Training the Brain for Success

Regardless of what you do, or situation, you are in, having success is usually a goal. Everyone, I believe, wants to be successful. The parent communicating with their children, communicating with a spouse, a co-worker, an employee, a boss, a patient, a client, a customer or a prospect, I truly believe everyone wants success. To reach the success plateau we have to train our brains to understand people and how they process information and how they react to that information. 

There are tools you can use to train your brain to recognize both the personality and processing style of the other person with whom you are interacting. 

First, I will share with you ‘DISC’, a powerful and simple tool for understanding people. Understanding DISC will unlock the key to better relationships, conflict resolution, motivation, and personal growth. 

Since human behavior is not cut and dry or black and white the DISC theory breaks it down to four types of personalities.

The ‘D’ stands for Dominant. These people are direct and decisive. They exhibit a high ego, project strength. They think of themselves as problem-solvers and risk-takers and they are usually self-starters. They are valuable to an organization because they value time, are focused on the bottom line, they love a challenge especially to the status quo, and, they are extremely innovative. These are the positives sides to a ‘D’.

The negative sides to a ‘D’ are they too often they overstep their authority, they like to argue. Routines are negative to them and they usually have too full a plate. Their greatest fear is being taken advantage of. That said, they are motivated by new challenges and the power to face these encounters. They love the risks involved and they love to make decisions. They also love the lack of routine and pedestrian chores. 

The ‘I’ stands for Influence. People with this personality are usually enthusiastic, very trusting, and optimistic. They are very verbose, persuasive, emotional, and impulsive. They add to the mix a knack for creative problem-solving. They love to encourage and motivate others. The ‘I’ personality usually has a good sense of humor and because they are great peacemakers can usually negotiate conflict.

The negative side of an ‘I’ they are usually more focused on being popular then results and are not focused on detail. Most of the time the ‘Influencer’ is not a great listener, they seem to listen when it is fitting. You can motivate them with flattery, praise, and acceptance. They love it when they can disregard rules and can get others to handle the details. 

The  ‘S’ is for Steadiness. These people are good listeners and team players. You can count on an ‘S’ to be friendly, predictable, and understanding. However, they really resist change and take a long time to adjust to it. Too often they hold grudges and are sensitive to criticism plus getting them to set priorities can be a chore. 

The ‘S’ personality fears losing their security but, this fear can be overcome by recognizing their loyalty and dependability. Since safety and security are two of their top values, reassurance in those areas is paramount. Give an ‘S’ an activity and rest assured they will start and finish it as long as they don’t experience any sudden changes.

The ‘C’ personality is very Compliant. They are accurate and very analytical. The ‘C’ personality is conscientious, careful, and precise. They thrive on finding facts and are extremely systemic and have high standards for themselves and others. They are the anchor of reality for the organization. On the negative side, they need specific boundaries to justify their actions. They seldom will argue and show their feelings. I would suggest to never criticize   ‘C’ personality. They are motivated by little to none social interaction. The more detailed duties you give them, the more they love it. 

Now, that you have the tools to recognize a personality type, it’s time to share how they process information. Human beings process information through their five senses; visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, and gustatory. Most people use their visual, auditory and kinesthetic, (VAC) and that’s what we will share.

The visual person usually speaks very fast and uses visual words like, “I see what you mean; that looks good”. They think that 1000 words paint a picture for your mind. I would suggest you start a list of visual words so, when you hear them, you will recognize, and you will know that person thinks in visual terms. 

When speaking note the eyes of a visual person are, they move up to your right or left? If they are moving up to your right, it means they are recalling an image; to your left, they are constructing an image.

If the eyes are moving horizontally to your right, they are recalling sounds or words and to your left, they are constructing sounds or words. 

When the eyes are moving down to your right, they are having an internal dialogue, and looking down toward your left they are getting a FEELING as well as taste and smell.

This system of defining people style of processing information is normally organized for right-handed people and about 85% of the left-handed people in the world. 

The auditory person speaks a little slower than the visual person who is seeing pictures while the auditory person is hearing or listening in their mind’s ear and will use auditory words like, “I hear you” or “that sounds good”. Here again, I would suggest you start a list of auditory words for your reference. 

Now, the kinesthetic person speaks very slow because he’s ‘feeling’ his words and thoughts. Words that a kinesthetic person may use are,” that feels right” or “I’m comfortable with that”. Once again make a list of kinesthetic words, feeling words, for your use.

Listen to the words, watch the eyes, and recognize the DISC style. This bit of knowledge will be a big help in training the brain for success.