Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

by David Rock, Bob Walter (Narrator)

Meet Emily and Paul: The parents of two young children, Emily is the newly promoted VP of marketing at a large corporation while Paul works from home or from clients' offices as an independent IT consultant. Their lives, like all of ours, are filled with a bewildering blizzard of emails, phone calls, yet more emails, meetings, projects, proposals, and plans. Just staying ahead of the storm has become a seemingly insurmountable task.

In this book, we travel inside Emily and Paul's brains as they attempt to sort the vast quantities of information they're presented with, figure out how to prioritize it, organize it and act on it. Fortunately for Emily and Paul, they're in good hands: David Rock knows how the brain works-and more specifically, how it works in a work setting. Rock shows how it's possible for Emily and Paul, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today's overwhelming work environment but succeed in it-and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Your Brain At Work explores issues such as:

- why our brains feel so taxed, and how to maximize our mental resources

- why it's so hard to focus, and how to better manage distractions

- how to maximize your chance of finding insights that can solve seemingly insurmountable problems

- how to keep your cool in any situation, so that you can make the best decisions possible

- how to collaborate more effectively with others

- why providing feedback is so difficult, and how to make it easier

- how to be more effective at changing other people's behavior.

©2009 David Rock (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Productivity, Personal Development, Science

10 pages, Audible Audio

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Dr. David Rock coined the term neuroleadership, and is the Co-founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute (NLI). The Institute is a 23-year-old cognitive science consultancy that has advised over 50% of the Fortune 100. With operations in 24 countries, the institute brings neuroscientists and leadership experts together to make organizations better for humans through science.

Dr. Rock has authored four successful books including Your Brain at Work, a business best-seller, and has written for and been quoted in hundreds of articles about leadership, organizational effectiveness, and the brain which can be found in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, CNBC, Forbes, Fortune, Inc., USA Today, BBC, The Boston Globe and more.

Dr. Rock is originally Australian, though based in the US since 2010. He holds a professional doctorate in the Neuroscience of Leadership from Middlesex University in the UK.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful insights on how the brain works.

Some takeaways:

* Your best-quality thinking lasts for a limited time. The answer is not always to "try harder."

* We have a limited bucket of resources for activities like decision making and impulse control. Make one difficult decision, and the next is more difficult.

* Prioritizing is one of the brain's most energy-hungry processes.

* Picturing something you have not yet seen is going to take a lot of energy and effort. This partially explains why people spend more time thinking about problems (things they have seen) than solutions (things they have never seen). It explains why setting goals feels so hard (it's hard to envision the future.)

* Maintaining a good focus on a thought occurs through not so much how you focus, but rather how you inhibit the wrong things from coming into focus.

* You now have an additional excuse for taking that stroll in the park when you're stuck on a problem. I can just picture someone's last words to their boss being fired: "I am going for a walk to forget about work and get totally unconscious." As funny as this sounds, it is what the research shows is needed when you get stuck at an impasse. The wrong answers are stopping the right ones from emerging.

* Insights occur more frequently the more relaxed and happy you are.

* Look for solutions instead of focusing on the problem.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The good news is I'm not Dazed and Confused . It's just my brain being a brain; everyone is in the same boat. David Rock's goal is to help the reader understand the brain's limitations,be mindful of it and act accordingly.

The prefrontal cortex, the Director of the Mind, is limited. It can only hold on to a small number of items for a limited time, gets tired easily, easily distracted, and reacts strongly to even mild threats. This book follows a husband and wife in typical work and family situations and gives a before and after scene (with acting with the brain in mind)

His big idea is that Attention Changes the Brain. There is an discussion of how the brain operates and a number of pragmatic recommendations(evidence based) to work within the limits of the brain.

The author is a consultant,coach and lecturer and presents the material in an interesting way with some practical options. It's clear that he has been doing this for a number of years.Recommended.


My Notes on his 1 hour long presentation: Your Brain at Work held at Google.

His hour long discussion @ google on the subject
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeJSXf...


The Four Surprises about our Brain

1) Rational Thinking is Overrated
2) We've got emotions backward
3) Social Issues are primary
4) Attention Changes the brain

1) Rational Thinking is Overrated:

When you try to hold thoughts is your PFC (PreFrontal Cortex) . Brain Functions; Understand, Decide, Recall, Memorize and Inhibit uses the PFC which has a very limited resources.

Doing a non-trivial math problem requires the brain to start thinking of one thing only : It must think serially and it can't think parallel.

Very conscious thinking uses a very small part of the brain, uses energy,you can only do one thing at a time. People looking to put less effort into things and avoid effort/discomfort.

PFC Size Analogy:If the amount of memory that can be held at one time in the PFC(aka working memory) is the size of a cubic foot the size of the rest of the brain is the Milky Way.

"A Threat Response" feeling anxious. It's hard to make others do things that require an effort to think/change they will react with a threat response. We gravitate toward things we do well and try to make our actions thought free.

Rational Thinking is overrated in two ways 1)what you can do with it and 2) It's not how we solve most problems.

Any time you do a math problem or make a conscious decision you use up a limited bucket of resources.

Doing a math problem uses a limited resource, uses up glucose,Effort uses Energy. Your brain becomes noisy.

Three Levels of Thinking:
1) Deleting Emails
2) Scheduling a Meeting
3) Writing a Pitch (uses glucose/energy perhaps done first)

If you truly respected attention as a limited resource what would you do differently ?

About 60% of problems we solve we don't know how we solved it. The PFC is an inhibitor.

In order for insights to occur you have to stop thinking. You have to dampen down the existing status quo thought. Allow for an entirely different wave of thinking.
The ability to quiet things down allow for more insights. The ability to listen to loose associations. (brain storming). The more happy the more weak associations you notice.

Big Question: What does it express about what you presently do and what does it express about what maybe you might do differently ?

Internal Data Processing Cognitive Control start thinking one way then switch to another is a valuable skill to have.
In problem solving the brain goes into idle for a few seconds and significantly fewer brain cells are used meaning less electrical activity, less arousal, less dopamine. It is quieter and needs to be listened to. You need to notice spikes of Dopamine to notice these thoughts. The ability to have these insights is equivalent to your ability to quiet down you mental activity during this time.

