MM#259--Foundations in Flourishing

Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, David Kaiser.

Hello, I am David and welcome back to another Mojo Minute. We talk often about the power of habits and how to create a system of interlocking habits, to begin to craft a masterpiece day, and then to create a masterpiece week, and then a masterpiece month, and finally a masterpiece year, and then we hope to string together, year after year after year all of those being masterpieces, all through a series of habits, systems and habits. So today I want to chat friend to friend. I want to share with you a habit that I started some 10 years ago. Then I went away from it and then I came back to it. The reason I came back to it is I think there's something there, I think there's some power in what I'm going to share with you today. But before I do that, before I share my story, let's go to our first pull quote to find out about the science. The word I hear most people use often is stuck. I'm stuck in a rut. I'm stuck in a toxic relationship, stuck in a self-destructive pattern, stuck in a job that makes me feel miserable, stuck in a city I hate, stuck in a world that tells me I'm worthless and I don't matter. Stuck, stuck, stuck. Why is this? Is this because we're lazy, undisciplined? Is it because we're not as committed to change as we think we are? I would argue that none of this is so Well. These are often the reasons we find ourselves in the frustrating process of circling that same block over and over again, and our lack of progress has nothing to do with our lack of effort. In fact, now that I've read the research I'm about to show you, I can tell you with surefire confidence that the reason we get stuck in negative patterns has nothing to do with willpower, discipline, goodwill or our work ethic. It has everything to do with our brains. Our brains are remarkable organs that were designed with survival in mind, and this is where it gets super good. I'm not a neuroscientist, but I have done just enough research on this topic to be dangerous, and here's my incredibly simplistic take Our brains have mastered the skill of automating behavior to make it easy as possible. Think about it this way when you take an action, or even think a thought, for that matter a tiny little messenger is sent from one brain cell to another brain cell. It's almost like the messenger is saying this is how we take out the garbage, this is what we think about your mother-in-law. The path this message takes is called a neural pathway. The more times that path is traveled, the more well-worn it becomes. So when that little messenger has traveled that path some 100 times or a thousand times, or 10,000 times, it becomes well-worn enough that your brain doesn't even have to stop to think before you take out the trash or judge your mother-in-law. It just doesn't. You probably most easily recognize this tendency by your strange ability to drive to one place you lived a decade ago but haven't visited in years. Or how about remembering a friend's old phone number? Your brain has automated this behavior. And that quote comes to us from a very intriguing and interesting book titled the Power of Writing it Down by Allison Fallon. Now back to her quote. She said your brain has automated this behavior. So that's pretty cool, eh, but here's where it gets good. Did you know we covered something quite similar to this in our review of the book Deep Work by Cal Newport? Oh really, you might say…. And the key idea we covered in the Academy with the book Deep Work is this Going to that quote, these scientists increasingly believe the answer includes myelin, a layer of fatty tissue that grows around neurons, acting like an insulator that allows the cells to fire faster and cleaner. To understand the role of myelin in improvement, keep in mind that skills, be they intellectual or physical, eventually reduce down to brain circuits. This new science of performance argues you get better at a skill as you develop more myelin around the relevant neurons, allowing the corresponding circuit to fire more effortlessly and effectively. To be great at something is to be well myelinated. Well myelinated huh, why using that phrase? I guess in your next business meeting perhaps I'm sure it'll go across. Well, now, that is quite fascinating research. But just how do you get more quote unquote more myelinated? Well, cow newport tells us. Going back to the book, this understanding is important because it provides a neurological foundation on of why deliberate practice works. By focusing intensely on a specific skill, you're forcing the specific relevant circuit to fire again and again in isolation. This repetitive use of a specific circuit triggers cells called allogondra dendrocytes. If you're the scientist who found this particular substance, oligo dendrocylates, I applaud you, because who in the world could ever say that repeatedly, especially in a research paper? This repetitive use of a specific circuit triggers cells called we already said that word before to begin wrapping layers of myelin around the neurons and the circuits effectively cementing the skill. The reason, therefore, why it's important to focus intensely on the task at hand, while