SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey there, Maureen Chana here, founder of the MindSight Academy, neurocoach to executives, leaders, entrepreneurs, and a neuroleadership trainer. And I use insights from neuroscience to help you flourish and exceed expectations. Welcome back to another episode of Lead to Excel podcast. I'm so thrilled to be with you today because today we're talking about how to rewire your brain and win the war in your mind. The leadership mindset is defined by how you see yourself in your professional role and the stories you tell others about who you really are. It's one of the most important but least understood and most neglected elements in becoming a high performance leader. Your mind basically is your most important component for your success. Your thoughts are the foundation of your dreams and all that you want to achieve in life. My aim today is to enable you to change your thinking about any part of your life. Because once you do, you'll be able to change how you feel and how you behave. And since only you can decide what you think, you have the ability to take complete control over your life. So grab a cup of coffee, put your feet up and listen in. A quote by Eckartol Thinking has become a disease. It's not so much that you use your mind wrongly, you usually don't use it at all. It uses you. That is the disease. You believe that you are your mind. The life that you have is a reflection of the thoughts that you think. Think about that. I've got a question for you. Are you willing to reinvent yourself? Are you willing to run, leap, soar, and become limitless? If you want to change your life, you've got to first change your thinking. When you change how you think and feel, your brain changes. Your brain literally works in response to and in relation to the world around you. But before we get into the nitty gritty of this of this episode, I want to start with a bit of science. After all, this podcast is using evidence from science, but I promise that I won't get too heavy. Let's start by looking at the male and female brain. Middle of the brain, which is known as the corpus callosium of a woman, is denser than that of a man, which means that the two hemispheres of a woman's brain are more symmetrical. So basically they work more evenly together. The male brain, on the other hand, has an asymmetrical tug. So the right frontal lobe, which is the frontal part of the brain, is larger than the left frontal lobe in the male brain. And the left occipital lobe, which is the back of the brain, is larger than the right occipital lobe. In both the male and female, the right hemisphere, so the right part of the brain processes visual and spatial information, which enables us to grasp the big picture. So basically, paying attention to the context. The left part of the brain, which is the left hemisphere, in contrast, is more detail-focused and linearly arranged information such as language are processed in the left hemisphere. Now looking at the chemic the biochemicals in the brain, the biochemicals is what really enables information to pass from one neuron to the other inside the brain. The three most research biochemicals, which are known as neurotransmitters, so they are the ones that transmit information in the brain, are first of all the serotonin, which helps to lower the noise in the brain by working to override other signals coming into the synapses. The synapse is the bit the part of the neuron where two neurons connect. So it's literally the gap between two neurons. So information passes from one neuron to the other. So that when information is coming into the brain, the way it is actually able to be transmitted around is for it to go from one neuron to another, so it's transferred. So the gap between two neurons is known as the synapse. And sometimes this serotonin intensifies those other signals that come between the synapses. Low levels of serotonin are associated with anxiety, depression, and OCD. John Arden describes serotonin as a traffic cop because it helps to control brain activity. People on Prozac tend to say things don't bother me the way they used to. The downside though is that it tends to make them feel numb to things so they don't actually get the benefit of really enjoying situations and enjoying life basically because literally what the Prozac does is dampen down those activities. The other neurotransmitter is the no epinephrine, which activates attention, it amplifies signals that influence perception and motivation, and it also has been associated with mood and depression. And antidepressants tend to target this neurotransmitter. Dopamine is the third one, and dopamine sharpens and focuses attention, and it's usually associated with reward, movement, learning, and pleasure. As dopamine activates the pleasure center of the brain, and this pressure center is known as the nuclear circumvence, it has also been associated with addictive behaviors such as gambling, alcohol, and drug abuse. When this area is activated frequently, it becomes difficult to stop doing the things that activate it, and that's what causes the addiction. Drugs that activate dopamine are used to help people with ADHD. So as you get to the end of this podcast, you would really get to understand how your brain becomes magnetized with the dominating thoughts that you hold in your mind. And just think about how these three neurotransmitters work and the impact that they have on the brain. And in the previous podcast I've done, I've actually explained basically how the thoughts are formed. What we're going to look at now is what actually leads to the ability for us as humans to be able to change our thought processes, to change our mindset. The brain changes its connections when you have a thought and when you remember something. The brain would not be able to record anything new if it was actually if it was hardwired. So we've looked and previously I've talked briefly about the neurons and the synapses, the gap, the