When your anxious less notice of weak associations
When happy more notice of weak associations.
Your field of view expands with Happiness.

What does this explain of what you currently do? and what does it suggest of what you should do differently ?

PFC is the only part of Brain connected to all others. The only part which has a braking system . It is where imagination takes place.Think it as a stage where you can launch thoughts and compare them to others. Combine information and make it into something new. Braking helps with the capacity to regulate emotions.

18:00-Starts talking about Emotions being backward.

Talks about the Marshmallow test (defer gratification)

We as a general society have emotions backward. The Limbic system is always on the look out for negative things. Weighs things as a reward or threat and is strongly moving way from threats and moves slower toward rewards. The only organizing principle is to Minimize threats and Maximize rewards.

Bad is stronger,longer lasting more devastating than good. Media outlet bad stories are far more engrossing. Even a small element stays in the Limbic longer. (requires less energy, glucose to activate and hold data.)

Emotion Regulation Research.
Threats even minor creates reduced insights or Noise.

let it out
Suppress
Cognitive Change

Cognitive is the best but it must be done quickly. You must be aware of emotional states.
* Labeling: Definite it by a quick word. By saying it is a stronger action than thinking
* Reappraisal (re-framing)- Use the time to do something really great.
Bad is stronger than Good to the brain Limbic System

The more you understand about your brain the more you can reappraise all sorts of internal threats. You can actually reappraise things as brain functioning, not you, something that can be changed. Change to a shift state where you see more options.


Brain goes to the negative all the time

The degree of activation of the Limpic system is in direct response to the degree of activation of the PFC.
*Logical People want to grin and bear it (but not as effective)
*Those who suppress more vs appraising more have diminished lives in many areas.



Maslow Hierarchy of needs is WRONG. Social needs are primary .

Social Pain is equal to the physical pain
Social Reward is equal to ...




The owl in the maze affecting the skill due to threat

We tend to Emotion Regulation Research. The moment we get a threat we change immediately. A strong positive impacts our abilities as well.

Brain gravitates to the negative
not too high not too low for maximum processing
Cognitive Change needs to happen quickly,It's preferred but must happen quickly. It requires being aware of cognitive states.

Put on the brakes.
28min.
When Labeling do it with a word or two don't relive the state which can worsen it. Label is hungry, angry. Saying it outload reduces the cognitive load.
By labeling an emotion it dampens it down
Not the traditional wisdom of not talking about emotions (which makes it worse)

Reframing:
Using a negative event traffic to good use :ie practice, listen to book on tape.
Do you suppress or reappraise.

The more you want to supress,grin and bear it is not good. Supressors are below average in Optomism,Problem solving, Likability

The more you understand about the brain,the more you can reapraise.
Shift from a threat state to a state you are more comfortable.

It's Maladaptive in the work place.

Social issues are Primary

Praise is the more important than money. Even a computer voice saying Good Job is a great reward.

Managing with the Brain in Mind

The Following Social States cause Reward or Threat States
**Status, Autonomy, Relatedness, Certainty, Fairness **
These are the Brains goal when it comes to Social Situations

Status- (Drives our behavior massively)

We have a Status Thermometer
pecking order- all about going up or down
Avoid things where our status goes up or down
When you try to change someone create an immediate status threat
Performance Review--
Let me tell you what people have been saying about you......

Certainty (Important with Status as well)

Value in what to expect
Too much certainty is lack of Autonomy
Even ambiguity is a threat


Autonomy

With no autonomy , small threat becomes bigger
With autonomy, small threats become smaller



Relativeness-
Are you in my InGroup or my OutGroup
empathy for ingroup and not for outgroup
Friend or Foe (trust or no trust)

Foe is default with exceptions of really attractive people, baby, when you're drunk.


Fairness

Engagement is an increase in dopamine and we are being rewarded.
When you try to change anyone you will have a status threat

Deep Engagement doing thing that make a difference in the world.


Attention changes the brain in seconds.

It's easier to change attention when you feel safe.

The more you understand:
Minimize the Threat Response and Maximize the PFC Space
The more language you have to make choices
The more you control the future

The Dali Lama was asked
Q: Why are you always happy?
A: Because it feels better

Two ways to experience:

Direct Experience Circuitry: Literal interpretation . Directly taking in Data. In the Flow.

Narrative Response Circuitry: A story of the event.


There long term


It is possible to optimize internal brain processing
Reappraisal vs Re Thinking becomes a state as opposed to a trait
The cheapest form of reappraisal is humor

Focus on any kind of data is a good exercise

taking in data @ real time and how much more energetic you feel and how your world has expanded.
Focus on being Unfocused and listening to what comes into your mind.
Additional Resources:

His white paper on the Subject
http://www.strategy-business.com/arti...


The neuroscience of Mindfulness
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/y...

Understanding the Science of Change
http://www.cio.com/article/24975/Chan...

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently rereading this (and taking notes), but to be honest, this is probably one of the most important books I have ever read. It explains SO much of how the brain works and interacts with the world and how it is really bad at a great number of things. Thankfully though it also tells you how to trick your brain into working how you want it to. Truly fantastic.

[فادي · Rating 3 out of 5]