avoiding distraction, is because this is the only way to isolate the relevant neural circuit Enough to trigger useful myelination. Ah yes, useful myelination, that's what we were all after. Oh my, now we are getting deep into the science of what is going on in our brains with these quote neural pathways. Now wait, this is where it gets super cool, because we've connected those two dots and those are big ideas. But before this, we have not linked all three of the so-called big ideas together Until now. And John Raddy's book Spark, which we've covered in the Academy and if you're not a member of the Academy, you've got to be one. The library is growing there and it's becoming super cool. Click on the link in the show page because you get all this good, deep nuggets of wisdom. But John Raddy says this in his book Spark. Check this out. Darwin taught us that learning is the survival mechanism we use to adapt to constantly changing environments. Inside the micro environment of the brain, this means forging new connections between cells to relay information. When we learn something, whether it's a French word or a salsa step, cells morph into order to encode that information, the memory physically becomes part of the brain. As a theory, this idea has been around for more than a century, but only recently has it been born out in the lab. What we know now is that the brain is flexible or plastic in the parlance of a neuroscientist or play dough than porcelain. It's an adaptable organ that can be molded by input and put in, much the same way as a muscle can be sculpted by lifting barbells the more you use it, the stronger and more flexible it becomes. And then Raddy goes on and finishes this thought. What most people think of as a psychological makeup is rooted in the biology of these connections. Likewise, our thoughts and behavior and environment reflect back on our neurons, influencing the pattern of connections. Far from being hard wired, as scientists once envisioned it, the brain is constantly being rewired. I'm here to teach you how to be your own electrician. I mean, can we get a… Holy smokes. Okay, thank you, but seriously, now that is fascinating, fascinating stuff. Three big ideas which we have now connected together in a symphony of sorts, a symphony to help you start flourishing. We have the link with John Ratty's spark about how exercise helps our brain. We have Cal Newport's super deep power of deep work, helping us to learn all about creating those neural pathways. And now we have the writing power of Allison Phelan, which talks about this deliberate practice of writing things down. Oh my, just linking three key ideas together Fascinating stuff. This is the key to building and creating a flourishing life. Let's grab one more quote from this book about writing things down. You don't need to understand all of the neuroscience or psychology about how your brain works right now. What you do need to understand is that you have a key to unlock the mystery of your brain, to jump out of those old ruts, to carve new pathways when you realize the old ones aren't taking you where you want to go anymore. In this book, I'm going to show you not only why writing is the tool to help you to do this, but also how writing can teach you how to break old habits, reroute those old pathways and find a new way forward. Now Allison recommends we get roughly 20 minutes of actual writing things down each and every day. Now that might sound like a lot. In fact, she says, if that's too much, just start with 10 minutes or 5 minutes. Hell, I would say two minutes would still help. But no matter what the promise that you have to make to yourself is, you need to start. You need to start. Draw a line in the sand and just start. My quick story is I started exercising in the morning some 10 years ago and I began to cultivate a deep habit of reading and writing right after exercising or before exercising. I've been doing that for 10 years now. Now, roughly eight years ago, my former boss, who I was interviewing for for this current position I'm in, he said I was one of the best interviews ease he had ever seen, and I attribute that to what I discovered through happenstance some 10 years ago but which we have connected the dots to today. Now. That's super exciting. So in today's Bojo Minute, I'm asked all the time what's the best way to start flourishing, how do I start doing the doing, and what would be the first thing that I would do? Well, if I was starting it all over some 10 years ago, I would do exactly what I did 10 years ago. No joke, not trying to be a wise guy. I would start exercising every day. Thank you, john Ratty. I would start reading every day. Thank you, cal Newport, for helping me to go deep, and I would start writing, and I can attribute that now to Allison Phelan, who has given us the science behind the power of writing things down. Make those big three part of your morning habit each and every day. Why? Because of the reasons we just outlined and, most of all, because you will be on the path to a flourishing life. I promise you. They are now well-documented foundations in flourishing.

Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.

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