The ENERGY OF FOCUS
Doug Smith - Buffalo Sabres vs Boston Bruins - The Brakes

The ENERGY OF FOCUS

Focus is a Competitive Advantage for You

The human brain weighs about 2% of the total body weight, yet it uses 25% of the total glucose consumption. (Glucose is a sugar that is a major energy source for your body.) There are about 100 billion neurons in the brain, each with around 10,000 synaptic connections to other brain cells. With so many neurons working, you can see how a portion of the brain can get tired.

When a portion of the brain gets tired, it does not prompt the body to gasp for air like when you are doing heavy exercise: it just slows down. The brain region mostly involved with focus is the prefrontal cortex. (This is the area immediately behind your forehead.) The prefrontal cortex represents only 4% to 5% of the brain volume, but it uses a disproportionate amount of energy.

Dr. Roy Baumeister of the University of Florida conducted a study to learn the effects of energy on brain activity. “We have a limited bucket of resources for activities like decision-making and impulse control,” he explains, “and when we use these up, we don’t have as much for the next activity.”

Dr. Baumeister’s experiment involved having participants make a long series of difficult decisions. Some participants got lemonade with sugar and others got lemonade with an artificial sweetener. The participants who received the sugar were able to maintain their brain energy, but those getting the artificial sweetener saw their performance decline because their brains were energy-starved.

At first sight, you might conclude from Dr. Baumeister’s experiment that we should be drinking sugary drinks all day to get our brains to deliver high energy. However, then we would gain weight, lose our teeth and face other possible health concerns like diabetes. Further, our bodies would adapt to the high sugar content and we would always need more to get the same energy produced. So if sugar is not the solution, what is? Clear goals, detailed action plans, and good habits to implement the plans are better solutions than sugar drinks.

Willpower is a Limited Resource

Dr. Baumeister has also shown that we have a limited amount of willpower and that it too can be depleted. Once you force yourself to do one thing, the willpower available to apply it again is reduced. Recognize the limitations of trying to force yourself to do things through willpower. Of course, it is best when your motivation is strong enough that you do not feel the need to use willpower to take action.

Planning

Planning is another activity that takes a lot of energy in the prefrontal cortex. Thus, making plans throughout the day when the brain is tired can lead to bad choices. Try to plan early in the day when the brain has more energy. Below is one simple action you can mobilize right away and other actions can be found in The Trauma Code, Unlocking your performance.

Multitasking can fool you

A surprising fact regarding our brains: the prefrontal cortex can get overloaded. Based on study results, Dr. Hal Pashler of the University of California at San Diego concluded multitasking can cause the IQ of a Harvard MBA to drop to the IQ level of an eight-year-old during multitasking. Yet, multitasking is the environment in which many decisions are made. And then people wonder why the obvious was missed.

Multitasking works well when only one of the tasks requires conscious thought. Once an activity becomes routine and part of embedded memory, the conscious mind can have minimal involvement. Lesson: try to avoid multitasking with two activities that require conscious thought.

Summary

I experienced incredible results when getting back into the game after serious injuries; when I was able to focus my energy. A strong focus is not easy. Science teaches us that because the brain energy available to focus our efforts is limited, we must use this energy wisely.

This is why we need to have clear goals to direct our focus. The process should start with an effective decision-making process to establish goals. Once the goals are determined, planning early in the day and developing positive habits are valuable strategies to accomplish the goals. Obstacles and distractions will inevitably occur. Accept this as normal and do not let them derail you.

Finally, beware of multitasking where two activities require conscious thought. We give ourselves far too much credit for being able to multitask effectively.

Be aware of the Actions and Benefits

  • The Action - 10 minutes of Reading, Exercise & Meditation 3 X per week
  • The Growth - Focus
  • The Benefit - Reduce your risk

Have a great day!

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If you are hurting and you feel you need medical attention call 911 immediately.

Marc St-Arnaud

Directeur de gestion vente et marketing chez Apimak Marketing | Certificats en gestion de projets Google

10 个月
回复
Wolfgang Schareck

Breath and Life Guide

2 年

Hi Doug, I teach conscious diaphragmatic breathing and would love to share ideas with you that might be helpful to your readers. I will be in Calgary and Vancouver for the month of March and would love to connect with you at that time. Wolfgang

Ronald Bates

Will Direct To Funding For Specific Projects

2 年

My exposure to hockey from the goaltender position has created awareness of injury and pain. I am still through health care professionals being informed of serious injuries not aware of. Pain yes, point of occurrence yes but not the extent of it. ie goalmouth scrums and a boot on mask and jaw line. Extreme pain, serious bruising, and for a few days not able to open mouth. It healed I thought. Pain blocked. Injuries linger, as does pain, that agitates and changes behaviour.

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