كلنا ينظر للعالم الخارجيّ وقليلٌ منّا من يعي الحروب التي تجري في الداخل ( يصلح كاقتباس صح؟ ) .
==
هذا الكتاب جميل جداً، وفيه إشارات موجّهة لفهم آلية عمل الدماغ أثناء العمل، والاجتماعات، واللقاءات الخاصة، والضغوط.
يجمع بين علم الأعصاب، والاقتصاد السلوكي، مع مسحة من علم النفس الإيجابي.
الترجمة متوسطة، وفي بعض الفصول سيئة، لكن فكرة الكتاب واضحة!
==
الكتاب مكوّن من 4 فصول، وكل فصل فيها عدد من المشاهد، وفي نهاية كل فصل خلاصة جامعة في عدّة نقاط:
وهذه أبرز أفكار الكتاب:
كلنا نصحو صباحاً لنواجه عالماً مليئاً بالطلبات، والأمور العالقة الواجب حلّها، ونظنّ أنّه سيأتي يومٌ ما ونكون قادرين على شطب كل المهام وحلّ كل الإشكالات [ وهذا وهم طبعاً ].
==
الفصل الأول: المشكلات وصناعة القرارات، وأجمل مافي هذا الفصل تأكيده على الفرضية القائلة بأنّ تعدد المهام بذات الكفاءة هو خرافة، وأنّ العقل البشري غير قادر على معالجة موضوعين مختلفين في الوقت ذاته بنفس درجة الكفاءة، والأفضل هو " ترتيب المهام" وليس "توزيع المهام" بمعنى؛ العمل على مهمة واحدة بكل تركيز، ثم الانتقال للمهمة التي تليها وهكذا.
وأعجبني أيضاً فكرة أن نع��مل دماغنا كمسرح، والأشياء المهمة نضعها على السطح بينما نترك الأمور غير المهمة لذيل القائمة [ شيء يشبه ترتيب الأولويات أو قانون 80-20 ].
إضافة لفكرة جميلة وعملية وهي أنّ الكتابة ولو على قصاصات ورقية صغيرة أو في الملاحظات يخفف من الحمولة على الدماع، فحاول أن تضع أفكارك وهمومك ومشاكلك على الورق.
التركيز مورد ثمين حاول الحفاظ عليه قدر الإمكان ولا تستهلكه إلا بما يفيدك.
لا تثق كثيراً في المعلومات التي يخزنها عقلك، واستعن بأدوات إضافية للتدوين.
لا يتعدى العدد الأمثل للأفكار المختلفة المحتفظ بها في الدماغ في وقت واحد ثلاثة أو أربعة!
تبدأ الذاكرة بالتراجع عند محاولتك الاحتفاظ بأكثر من فكرة في الدماغ.
حربك مع المشتتات هي أهم من حربك مع التنظيم، كافح المشتتات [ الداخلية والخارجية ] والتنظيم يأتي تلقائياً.
المنحنى u المقلوب مهم جداً لتعرف متى تتوقف ومتى تبدأ ومتى تستريح [ ويمكنك الاستفادة أيضاً من كتاب اسم "المنخفض" لسيث جودين.
==
الفصل الثاني: كن هادئاً وأنت في حالة توتر، تعد العواطف البشرية من أعقد المشاعر التي تواجه العلماء في شرحها وتوصيفها، حيث ترتبط التجربة العاطفية بشبكة دماغية كبيرة تسمى الجهاز الحوفي، الذي يشمل مناطق من
الدماغ مثل: اللويزة (اللوزة الدماغية)، والحصين، والتلفيف الحزامي، والقشرة المدارية الأمامية، والتلافيف المرتبطة بطرائق متنوعة، وهي تخص الأفكار والأشخاص والأحداث.
ما بدك بكل هالحكي، الخلاصة من هذا الفصل هو إنك تراقب مشاعرك قبل السلوك، لأنها هي المؤثر الحقيقي على سلوكك.
المثال الأشهر لهذه الحالة هي لو أنّ لديك موعد مهم جداً، وقبل هذا الموعد بدقائق تعطلت سيارتك، أو سكبَ على ملابسك قهوة أو زيت.. كيف ستكون حالتك النفسية؟ هذا بالضبط ما يحاول الفصل الثاني أن يؤكد عليه، ويقول لك إنّ أغلب سلوكي��تك عير المفهومة أو المبالغ بها نتيجة مشاعر غير مدركة أو تحتاج لفهم ( طبعاً الأمر ليس بهذه البساطة لكن هذا للتقريب فقط ).
==
الفصل الثالث: التعاون مع الآخرين، حيث أنّ العمل منفرداً في عصرنا أصبح شبه مستحيل، ولا بدّ لك من الاحتكاك بالزملاء والأصدقاء ولو على مستوى ضيق.
تقول كريستيان كيسرز الباحثة الرائدة في العصبونات العاكسة والتي تقيم في هولندا: "يبدو أن دماغنا يفهم الآخرين من خلال الدوائر المشتركة، فإذا رأيت أحداً يقوم بعمل ما، فإن ذلك ينشط الدوائر نفسها في قشرة الدماغ الحركية لديك. فإذا التقط شخص ما كأساً، فإن دماغك يفعل المثل، ومن خلال هذه القدرة تحصل على الفهم الحدسي لأهداف الآخرين".
وتفهمك للآخرين يستلزم منك قدرة عالية من الذكاء الاجتماعين إضافة لفهم آليات عمل الدماغ عند الطرف المقابل، وهذا كلّه يسهّل عليك عملية التواصل والاندماج.
وأيضاً يؤكد هذا الفصل أنّ اللقاء المباشر له أثر في الفهم أكثر من الاتصال الإلكتروني أو الكتابة من وراء الشاشة، وسوء الفهم الحاصل من جرّاء الانقطاع الحسي بين الناس أوضح من أن يدلل عليه.
والدماغ البشري بطبيعته يصنّف الآخرين حسب درجة معرفتهم به إلى [ صديق/ عدو ] وهذا مشاهد بشكل واضح في التجمعات الكبيرة التي يكون المرء فيها وجهاً لوجه مع أشخاص غرباء، فيبدأ الدماغ بتحليل الناس أنّ من أعرفه [ صديق ] ومن أجهله [ عدو ] حتى يثبت العكس، والحل الأسرع لهذه الإشكالية هو كسر عوائق التواصل بأن يكون التعامل مع الآخرين أكثر إنسانية ممزوجاً بالتجارب الشخصية دون تكلّف أو ادّعاء.
أسلوب المكافأة والتهديد هو الأسلوب شبه الوحيد الذي يتعامل معه الدماغ، وفهمك لهذا الأسلوب يريحك من عناء تفسير سلوكيات الآخرين غير المفهومة.
==
الفصل الرابع: تيسير التغيير، وهذا الفصل يؤكد فيه الكاتب أنّ التغيير العميق من أكثر الأشياء صعوبة، سواء للذات أو للآخرين، وكثير من المشكلات لا تحتاج لحل بقدر ماهي بحاجة لفهم لمَ هي مشكلات أساساً.
ويضيف أنّ التعليقات وطرح الحلول ليست دائماً هي الطريقة الأمثل لحل المشكلات، بل ربما تسبب التوتر الزائد [ جرّب أن تقول لشخص متأخر عن رحلته في المطار عن وجود أكثر من وسيلة لوصوله في الوقت المناسب! ] ربما سيقتلك لأنّ دماغه في هذا الوقت غير مهيئ للحلول الجاهزة.
لا تحاول التأثير في الأشخاص عندما يكونون في انفعال حادّ نحو الآخرين ( اتركهم ليهدأوا ثم حاورهم ).
==
أختم هذه المراجعة السريعة بما ختم به المؤلف كتابه:
[ كلمتــي الأخــيرة، تحيــة وداع مبنيــة علــى الــدماغ، وعســى أن تبقـى مسـتويات الكورتـيزول لـديك منخفضـة، ومسـتويات الـدوبامين مرتفعـة، وأن يعمـل الإكسـتوسين
بكثافة ووفرة، ويبنى السيروتونين على هضبة جميلة، وتبقى قدرتك على مراقبة دماغك في أثناء عمله حرة حتى آخر نفس. أتمنى لك التوفيق في مسيرتك].

