Unlocking your potential through the power of neuro-literacy

By Dr. Jack Groppel, Diana Thomas & Mary McNevin, Ed.D.

Do you feel like you’re living your life on a never-ending treadmill, chasing too many priorities and never fully recharged or fulfilled? Living your life by default instead of by design? On today's treadmill—which seems to be stuck at top speed—the demands on business professionals increase every year. The cycle begs two questions:

1. When will it stop?
2. How can you attain the life you deserve?

The statistics are telling—according to the Global Leadership Forecast 2023 report by Development Dimensions International, 72% of leaders feel depleted by the end of the workday, which is a sign of burnout. In addition, nearly one-fifth of U.S. workers rate their mental health as fair or poor, leading to four times more unplanned absences due to mental health issues. This translates to an estimated $47.6 billion loss in productivity for the U.S. economy annually.

So many of us are clearly getting it wrong. Is it even possible to perform at an elite level and achieve our goals without eventually crashing?

The four pillars of elite performance

Our research and experience tell us that elite performers need to focus on four key areas to excel professionally and personally:

1. Purpose

2. Mental and emotional health

3. Well-being

4. Resiliency and recovery

By understanding your purpose and how your brain operates, you can enhance your performance in each pillar—essential components in going from good to great amid (and despite) the chaos surrounding us.

The question is—how?

It’s not enough to be tough

While mental toughness (striving to push forward no matter the consequence) can get us so far, it's not sufficient in our quest for peak performance. Instead, we need new ways to become more literate about our behaviors and ways to improve them.

In an article titled "The Unbearable Automaticity of Being," the authors question the assumption that people are consciously and systematically processing incoming information to interpret their world, plan, and engage in courses of action. What they found is that most of an individual’s day-to-day life is determined not by conscious intentions and deliberate choices, but by mental processes that are put into motion by features of the environment and that operate outside of conscious awareness and guidance.

Would it surprise you to hear that this article was published in 1999? Simply put, we’re living on autopilot, and we have been for quite some time. To take control, change our brains, and establish new, constructive habit structures, we first need to become neuro-literate.

Using neuro-literacy to go from good to elite

Neuro-literacy is the ability to understand and transform counterproductive brain patterns into productive brain patterns so you can improve your performance in any area of life you choose, as well as your overall well-being. It intersects with emotional intelligence (EQ), but where EQ centers on self-awareness, neuro-literacy is about making self-awareness actionable so you can target and change counterproductive behaviors you’ve automatically adopted (many of which are shaped by childhood experiences).

Our brains are most malleable during childhood, but that doesn’t mean they’re fixed once we reach maturity. The new science of neuroplasticity has shown that our brains are changeable throughout our lifetimes, which underscores the fundamental premise of neuro-literacy: with training and practice, improvement is attainable for everyone, regardless of their current circumstances. We all have the power to become more conscious of our responses. When we’re able to change counterproductive behaviors into productive ones, we gain the opportunity to reach that next level of performance.

Neuro-literacy underpins the four pillars of elite performance

Being neuro-literate entails identifying and reprogramming counterproductive patterns in each of the four pillars. Here’s an example for each:

1. Identifying your purpose

Consider Julia, who grew up wanting to please her father (a lawyer) without taking the time to determine who she is and what she wants in life. She went to law school and pursued a career as an attorney because her dad expected her to follow in his footsteps. Without the awareness of her purpose, she’s going through the motions, which creates feelings of resignation, guilt, and inadequacy. By becoming neuro-literate, Julia realizes that she’s living on autopilot instead of pursuing her own meaningful goals and experiences. Now, she sees a world of possibilities to improve her performance at work and improve her circumstances.

2. Enhancing mental and emotional health

Fred's chronic impatience is his go-to strategy for getting things done, but it also means he struggles to empower his team to succeed. By identifying his counterproductive patterns, he realizes that his impatience is impeding collective and individual success. Fred uses the tools of neuro-literacy to transform these patterns, becoming less impatient while fostering stronger, healthier relationships with his team—and improving performance as a result.

