’t dancers, owned the fabled Trapper Keepers to corral schoolwork, and listened to our cassette tapes on tape decks and boom boxes. We had Cliffs Notes if we didn’t want to read the assigned books as well as plenty of unstructured play time. The adults got companies paying for three-martini lunches and most business people wore suits.
That was a while back. (In the interests of my ego, I will not say exactly how long ago that was, but IYKYK.) At most companies these days, a three-martini lunch will probably get you fired and suits are no longer de rigeur every day.
The culture has changed for both kids and parents, and we’ve had to adapt to 21st century culture. Otherwise, we’d be out of date and have difficulty functioning. (I talk a lot about what 21st century culture you can/should throw out in my new book.)
Think about all that’s changed since then, and some of the changes have come at a rapid pace. It doesn’t make sense that what we know about our brains would have stayed the same for all that time, especially since medical technology continues to make new discoveries.
And it hasn’t. Scientists have discovered that the brain can grow new neurons at any age. (Too much booze and drugs are still bad for the brain, though.) Scientists have updated their models to account for this “plastic” aspect of the brain.
Science continues to learn more about how it works. If it’s been a decade or more since your last science class, there are some concepts you learned about your brain that are now outdated.
And if you’re an entrepreneur, these conceptions might be holding you back. Your brain is your biggest asset in your business. Recognizing how it works so you work with it instead of against it is the best way to boost productivity without the burnout risk.
How science myths get made
There are a number of reasons why people today have misconceptions about scientific issues or think science is not reliable.
What’s taught in science class is known even at the time to be an approximation of what’s going on, but you don’t learn the details for various reasons.
For example, most of us were taught that sex in humans is binary, and if you have an XX chromosome you’re female and if XY you’re male. Even back then scientists knew that wasn’t exactly true, but children’s classes didn’t seem to be the right place to talk about intersex people or what happens with chromosomal abnormalities.
As the human ability to look at DNA improved, we also discovered that a gene, known as the SRY gene, could affect your sex. For example, even someone who has XX chromosomes which generally indicate womanhood can have male sex organs. It’s not just the chromosomes, but how the genes respond to the environment that can determine your sex.
2. Research is translated by journalists or educational institutions in a way that isn't entirely accurate.
Remember how red wine was supposed to be good for your heart? That was largely based on studies of large amounts of resveratrol (the antioxidant found in grape skins) on mice. This announcement was based on some faulty or potentially faulty premises.
For one thing, mice are generally a good stand-in for humans because their DNA is about 96% the same as ours, but there is that 4% difference that could potentially mean a big difference between what works in mice and what works on people.
Journalists usually translated the resveratrol bit into red wine, which is a lot sexier. It’s true that resveratrol is found in red wine, but you don’t have to drink alcohol – you could eat grapes. Also, the mice needed a lot of it to get the benefits, and you don’t want to get sloshed every day to get that amount of resveratrol.
Brain myths you may be using in your mental models
Similarly, we might have also learned that some people are “right-brained” and others “left-brained”’. Or that some people are visual learners, some verbal, and others hands-on. None of the above is actually true.
Some of the left-brain/right brain issue is due to better understanding of the brain and better tools to peer into it. When scientists originally started looking at MRIs of living brains, the data resolution showed that areas in one hemisphere of the brain lit up (meaning there was more blood flow to those areas so they were presumably more active) when people were involved in reading, language, and similar studies – whereas the other one lit up more when people were involved in logic and math puzzles.
That meant if the person preferred doing one type of subject they were “left-brained”, and if they preferred the other then they were “right-brained”.
I can’t remember which hemisphere was which, and it doesn’t matter since it turns out that actually both hemispheres are involved. Now that our technology can see more deeply into the brain, the images show that multiple regions in both hemispheres light up for different tasks.
You might have a preference for reading/language or math/logic, but that doesn’t mean one side of your brain is stronger or better or more able than the other.
Similarly, it was once thought that some kids learned better through words, others through images, and others through hands-on learning. This has been debunked. You may have a preference for learning (I prefer to learn by reading, which is why I don’t have a podcast). Yet if the material is better suited to learning from a different method, you’ll naturally use that second method instead.
For example, I can put together IKEA furniture by myself. As you know, those things don’t have words in the instruction manual. I'm not good at just looking at the parts and knowing where they go. But I can follow the pictures and complete the project. Others might watch a video of someone else doing the same thing, but no one’s reading because IKEA furniture isn’t suited for verbal learning.
Why not knowing about your brain can hinder your business
As a business owner, you’re a knowledge worker, no matter what industry your business happens to be in. As the owner you have the final say on strategies, plans, and decisions. That means your brain needs to be functioning well, so you have to know what it needs to function well.
If you think your brain is a computer, you'll get it wrong.
You also might not make good decisions, or rely too much on others, if you still believe in debunked ideas like right brain/left brain. For example, if you’re convinced that you’re “left-brained” so you’re wired only for language and reading, then you might think there’s no point to understanding your finances or your tax situation. You hire those functions out and let the experts do their job.
But if you don’t know your business’s basic financial situation, then you could get ripped off by someone who takes advantage of you because you don’t know what to look for. Or you could hire one who’s perfectly honest but not competent enough.
You probably won’t get yourself into too much trouble believing that you’re wired to learn a certain way (e.g. verbal, visual, hands-on.) It just might take you longer to get to where you want to go.
For example, as someone who’s worked for a couple of different financial software companies, I can tell you that the only way — the ONLY way – to learn software is to start using it and digging around in it.
You can watch as many videos as you like, but you won’t master it until you’re in there working with it. As someone with a preference for verbal learning, I can also assure you that you can read the FAQ all you want and you still have to get in there and fiddle around with it to master it.
Fortunately, you don’t have to know everything about the brain to be more productive
Which is good, since no one knows everything about the brain yet!
You just need to know how it flourishes, what nourishes it (because it’s not a computer!), and beyond the basic “operating system”, how yours works. Brains need the same things you need for physical health: rest, nutrition, etc. but also play and joy.
Every human has a time in the day that they’re best able to do complex or demanding tasks, which is the operating system humans come with.
But you have to learn what times are best for your specific brain, because not everyone works best by getting up at 4:30 am. That does work for some, but not everyone (contrary to popular belief, especially among early risers.)
Recap (tl;dr):
Your brain is key to your successful, thriving business. You may need to update your knowledge from time to time so you can get the most use out of it for peak performance.
Want to get systems in your business that work with your brain? Let’s talk about how we can work together - just click here to schedule your free consultation.
Photo by Ecliptic Graphic on Unsplash