[Sid Shankar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read my fair share of books about the brain. Most of them delve into the things you can do to *externally* to allow your brain to function optimally i.e. sleeping habits, eating habits, social relationships etc. This is the first book I've read which deals with meta-cognition on a very real and practical level.

I was a bit skeptical about the format of this book when I started reading it. The examples, in the form of short stories involving certain characters, seemed somewhat contrived and artificial. However, after completing the book, I now feel those examples / anecdotes put the necessary points across very well. The necessary points being:

1. The cognitive sweet spot (being "in the zone") is a state that is somewhat hard to attain, and even harder to maintain for any significant duration of time.
2. An overly aroused limbic system (the large chunk of the brain that handles emotions and their regulation) easily interrupts prefrontal cortex inhibiting our decision making abilities and creativity.
3. The prefrontal cortex is the work horse of the human mind, and is extremely energy hungry. It is easy to exhaust, and its limited resource must be utilized with the greatest of care. To do this, one must first be aware of all the limiting factors of this portion of the brain. Knowing its weaknesses can help you effectively cut off distractions, maximize the efficiency of your brain, and help you be your productive best.

Excellent book. Short, concise and to the point. Somewhat repetitive at times, but not overly so. If you're looking for a book that'll help you better understand and utilize your brain, this is it. 4 stars.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far the most useful book about productivity I've ever read. Taking the whole of neuro-cognitive research to date, he talks about how and why your brain functions (or fails to function) during day-to-day tasks. More importantly, he reveals how you can help your brain out by using it in an efficient way. The information is presented in an engaging way, and all the "secrets" of your brain will ring true with your own experience.

Essential reading for anyone who has a hectic schedule or ever feels like their brain is fighting against things they need to get done.

[Chris Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book that should be required reading for people that work and have a brain, lol. It doesn't read like a self help book, very entertaining and you'll learn a thing or two as well. Highly recommended.

[Darren Turpin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speaking as a layman with not much in the way of previous exposure to the field of neuroscience, but with a general interest in both psychology and behavioural economics, I found this insight into the essential functionality of the brain to be absolutely fascinating.

The author's style is one of engaging narrative. He provides easy-to-identify-with behavioural scenarios to illustrate the central message of the book: namely that everything we do, think and feel is the direct result of neurochemical changes within our brains. And by recognising and working with our internal and external triggers, we can all develop a much greater understanding of, and control over, our mental processes, actions, reactions and emotions. The eventual aim of which is simply to achieve greater mental stability and by doing so, interact much more smoothly with the environment we live in, the lives we lead and, most importantly, the people we encounter or work with on a daily basis, and the people we live with and love.

Highly recommended to anyone who's ever wondered just what the hell is going on in their own head, or ever wished they had just a bit more mental focus and control.

[P · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, for me, is a bit like The Da Vinci Code. And a bit unlike it.

It's like the DVC in that the subject matter is very fascinating, and the basic premise of the book – combining neuroscience with self help – is great. However, it's also bloated, dull, predictable, and at times, downright banal. Your Brain at Work could have been inspiring if the writer hadn't adopted such a patronizing, schoolmasterly tone, if the writer had had more faith in the wit of the reader. As it is, the effect is lackluster.

There's an attempt to illustrate the points of this book with a story. Unfortunately, the story is the book's weakest point: characters are too flat to be believable, too generic to identify with, too unsurprising to spark interest. It really is a pity.

It's unlike the DVC in that I did, despite its shortcomings, finish Your Brain at Work, while the DVC ended up in the fireplace... ;)

P.S. True story: it appears this book is purposefully written in such a way that one hears it as spoken with the voice of Kevin Spacey.

[Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading "Brain Rules" by John Medina, I was drawn to this book as well to see if I could focus some of my newfound knowledge on my work. While the subject matter of the brain regions and functions wasn't quite as inherently fascinating as Medina's book, it was still compelling in the practical application of this info to work and life. He uses a fictitious couple to demonstrate a typical day and typical scenarios that we all face in one way or another. The first act of each scenario is how people with untrained brains are most likely to behave. By using these fictitious examples, he is able to explain otherwise complex brain functions in a easy to follow and less technical narrative. After the "Bad example", he will explain scientifically why we tend to behave in such ways, and then he will re-run the scene using the new knowledge gained in the chapter. The second act is then retold as a do-over, and the reader is able to see how understanding and mastering our own brains could have a significant impact on work and family life.

Overall, I enjoyed the book very much, although I still preferred the raw science and true life examples of Medina's book without the need for the sometimes obvious conclusions of the fictitious stories. A solid four out of five stars for me

[Ahmed Taher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a life changing book :)
سيغير هذا الكتاب نظرتك لعقلك والطريقة التي يعمل بها عقلك للأبد!
يشرح (د.ديفيد روك) في أربعة عشر فصلاً تحديات يومية يواجها عقل الانسان تحت ضغوطات العمل والحياة، ويحللها من وجهة نظر بيلوجية وسيكلوجية بتبسيط غير مخل، وستدهش وأنت ترى كيف تؤثر المواقف المختلفة على كيمياء المخ وتكتشف الميكانيزمات التي يتبعها المخ ليقوم بوظيفته ويتعامل مع المشاعر والمواقف..
إدراكك لهذه المعلومات العلمية الدقيقة عن مخك سيضعك على طريق تغيير سلوكك وعاداتك وأساليبك اليومية لتغيير حياتك كلها للأفضل.
أكثر ما أعجبني هو ربط الحقائق العلمية المعقدة بمواقف حقيقية وخطوات عملية ممكنة التحقيق. وستجد نفسك تلقائياً تغيّر من عاداتك اليومية فور انتهائك من قراءة الكتاب.

[Arlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring.

I am sorry but I just could not read past the third chapter. I found it very boring. The episodes between the two characters irked me. I wound up going right to the end of each chapter just to get the summation.
I also felt a lot of what was recommended was basic common sense that people exhibit all the time without requiring the guideposts of neurologists.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most brilliant books I've read. I limit myself to one chapter a day so that I can let it all sink in.

[Tsvetan Hristov · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Thinking Fast And Slow, this book really made me think how I think and what areas for improvement in my day-to-day professional/personal life I have. Really fascinating, well worth it.

[Zolbayar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Хүмүүс "ширээний ном" энэ тэр гэж ярихаар дотор арзганаад байдаг байлаа. Энэ номыг харин "ширээнийх" болгомоор санагдав.

Бүлэг бүр нь жүжгийн үзэгдэл шиг зохиомжлогдсон. Тархиа зөв ашиглаж чадаагүйгээс яаж бүтэлгүйтэж болохыг эхний удаад үзүүлнэ. Дараа нь тухайн үзэгдэлд хүмүүсийн гаргасан ааш авир, ухамсарт шийдвэрүүдтэй холбоотой тархины ажиллагааны тухай жинхэнэ "поп-сэтгэлзүй/өөртөө-туслах" стайлаар тайлбарлана. Тэгээд хэрвээ тархиа зөв ашиглаж чадсан бол хэрэг явдал яаж өрнөх байсныг үзүүлнэ.

Би лав өдөр тутмын амьдрал, ажилдаа хэрэглэж болох 4, 5 шинэ санааг энэ номоос сурч авлаа, базарваань.

A great book on managing and leveraging the greatest asset you own: your brain. I even want to assure you that this book might save you from serious kinky fuckeries of the corporate world and might even help you to climb it more quickly.

[Vicki Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often give a "self-help" book 5 stars but this deserves all of them. Having recently moved from being in charge of 100% of my time to taking on a new job, I have struggled with attention, focus, time management, and all the usual challenges of being accountable to other people  This popped up in the Audible Deal of the Day so I bought it on a whim. I'm glad I did! It has helped me tremendously. 

David Rock does a great job of explaining how your brain works and gives strategies to cope with the human brain's limitations. For example, the prefrontal cortex is the most energy-hungry part of your brain. That's the part you use for decision making, prioritizing, problem-solving, and impulse control. Think of it as a limited resource. You can't just "try harder." That won't work. You can either fight against the human brain's limitations or figure out how to be aware of and work with those limitations. 

The structure of the book is a bit odd but effective. The book has four acts, the first two being about your own brain and the second act focusing on interacting with other people's brains. In each act, readers follow Emily and Paul as they face challenges at home and work. This is followed by a scientific explanation of what's going on inside Emily and Paul's respective brains and why things are so difficult for them. The last part of the act is a "take two" where you see Emily and Paul make different decisions than they did the first time around because they understand how their brains function. At the end of each scene, you'll find "Surprises About the Brain" and "Some Things To Try." Sounds corny, but the book structure works. 

If you only read one book about time management and/or productivity, I recommend this one. It is grounded in science with actionable items especially helpful someone struggling with productivity. Highly recommend. 

[Patama · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are 3 Acts (parts) of this book
Act 1: Problem and decision - I feel the strategies and rationals pretty close David Allen's Get thing done ie.
Keep issues from our head or do one thing once a time.
Act 2 and 3 become unique and sticky idea with "SCRAF" - Status, Certainty, Relateness, Autonomy and Fairness.
I have good impression after applying this model for social network.
The character made this book transformative , in my opinion, is "Four Noble Truths (ariyasaj sii)" way of approach.
Start with problem ( scene 1) story then discussing about origin in problem (evident from neuropsychology research).
They show Path that leads to the Cessation of problem (applicable stretergies for everyday life) and depict with how it be without problem (scene 2).
One of my favorite book forever :-)

[Alexandru Lapusan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read. Heck, it should be taught in schools everywhere.

[Oleksandr Golovatyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Познавательная книга. После недавнего увлечения "как же наш мозг устроен и как он работает", книга показалась очень кстати. Было интересно. Рекомендую. Не пожалеете.

Прочитав в 2020 році українське версію книги.
Найкращі замітки та нотатки:

"Зараз багатьом людям платять за те, що вони думають, а не виконують прості завдання."

"Щоб ефективно виконувати свої професійні обов'язки, не руйнуючи при цьому своєї родини і здоров'я, Емілі треба змусити свій мозок працювати інакше. Їй потрібна нова нейронна мережа, щоб давати раду великій кіл��кості складних завдань."

Тренуй Свій Мозок разом з Readlax: Швидкочитання. Ігри для мозку. Тренування пам'яті. (промо-лінк)

"навіть мозок випускника Гарварду може опуститися до рівня мозку восьмирічної дитини, якщо змушувати його робити дві речі одночасно."

"Прийняття рішень і вирішення пролем дуже залежать від роботи звони мозку, що зветься префронтальною корою."

"Префронтальна кора - це фундамент вашої свідомої взаємодіх зі світом. Це частина мозку, яка все за вас обмірковує і дбає, аби ви не рухалися по життю "на автопілоті""

"П'ять функцій, розуміння, прийняття рішень, пригадування, запам'ятовування та стримування, становлять основну частину свідомого мислення. Вони поєднуються, щоб ми могли планувати, вирішувати проблеми, спілкуватися з навколишнім світом і давати раду іншим завданням."

"Деякі розумові процеси витрачають набагато більше енергії, ніж інші."

"Найважливіші розумові процеси, такі як визначення пріоритетів, зазвичай вимагають найбільших зусиль."

