How The Brain Can Turn That Frown Upside Down

Every Friday afternoon I get to meet with the BrainSAFE Coaching Cohort. I’ll share more about them next week, but for background the members of this cohort are technology specialists and coaches from five Arizona districts who are taking brain-based education practices into their lives and work. Their feedback is informing the fine tuning of BrainSAFE Education programming which we look forward to bringing to schools in the spring. These coaches are - in a word - amazing.

So last Friday we were discussing where we sat - at that moment - on the BRB - IGT Continuum (it’s an official thing now, tell the others). When asked, most of the group was hovering closer to the BRB side of things, sitting around a B on the continuum. Being the first few weeks of school, the lean towards BRB didn’t come as a surprise.?

What did surprise me was their perception of the BRB / IGK space as temporary in nature.

When I was first thinking of the BRB - IGK continuum, I saw it as a long term state of being… a way that we individually trend. I thought that some people are just Busy-Real-Busy People while others are Chill I-Got-This Types. I was seeing it as a persona, a way of living, a way of looking at the world. What hadn’t occurred to me was the benefit of seeing the temporary nature of one’s position on the continuum. The greatness and power in the idea that where you are isn’t static but can change minute-by-minute.?

That’s one of the cooler things about thought partners (and I consider the cohort members such). Their love of thinking, ideating, challenging, and learning takes one person’s idea and builds on it, creating something completely different than what it was at the start and even more beautiful and useful.?

So here’s the new idea being added to the conversation.

Where we sit on the BRB-IGT continuum can fluctuate by the minute.

It means that where we are right now - happy, sad, overwhelmed, completely in control - is momentary and, like the weather in so many places, can change by the minute. And, when we are in a not-so-great space, this can be very encouraging. When we are sitting in a great space, it can be a heads up to keep doing the great things that have been working for us.

I'd suggest taking a moment to re-read that because, as someone once said, "You don't really know it until your life shows it."

And for those of us who "get it" cognitively and think we really have it - we likely don't. It's when we see an example out in the wild that things really hit home. For me, it was last week when this topic came up and John Carruth , Superintendent of Vail Unified School District shared, “I’m IGT right now but if you’d asked me two hours ago, I’d have been BRB!”

So what moves us on the BRB-IGT Continuum?

Sometimes things simply sort themselves or a momentary crisis resolves itself.

An example is when, on a campus walk, I found water streaming merrily from under a bathroom door. You can bet that I shifted to BRB in an instant. Fortunately, IGT mode was engaged as soon as I turned off the faucet (and remove the wad of paper towels some mischief-minded individual had placed in the way of the drain), stopping the flood (and went to find a mop - “other duties as assigned” and all that.)?

But how often is it really that easy? It’s been my experience that there aren’t always quick and easy ways to mop up a problem. Are we stuck with waiting for things to change before we can move from BRB to IGT?

No. And that’s the good news.

What helps leaders like John Carruth or me with my mop move from BRB to IGT? Sometimes it's a a quick bathroom mop to clean up a short term problem. Often, however, it's a shift in perspective.

This may sound trite - a “turn that frown upside down” type statement.?

It’s not. It’s science. It feels like magic sometimes, but it's neuroscience. It's all in The Brain.

As humans we have an amazing ability to direct The Brain's focus. We don't always do it, but the power is there. It takes awareness, practice, and effort, but we can do it. And once we’ve learned this a magic door opens up and nothing can ever be looked at in quite the same way.

It’s pretty cool.?

Now, as I often tell people, I am not a neuroscientist nor will I ever be one. What I am is a practitioner, an educator, and a human that walks around with The Brain in my head. Just like I can drive a car without knowing the inner workings of the internal combustion engine, I can use The Brain without knowing all of the ins and outs of all of its inner workings. And, just like I’m not going to wait to know everything about the car before I drive it - I’m not going to wait until I have a neuroscientist’s level of understanding of brain science to take advantage of the knowledge of really smart scientists when it can make my life better.?

So let’s talk brain science

...at that level and see how The Brain can help us shift perspectives (or “turn that frown upside down”).?

The Brain is a powerful tool. We know this. We also know that The Brain loves to have lots of glucose, oxygen, and water to support its functioning. The Brain thanks us for providing all of these lovely things, by doing a number of essential jobs - one of which is to filter through countless bits of data and present us with what The Brain decides is the most useful at the moment. Think of how our browsers filter what we see based on our past online browsing… it’s a lot like that at the experiential level.?

This is amazing and very beneficial. At the most basic level, this work by The Brain allows us to stay more sane than we would be if - information unfiltered - we lived perpetually in the mental equivalent of a pinball machine with four bonus balls in play.?

So is it good that The Brain presents us with what it decides is the most useful at the moment?

It can be. It can also be a problem. You see, letting The Brain make the decisions can mean that we are not always getting the most valuable information in the moment. It means that The Brain, absent of our direct instruction and left to its own devices, will filter what we see based on what The Brain feels is the most important.

And what The Brain is focused on is always going to be tied to our survival and based on past experiences that kept its host - you know, you - alive.?

That’s it. Nothing more. This part of the brain - until and unless guided to do otherwise - is never going to filter past those two factors: What will keep you alive? What’s worked in the past?

This is HUGE for two reasons:

1. If we don’t know this happens, we can believe what The Brain is showing us is all that exists and is there to see.?

2. Knowing that The Brain might not be showing us everything is key to changing our perspective.

And supporting The Brain in opening up access to more information is simpler than we think. Now notice I said “simple,” I didn’t say “easy.” Like most great things - the steps are few. However, the journey to mastery can be as long or as short - as simple or as complicated - as we want it to (or let it) be.?

This is what the BrainSAFE Coaches are practicing

The Coaches in the BrainSAFE Cohort are working with redefining the filtering parameters of The Brain in order to support being their best selves and to bring even greater levels of service to those they serve in the workplace and in life.

They, for example, are working to help Their Brain shift into "how can I help this person feel SAFE?" mode, often replacing the, "What was this person thinking when they did this?" mode which is often less than beneficial.

They are looking at their reactions to external events and considering their SAFE needs to ensure they are acting from a state of positive contribution. It's a great process using simple tools for great effect.

Over time, we will share the process they are learning and implementing along with? some of their great (and challenging) experiences…. They are truly revolutionizing the way that they are living their lives, doing their work, and seeing their space in the world.?

It’s amazing to be a part of the experience. I’m grateful every day for their work, and during the week I look forward Friday to hear what the coaches have discovered throughout the week. As is attributed to Mark Twain, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”?

Laura Boone is a speaker-connector-coach. She talks about Structured Shifts. All-Day-Long.

Laura's goal is to help 1,000,000 people live better, lead stronger, and amplify the positive impact they have on the world by 2035. Join the work, get a frog, change a life. Join us at www.structuredshifts.com.