space between the neurons and how information can move from one neuron to another. Now, if you didn't have these synapses and if the neurons were hardwired together, so in essence, if once a thought process comes in that it stays that way and nothing can change, then we will have difficulties in learning new things. Because once we learn something and it's set, then that's how we'll literally be for the rest of our lives, which was the belief that was had before that once you have a thought, the way you are, basically, um when you're born or when you're young is the way you'll be for the rest of your life. In the online courses that I run, the I always commit the first module in particular to how the brain is wired, how thoughts are formed, how neurons are formed. So if you're really interested in knowing more about this, you can have a look at the mindsiteacademy.com, look into the modules and get a greater understanding of exactly how thoughts are formed. But in this podcast, we're going to look at how to rewire those neurons and those dot processes. Neuroplasticity represents the concept of use it or lose it. And what neuroplasticity literally means is that the brain is able to change. And science has shown us this recently and confirmed it by a lot of evidence that we can even keep learning right until into our old age. Now, at the beginning of our lives, from age 0 to 2, in particular, is the time that the brain really absorbs a lot. And technically, from zero to six years, or the first six years of life, the brain is literally a sponge. So it's just absorbing everything. And then as time goes on, you can change things that you've learned, and that's what neuroplasticity is. So neuroplasticity literally means that we are able to rewire our brain. And you the concept of use it or lose it means that a thought process that you use regularly will become more evident in your actions, your behaviors, and your beliefs. The ones you don't use, you can you lose them because they are not evident. And that's the whole that's what the concept of neuroplasticity is. So the more you do something in a particular way, so that could be using the words you use with a specific accent, for example, or when you remember something about your past, the more the neurons that connect together will strengthen that connection. I use myself as an example. I was born in the northern part of England, Yorkshire. As a young girl, I had a strong Yorkshire accent. At the age of nine, I went back to Nigeria. And because I wasn't now using the Yorkshire accent much, I wasn't hearing it much, I wasn't using it much. What I was hearing a lot of us surrounded by was more the Nigerian accent. Within a few years, I completely lost the Yorkshire accent and ended up with a Nigerian accent. And you find that as you get older, you need more practice to be able to rewire these neuron pathways. So forgetting something simply means that neurons that don't connect together would lose that link. And that's why we forget things. And you know, this whole concept, I want you to think about it in terms of even thought processes you have. When you don't use them, you lose them. The more you do something, the more likely it is that you will repeat it in the future. Things like driving, learning, thinking, the more you think about things, you know. I'll use I'll use panorazon as an example because that is my greatest weakness. I love it so much. The pastry. And the more I think about it, the more I really want to have it, and the more it keeps popping into my mind over and over again. And then when I then see it, it's so hard to resist. So the the way to rewire my brain is not to think about it or to think about it in terms of and tell myself, you know what, I'll probably treat myself to it next week so that that way I'm rewiring my brain. Just time I used to actually have it almost every day, literally. So, what we're saying, in essence, is that repetition rewires the brain and breeds habits. My aim in this episode is to provide you with information to help you increase your self-awareness and shape your thoughts to enable you to accomplish what you want in each moment and live the life that you truly intend to or the truly desire. I find that it's helpful to make an assessment of where you are right now. So this is a good time for you to stop and actually think about yourself. You know, measure, acknowledge as you start putting these things into practice, celebrate the changes that you're making and actually chart your steps and the and the things you're going to do next. So it's always beneficial to kind of assess, okay, what are what are my thoughts about different things? What are my thoughts about success? What are my thoughts about finances? What are my thoughts about being a leader, about my career? What are my thoughts about losing weight? And just kind of assess where you are right now. So it will be beneficial for you at this moment to measure how you are managing your own thoughts right now. Are you aware of your thoughts? Are you aware of what you think, or do you just think the thoughts and assume that's okay? A lot of people feel or believe that it's okay to be anxious about things. But the fact is that you can rewire that thought process, and you find that you're not you don't get anxious about things, but when things happen, you're able to keep yourself calm because when you're anxious, you block off or deactivate the conscious part of your brain, the thinking part of your brain. So it's so important to rewire your brain to enable you to stay calm even when under pressure. Transformation is never comfortable, and this is one of the reasons why people find it difficult to change the way they think. If your brain criticizes or judges you because you should have already known a particular point of view, or because you did not know it and failed to practice it, and thereby wasted time or money or damaged a relationship. The way to rewire your brain here is to tell your brain, you