"Думайте про свідоме мислення, як про цінний ресурс, який треба економити"

"Спершу визначайте пріоритети, бо цей процес споживає багато енергії"

"Виділіть конкретний час для різних видів мозкової активності"

"Використовуйте мозок, щоб взаємодіяти з інформацією, а не зберігати її. Створюйте візуальні образи складних ідей і записуйте свої завдання."

"Коли ви намагаєтесь обрати між різними варіантами, оптимальна їх кількість - два."

"Оптимальна кількість ідей, які, за потреби, можна одночасно тримати в голові, - не більше трьох або чотирьох"

"Хоч ви й можете подумки тримати одночасно кілька шматків інформації, та все ж не можете виновувати більше одного свідомого процесу за раз без втрат щодо продуктивності." !!!

"Для реалізації кожного процесу, потрібна складна взаємодія мільярдів нейронів. Штука в тому, що аби почати наступноу операцію, треба обов'язково завершити попередню. Адже кожен процес, як ми вже занємо, використвоує безліч енергії і часто ті самі нейронні ланцюги. Згадайте калькулятор: не можна одночасно множити і дилити два числа."

"учений Гарольд Пешлер довів, що коли людина виконує два ітелектуальні завдання одночасно, рівень її когнітивних здібностей може впасти до планки восьмирічної дитини. Це явище назвали інтерференцією двох завдань." !!

"Зона мозку, яка фіксує нове, називається передньою поясною корою. Вона вважається центром виявлення помилок, бо вмикається, коли ви помічаєте щось, що не відповідає вашим очікуванням. Наприклад, коли робите помилку чи відчуваєте біль."

"Якщо ви навчитесь описувати ментальні процеси конкретними фразами, вам буде набагато легше стримувати свої імпульси."

"Для оптимальної розумової активності потрібен правильний рівень стресу, а не мінімальний."

"Оптимальна розумова активність відубвається, коли ви маєте оптимальний рівень двох важливий нейромедіаторів - норадреналіну і дофамін. Вони продукуються завдяки тривозі та інтересу."

"Ви можете свідомо контролювати рівень норадреналіну й дофаміну в організмі."

"Коли треба підвищити рівень дофаміну, вам допоможе будь-що нове або гумор."

"Люди, у яких виникає ідея, відчувають цікавий мозковий сигнал перед тим, як вона проявиться. Деякі зони мозку затихають. Приблизно за півтори секунди до того, як люина вирішує задачу за допомогою ідеї, у неї спостерігається раптова активізація частот альфа-діапазону в правій передній скроневій частці, котра обробляє візуальну інформацію. Альфа-активність зникає якраз у ту мить, коли виниає ідея."

"існує серйозний взаємозв'язок між емоційним станом і виникненнями ідей. Що щасливіші ви, то більш імовірно, вам на думку спадатимуть ідеї. І навпаки, якщо ви стривожені, навряд чи ви щось придумаєте."

"Аби мати ідеї, слід навчитися чути слабкі глибинні сигнали. Для цього треба звести електричну активність мозку до мінімуму."

"Що більше ви розслаблені й щасливі, то більше ідей вам спадає на думку."

"За виникнення ідей значною мірою відповідає права півкуля вашого мозку."

"Для максимальної розумової ефективності потрібна комбінація двох складових - знання свого мозку і вміння спостерігати за своїми ментальними процесами. "

"Мозок працює за принципом мінімізації небезпеки (реакція геть) та максиміз��ції користі (реакція уперед)"

"Лімбічна система дуже легко активізується"

"Реакція "геть" сильніша, швидше виникає і довше тримається, ніж реакція уперед."

"Реакція "геть" виснажує когнітивні ресурси, ускладнює мислення про свої думки і переводить вас у захисний режим, у якому ви помилково можете сприймати ті чи інші ситуації як загрозу."

"Стримування емоцій суттєво знижує вашу здатність запам'ятовувати події."

"Люди хибно вважають, що через маркування емоцій їм буде ще гірше."

"Маркування емоцій знижує рівень збудження лімбічної системи"

"Для маркування потрібно використовувати символічну і лаконічну мову, а не розлогі внутрішні діалоги."

"можна точно сказати, що люди завжди платититумть гроші, аби принаймні почуватися менш невпевнено. Це тому, що мозок сприймає непевність як загрозу життю."

"Невпевненіть - це нездатність скласти повноцінну мапу ситуації. Коли бракує частин пазла, ви не можете почуватися комфортно."

"чоловіки частіше придушують емоції, ніж жінки."

"Сподівання - незвичайна штука, адже це не фактична, а потенційна винагорода."

"сподівання людей впливають на їхні почуття"

"люди стають ефективнішими, коли вони щасливі" !!

"Очікування - це коли мозок зосереджується на потенційній винагороді (загрозі)"

"Очікування впливають на те, як ваш мозок сприймає інформацію."

"Сподівання здатні серйозно влпивати на мозок. Правильна доза сподівань прирівнюється до клінічної дози морфіну."

"Очікування активують вироблення дофаміну, потрібного для мислення та навчання"

"Виправдані сподівання трохи підвищують рівень дофаміну"

"Сподівання, виправдані сторицею, значно підвищують рівень дофаміну"

"Невиправдані сподівання значно знижують рівень дофаміну й викликають відчуття загрози."

"Загальне відчуття очікування чогось хорошого гарантує здоровий рівень дофаміну і робить людей щасливішими."

"Зараз уже майже ніхто не працює в ізоляції. Тепер уміння нормально співпрацювати з іншими - одна з основних умов для досягнення успіху в будь-якій сфері."

"як людина, особливо молода, ви отримуєте ресурси не з дикої природи, а від інших людей. Саме тому велика частина нашого мозку присвячена соціальному світові."

"дзеркальні нейрони - це механізми, потрібні для розуміння намірів людей, їхніх цілей і прагнень. З їхньою допомогою ви відчуваєте зв'язок з оточуючими."

"Жива розмова дає більше, ніж відеоконференція, а відеоконференція дає більше, ніж телефонна розмова, адже ми реагуємо на мову тіла, особливо на вираз обличчя."

"Коли пов'язуєте свої думки, емоції і цілі з іншими людьми, виділяється приємна хімічна речовина під назвою окситоцин. Окситоцин виділяється, коли двоє людей разом танцюють, грають музику або ведуть розмову. Це нейрохімія безпечного зв'язку."