3. Prioritizing well-being

Anne is so busy that she doesn’t take time to exercise or prepare healthy food. Her body isn’t feeling great, so she takes pain medicine and sleep aids. She’s survived and been successful this far, but she notices that she’s often too fatigued to engage effectively in her work. Using neuro-literacy to recognize the counterproductive patterns that have stopped her from prioritizing exercise and proper nutrition, she is able to replace unhealthy behaviors with those that better support her body and mind. This shift not only leads to improved physical health but also bolsters cognitive function, enabling her to tackle challenges with sharper focus and clarity.

4. Cultivating resiliency and recovery

Jason is feeling overwhelmed by all the pressures of work and life. Instead of allowing these feelings to rule his life, he concludes that his sense of ‘go, go, go’ is counterproductive. He develops productive patterns that allow for rest, recovery, and self-care when necessary. His new approach ensures he has the reserves needed to face challenges head-on, rather than succumbing to burnout or prolonged periods of unproductive stress.

What automatic brain patterns are holding you back in the four pillars of elite performance? How can you identify more productive behaviors?

Ask yourself:

• What behaviors and reactions do I want to change?
• How do I feel when my counterproductive brain patterns fire?
• What behaviors and reactions do I aspire to exhibit?
• How do I want to present myself to the world?

Next, try these steps:

• Identify counterproductive behaviors: Begin by recognizing specific (often automatic) actions or reactions that may not be productive.
• Envision a better way forward: Use visualization techniques to imagine the ideal response or behavior you'd like to exhibit.
• Leverage an accountability partner: Enlist the support of someone you trust to hold you accountable in your journey and point out counterproductive and productive behaviors.
• Interrupt negative patterns: When a counterproductive pattern emerges, pause, recalibrate, and cultivate a positive emotional response. Literally tell your brain to “STOP!”

How will you move from good to elite?

The behaviors that made you a high performer aren’t going to make you an elite performer. Elite performance requires a different approach.

We’re on a mission to empower organizations, leaders, and individuals to achieve remarkable results both personally and professionally through the transformative power of neuro-literacy. Learn how you can unlock your elite potential and reach new heights of success and fulfillment in all areas of your life with the NEXT System: https://bit.ly/neuro-literacy?

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr. Jack Groppel

Dr. Jack Groppel is Chief Science & Well-being Officer of NEXT Integrative Minds Life Sciences Ltd. He is an internationally recognized authority and pioneer in the science of human performance. He began studying high performance in the 1970s and has coached countless world-class athletes, Fortune 500 CEOs, senior business leaders, healthcare leaders, military officers, and law enforcement officers. Dr. Groppel is the author of The Corporate Athlete and cofounder of the Human Performance Institute, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2008. He is the 28th Grand Inductee in the US Professional Tennis Association Hall of Fame. Due to the advances in neuroplasticity and his current efforts, he has joined forces with two corporate learning executives/industry leaders, Diana Thomas and Dr. Mary McNevin, and the team at NEXT.

Diana Thomas

Diana Thomas is a Certified NEXT Guide, a Certified Executive & Team Coach with Marshall Goldsmith's organization and a member of the ICF (International Coach Federation). She held the position of Vice President of Learning & Development for McDonald’s Corporation USA. Thomas is the co-author of Be More Strategic in Business and the host of Talent Champions. She holds an MBA, a master’s degree in Human Resources Development and Business Management, a BA in Education and Economics, and is also a certified 500 yoga instructor. As a proven, successful Fortune 100 Executive, Thomas partners with business executives to help them become better leaders and find more happiness in their lives.

Dr. Mary McNevin

Dr. Mary McNevin is an executive coach, talent advisor, and former CLO and award-winning talent executive. She is a growth-oriented talent management executive with 20+ years of experience in learning, talent management, succession planning, and strategy development. Dr. McNevin earned her doctorate (EdD) from the University of Pennsylvania through an interdisciplinary program with GSE and Wharton School of Business. Her dissertation focused on Executive Coaching in the C-suite. Dr. McNevin also holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MS in Education from the University of Pennsylvania.