know what, thanks for sharing, thanks for letting me know. But don't dwell on it and then keep criticizing yourself or judging yourself. Instead, acknowledge the thought that you're thinking, and then ask yourself if that thought is actually helpful, basically. The first step always is to develop the self-awareness, is to be aware of what you're thinking, aware of what you believe in, aware of who you are. Self-awareness is as if you are peeling an onion. So peeling away the layers of beliefs, expectations, the ways of thinking and being that you have built up over years. It's discovering who you really are. So I invite you now to experience the joy of peeling away all the layers of your limiting beliefs, doubts, and deceptive thoughts as we go into detail of how to rewire your brain and win the war in your mind. How do your thoughts rule your life, your career, your children, your relationships, your organization, and your family? Are your thoughts producing positive results, or are they preventing you from maximizing your potential? Do your thoughts inspire you, or do you suffer from persistent self-doubt, anxiety, fear, and worry? Are your thoughts causing you to feel happy and peaceful, or are they causing you to feel stressed and victimized? Are your thoughts causing you to suffer from poor mental, emotional, and physical health? Do your thoughts cause you to live your life the way you want to live it? Or do your thoughts paralyze you and cause you to self-sabotage your progress and undermine your intentions? Do your thoughts serve you or are they detrimental to you? Some hard-hitting questions there, but just play this back and listen to them again and answer the questions and be really truthful to yourself. Many people do not realize that you can actually change the course of your lives, you can change the dynamics in your family, you can change your organization's trajectory through your thoughts. You can change the success of your team and your organization through your thoughts. When your thoughts control you, you are operating in a reactive mode. This is where you find yourself being offended by your customers, by your boss, by your line manager. You get irritated with your spouse, you start resenting friends, resenting competitors and colleagues, and generally you're walking around like an emotional time bump ready to explode. And I don't know if you've ever worked with anyone like that. I certainly have. One of the teams I was uh managing there were in one office, and there was a particular person there who you never know what you're going to get each day. Sometimes she could come in, okay, and sometimes she was literally like an emotional time bump. And when she exploded, she really exploded. And it's so unfortunate when you have someone like that because people like this end up taking over the whole atmosphere of the team and bringing a lot of negativity into it. Working in such an environment is really not good, and that's one of the reasons why I wrote the course on emotional intelligence in leadership to really empower leaders for them to be emotionally intelligent, but to get their teams to be highly emotionally intelligent as well. Because once you do, you're able to achieve so much, you're able to go through so many challenges, and you're able to deal with people like this because people like that that are going around as literally as emotional time bumps are probably not even aware, and they don't if they're not even aware of the harm that they're doing to themselves, most importantly. So your mind is your important component for your own success, but also for the success of people around you. If a thought does not bring you growth, peace, or inspire you, it's by its very nature destructive and diseased. Okay, this is a good place to end part one. Next week, we're going to go on to part two and looking further into the different techniques to help you rewire your brain. Okay, three things before we finish today. Have you subscribed to this podcast? If you haven't, make sure you click on that subscribe button whenever you listen to this podcast. Because once you subscribe, you will not miss an episode. I will do bonus episodes and I probably won't email about them. So when I have a bonus episode come out, you will get it in your app wherever you subscribe to the podcast. So make sure you do so. The second thing is please leave a review because this would help me in deciding what topics to talk about, and also be able to address the questions or comments that you raise. But also, I will do a listener shout out each week and it just might be you. So thank you once again for tuning in and remember that one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today is that many leaders are not in control of their thoughts, they are not in control of their mindset. So to be an effective leader, you need to first and foremost be aware of who you are because you really cannot lead people if you don't lead yourself first. If you want to learn more about the services I offer, please go to morenchiana.com. You can also have a look at the online courses that I run at the mindsightacademy.com. You will find courses such as emotional intelligence in leadership and growth mindset culture transformation. And all these are based on the insight on insights from neuroscience. So it's really looking at what drives people, what makes people behave the way they do, helping leaders and executives and teams to change the way they think and the way they behave to enable you to achieve high performance and fast results. It's empowering leaders to help you return to the soul of your leadership role so that you can be more effective in your role as a leader, and it will provide you with the concrete skills to get you to the top and keep you there. Finally, next week I'll go further into how to rewire your brain and winning the war in your mind part two. So I really wish you a fantastic week and I look forward to seeing you next week. See you soon.