"Мати позитивний зв'язок з оточуючими - це фундаментальна людска потреба, як їжа чи вода." !!

"Соціальні зв'язки - це базова потреба людини, іноді така ж важлива, як їжа чи вода."

"Ми знайомимось одне з одним безпосередньо, відчуваючи те, що відчувають інші люди."

"Позитивні зв'язки з оточуючими важливі для здоров'я і продуктивної співпраці"

"Ми швидко класифікуємо людей як друзів чи ворогів. При цьому, відсутність позитивних вигналів, людина одразу сприймається як ворог."

"Треба працювати над установленням зв'язків з оточуючими, щоб ефективно з ними взаємодіяи."

"Схильність прагнути рівності і чинити спротив несправедливості глибоко вкорінена в людях (доцентка Університету Карнегі Голназ Табібнія)"

"Відчуття справедливості може бути солідною винагородою"

"Відчуття несправедливості може бути серйозною загрозою"

"Зв'язок між справедливістью і нашими очікуваннями пояснює, чому нас так захоплює доброта незнайомців і ранить зрада близьких"

"Модель СВАСС: Статус, Впевненість, Автономія, Спорідненість і Справедливість. Модель описує міжособистісні винагороди і загрози, котрі мозок класифікує як важливі"

"Загроза <- СВАСС -> Винагорода"

"Статус - важливий рушій поведінки як на роботі, так і в повсякденному житті."

"Навіть розмова з босом чи іншою особою, вищою за вас статусом, викликає відчуття загрози."

"Змагаючись із собою, ви підвищуєте власний статус, не загрожуючи статусові інших"

"Зміни - ��е складно, а спричинити зміни в інших людях - ще складніше"

"змінити спосіб мислення інших людей - одне з найскладніших завдань у світі"

"Найкращий спосіб допомогти людині побачити щось нове - це заспокоїти її свідомість, щоб у неї могла виникнути ідея. Коли народжується ідея, змінюється ваш мозок, а змінюючи свій мозок, ви змінюєте світ"

"Критика часто викликає у людей відчуття загрози, яке не сприяє ефективній роботі."

"Зосередженість на деталях проблемі - не найкращий підхід до пошуку рішень"

"Даючи поради, ви можете змарнувати час"

"Підштовхнути людину до ідеї - найкращий спосіб повернути її в ефективний стан."

"Більш ефективний і прямий спосіб зосередити чиюсь увагу полягає в тому, щоб просто ставити правильні запитання і давати людям змогу самостійно заповнювати пробіли. Мозок це любить, особливо якщо не треба докладати великих зусиль. Ваше завдання - ставити підлеглим запитання, що допоможуть їм налагоджувати правильні нейронні зв'язки."

"Зосередження уваги змінює мозок"

"Відвернувши увагу від загрози, ви можете створити нові нейронні зв'язки за допомогою правильних запитань"

"Більше про дослідження, що лягли в основу цієї книжки, а також відео з деякими вченими, у яких я брав інтерв'ю, є на сайті www.your-brain-at-work.com"

"саміт NeuroLeadership Summit"

"журнал NeuroLeadership Journal (www.NeuroLeadership.org)"

"Лінда Пейдж "Коучинг і мозок" (Coaching wth the brain in mind)"

"більше дізнатись про свій мозок за допомогою онлайн тестів і поліпшити його функціонал шляхом виконання різноманітних вправ, заходьте на www.mybrainsolutions.com"

"про те як мозок учиться через історію і метафори: Perry, B. "How the brain learns best" Instructor 11, no.4 (2000): 34-35"

[Mahsa Amini · Rating 3 out of 5]

از جمله کتاب‌هایی که بخاطر این نشره خوندم.

[Andrew Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is well-researched, very readable, well-written and very practical.

The subtitle of the book gives some good clues about its scope: Strategies for overcoming distraction, regaining focus, and working smarter all day long. And of course, the title gives another big clue.

What Rock has done, is pull together a coherent understanding of a broad range of research into the brain, and create a user's guide.

He presents it as a series of fictional case studies: a day in the life of Emily and Paul, broken into short scenes that illustrate the problems they encounter in a fairly typical, stressy, day at work. After each scene, he reviews the relevant research and how it might apply to the situation that Paul or Emily has just messed up, and then offers an alternative scene, based on Paul or Emily applying the research intelligently to manage how they use their brain to inform their behaviour, interactions with others, and so forth. Each chapter concludes with a summary of the key points (Surprises About the Brain) and some suggestions of Things to Try.

For example at the end of Chapter One, which is about Overload, the Surprises about the Brain are:

- Conscious thinking involves deeply complex biological interactions in the brain among billions of neurons
- Every time the brain works on an idea consciously, it uses up measurable and limited resource
- Some mental processes take up a lot more energy than others
- The most important mental processes such as prioritising often take the most effort

and Some Things to Try are:
- Think of conscious thinking as a precious resource to conserve
- Prioritise prioritising, as it's an energy-intensive activity
- Save mental energy for prioritising by avoiding other high-energy-consuming conscious activities, such as dealing with emails
- Schedule the most attention-rich tasks when you have a fresh and alert mind
- Use the brain to interact with information, rather than store information, by creating visuals for complex ideas and by listing projects
- Schedule blocks of time for different modes of thinking.

And so it goes on: pulling together, in simple, useable, understandable and accessible form a wealth of knowledge and practical applications. Much of this is not new if you have read around the subject; but some is. And having it all presented in such a well-explained and user-friendly way is very valuable.

The book is divided into four Acts (each of several Scenes, or chapters) as follows:

Act 1: Problems and Decisions
Act 2: Stay Cool Under Pressure
Act 3: Collaborate with others
Act 4: Facilitate Change

Whilst the Emily and Paul plot can feel a little contrived, it is nonetheless an engaging and most importantly, a clear and memorable way of illustrating the points that Rock is making.

