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MESSAGE #571 IMAGINE…

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Myles Smythers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Many of you enjoyed yesterday’s blog message on willpower and the highlights from Dr. Sam Wang’s talk on the brain for the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce. During his talk, I became more intrigued by the brain and how it relates to performance. I had a nice conversation with Dr. Wang afterwards and he recommended I get a book called, “The Body Has A Mind Of Its Own” by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee. I bought the book last night and immediately dove into it.

The title of today’s message is IMAGINE, but it’s not about the John Lennon song.

I think the biggest difference between normal athletes and elite athletes is that the elite athletes use imagery or visualization in their training. In my own experience, I visualize many times a day, especially if I am about to do something important. It helps me be less nervous and perform at a higher level. For example, before I give a talk, I visualize myself being a bit nervous, but then, acting confident and performing at a high level. I try to involve as many senses as I can – I try to see the room, smell what the room may smell like, hear sounds that may be present, feel the temperature, etc. Then, when it actually happens, it feels familiar.

In “The Body Has A Mind Of Its Own,” the authors talk about this type of imagery and visualization…

“Imagining Versus Doing”

“Anybody who likes watching sports can see that certain athletes appear to mentally rehearse what they are about to do…before they get going, they prime themselves.” (Pascual-Leone)

Many famous musicians do the same thing.

A violinist who spent seven years in prison and practiced playing in his mind every day gave a flawless performance the night he got out of jail.

When you mentally rehearse a movement, all but one of the brain regions that control your movements become active in the absence of movement. You imagine throwing the dart but your body is immobile. You imagine pressing the piano key but your muscles are still. So motor imagery is the off-line operation of your brain’s motor machinery unfolding as if it were happening in real time. It takes you about as long to imagine walking across your bedroom as it would if you actually did the walk. Such a walk takes longer if you imagine yourself carrying a heavy box. If you imagine yourself running, your breathing speeds up and your heart rate increases. If you imagine moving your little finger for ten minutes a day, after four weeks it will be up to one-fifth stronger.

Another interesting finding was that “…the level of performance after five days of motor imagery was equivalent to three days of physical practice. But when he added one day of physical practice to five days of motor imagery, his subjects were as good as those who practiced only physically for five full days. This means motor imagery can give you a distinct advantage in your training. You can get better with less rather than more physical practice. And it’s gentler on the knees.”

So that’s what we’re talking about.

IMAGINE your potential.



Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #570 THIS IS YOUR BRAIN…

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nicole D’ Onofrio.

Yesterday I attended a lecture by Sam Wang, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology and Neuroscience at Princeton University and co-author of the book, “Welcome to Your Brain.” Dr. Wang gave an informative and entertaining presentation about the brain with facts, myths and tips.

Many people feel that listening to Mozart as a baby (Baby Einstein) will help develop your brain. This is false and interesting enough the Baby Einstein products were tested on college students. And those babies that watch DVDs one hour a day actually learn language slower. Talking to your child, is better, even if they can’t speak yet.

We only use about 10 percent of our brain right? Wrong. We use all of our brain. If you have a stroke somewhere in your brain, you will know.

I also learned that the mental abilities are the same in men and both sexes are equally moody – we are just better at reading women’s moods.

I spoke with Dr. Wang after his presentation and asked him how he thought his research tied in with peak performance for athletes. One of the things he mentioned was called willpower building. He said that willpower is trainable, just like your muscles. Below is an interesting article that he co-wrote.

Tighten Your Belt, Strengthen Your Mind
By SANDRA AAMODT and SAM WANG
New York Times, April 2, 2008

DECLINING house prices, rising job layoffs, skyrocketing oil costs and a major credit crunch have brought consumer confidence to its lowest point in five years. With a relatively long recession looking increasingly likely, many American families may be planning to tighten their belts.

Interestingly, restraining our consumer spending, in the short term, may cause us to actually loosen the belts around our waists. What’s the connection? The brain has a limited capacity for self-regulation, so exerting willpower in one area often leads to backsliding in others. The good news, however, is that practice increases willpower capacity, so that in the long run, buying less now may improve our ability to achieve future goals — like losing those 10 pounds we gained when we weren’t out shopping.

The brain’s store of willpower is depleted when people control their thoughts, feelings or impulses, or when they modify their behavior in pursuit of goals. Psychologist Roy Baumeister and others have found that people who successfully accomplish one task requiring self-control are less persistent on a second, seemingly unrelated task.

In one pioneering study, some people were asked to eat radishes while others received freshly baked chocolate chip cookies before trying to solve an impossible puzzle. The radish-eaters abandoned the puzzle in eight minutes on average, working less than half as long as people who got cookies or those who were excused from eating radishes. Similarly, people who were asked to circle every “e” on a page of text then showed less persistence in watching a video of an unchanging table and wall.

Other activities that deplete willpower include resisting food or drink, suppressing emotional responses, restraining aggressive or sexual impulses, taking exams and trying to impress someone. Task persistence is also reduced when people are stressed or tired from exertion or lack of sleep.

What limits willpower? Some have suggested that it is blood sugar, which brain cells use as their main energy source and cannot do without for even a few minutes. Most cognitive functions are unaffected by minor blood sugar fluctuations over the course of a day, but planning and self-control are sensitive to such small changes. Exerting self-control lowers blood sugar, which reduces the capacity for further self-control. People who drink a glass of lemonade between completing one task requiring self-control and beginning a second one perform equally well on both tasks, while people who drink sugarless diet lemonade make more errors on the second task than on the first. Foods that persistently elevate blood sugar, like those containing protein or complex carbohydrates, might enhance willpower for longer periods.

In the short term, you should spend your limited willpower budget wisely. For example, if you do not want to drink too much at a party, then on the way to the festivities, you should not deplete your willpower by window shopping for items you cannot afford. Taking an alternative route to avoid passing the store would be a better strategy.

On the other hand, if you need to study for a big exam, it might be smart to let the housecleaning slide to conserve your willpower for the more important job. Similarly, it can be counterproductive to work toward multiple goals at the same time if your willpower cannot cover all the efforts that are required. Concentrating your effort on one or at most a few goals at a time increases the odds of success.

Focusing on success is important because willpower can grow in the long term. Like a muscle, willpower seems to become stronger with use. The idea of exercising willpower is seen in military boot camp, where recruits are trained to overcome one challenge after another.
In psychological studies, even something as simple as using your nondominant hand to brush your teeth for two weeks can increase willpower capacity. People who stick to an exercise program for two months report reducing their impulsive spending, junk food intake, alcohol use and smoking. They also study more, watch less television and do more housework. Other forms of willpower training, like money-management classes, work as well.

No one knows why willpower can grow with practice but it must reflect some biological change in the brain. Perhaps neurons in the frontal cortex, which is responsible for planning behavior, or in the anterior cingulate cortex, which is associated with cognitive control, use blood sugar more efficiently after repeated challenges. Or maybe one of the chemical messengers that neurons use to communicate with one another is produced in larger quantities after it has been used up repeatedly, thereby improving the brain’s willpower capacity.

Whatever the explanation, consistently doing any activity that requires self-control seems to increase willpower — and the ability to resist impulses and delay gratification is highly associated with success in life.