All in all, this is an excellent and practical introduction to the key domains of Emotional Intelligence: self awareness, self management, awareness of others, and relationship management.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very helpful book for those who want to 'hack' the limitations of their brain by understanding better how it works, what triggers negative responses, and what to do about them. The book is helpfully divided into scenarios that illustrate the various ways the brains works; I found the scenarios a bit cutesy, but the simplicity and clarity was ultimately very helpful to guide the reader through the brain science. So, what do we learn? Don't multitask. Pay attention to threat responses, status threats and things that drive us away from other people. There are ways to slow down or lessen emotional responses when they are not useful (such as feeling threatened by "Karen" at work, and there are ways to use adrenaline to help your attention and focus, as well as triggering positive chemicals like dopamine to feel better at various times of the day. Overall, this book is a highly useful primer to managing your brain a bit better than merely leaving it to chance.

[Taka · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY useful--

Though the author seems reductionist in some places, this book delivers. Packed full of useful information about how your brain works and how to use your brain wisely, it's a must-read for anyone who wants to perform better at work, school, or in life in general. In this book you'll learn how to fend off anxiety and negative emotions, be creative on demand, influence others, and much more backed up by neuroscience and told in easy-to-remember story format.

The ARIA model of creativity, the labeling technique to calm your limbic system, and the SCARF model alone are worth the price of this book. I also took away how important mindfulness is in applying all the information contained in this book and using my brain to its full potential.

Read it.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with great tips on slowing down, thinking about how you're feeling, why you're feeling that way, and what are some productive ways of communicating and working with others (rather than reacting and yelling). There is a summary of key points at the end of each chapter. I think it's better to read that first. Sometimes the stories are slow in getting to the point or the author's use of the a "director giving instructions to actors on stage" isn't the best analogy to how your brain is working.

[Bjoern Rochel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book of the year. Very grounded, informative and tangible. Highly recommended

[Prince Ebenezer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your Brain at Work

Help, be more effective and avoid burn out. Handle various projects with focus, bring more attention, be resourceful and work collaboratively.


Introduction:

Emily and Paul go through their day. The smartest neuroscientists explain this.

Take 1 and take 2 that brings about changes.

Act 1: Problems and Decisions

Scene 1: the morning information overwhelm.

Pre-frontal cortex is the biological seat to your conscious interaction with the world. To thinking things through when you are on auto-pilot through out your life. We ourselves generate information to the pre-frontal cortex, and not influenced from outside. It needs to have everything just right otherwise it won’t function well. You can compare the pre-frontal cortex to a stage. Compare the information processed to be actors. Conscious mental activity has to be limited to one, just like you can’t climb a mountain and talk at the same time.
Similar to the light needed to light up the stage. Doing physical work while thinking.

Basal Ganglia is a part of the brain that drives routine activity without much attention.

Decision making and impulse control takes much of the pre-frontal cortex’s performance. Take lemon with some sugar or glucose.

Stop and pay close attention & focus when you face a multitude of actors on stage.

Mental stage is a limited resource like financial assets that have a tight hold on spending. Put the best use of your asset to work without wasting it. Prioritise.

See how a helicopter toy that needs a charge to fly. So is prioritising, a power hungry beast.

Some actors are harder to get on stage than others. Bringing recent activities as opposed to long past events. You might take a long time to guess what you ate 10 days back than what you had last night.

prioritize with fresh mind.

Use visuals to process information in your mind’s eye. Visualising things activates the occipital lobe in the back of your brain. This region is activated by image, story-telling, or metaphors.

Get things out of your head. Reduce the load on stage whenever possible. Conserve energy. Minimise energy usage to maximise performance. Its easy to make a tough decision in 30 mins when you are on fresh/on every conservation mode. Experiment with different timings than topics. - deep thinking/meetings/routine tasks - divide these into blocks of time. Yo let your brain recover just like your muscles. Even you’re thinking. Mix things up like a work out. be disciplined about when not to think. To non-urgent tasks until it’s too essential. To delegate. Perhaps not to think at all until u have answers on all layers/possess all information needed to process.

Morning information overwhelm. Take 2

Save energy for comparing prior to put em on stage. Focus on the top priority items that may look harder to see small wins.

Surprises about the brain:

Conscious thinking is a precious resource. Prioritise prioritising, save mental energy for prioritising.

Scene 2: A project that hurts to think about.

Mental stage. A person can normally hold upto 7 items in mind at a time, which was later refuted, and told to be 4. You can’t squeeze 40 actors on a stage that can hold only 4 at a time. Comes down to competition on what actor gets priority. Likely the number of items to hold at a time can be 2. ie. to turn left or right, or 3 or 4 max.
Similar to how chess players focus of few chunks at a time to make the best decision. Sometimes breaking your projects into stages and put them into chunks of time.

Scene 3: Juggling five things at once.

Talk on phone & walk to find the room - two items overwhelming your prefrontal cortex in a situation for finding a room for interview. How much information you can collect at a time vs how you are able to process them - actors can hold only one role at a time. You can’t process so much without impacting performance. Accuracy and performance drop off when you do too many tasks at once. Ex: driving and talking in different places and situations. Brain can’t do two things at once. Finish one operation before beginning one cos the stage is small.
Dual task interference. Its actually not exactly about two things at once but actually about doing two conscious tasks at once and is called dual task interference.

Impact of doing too much.
Get the audience to do more work. Ex: learning to drive a car in different bits, parking, shifting gears, reverse etc. the basal ganglia moves millions of muscles in an order once you set up it up, it learns it and then performs it. For ex: how you learn to sip a hot glass of drink by sipping it first. Bottleneck is what prevents prior decisions that need to be answered before the one that in queue can be answered. Reducing queues can be effective to mix up and use attention.

Scene 4: saying no to distractions

People change attention and do things every three minutes. How Microsoft experimented with supplying big monitors to their employees.try to avoid external distractions, like turning off your smart phone to think and work well. there are more internal distractions. Because the nervous system is configuring and reconfiguring information every single second.like random actors jumping on to the stage for a 2 minute fame. People can hold their thought for 10 secs. Lapses in attention involves activating prefrontal cortex.
How to inhibit wrong things from coming into focus.
Develop a pattern. If your brain notices a pattern, it is able to perform actions faster. When we are distracted, we are always thinking about ourselves. So its better to avoid letting your brain make up mental pictures.

Scene 5: searching for the zone of peak performance.
The peak performance.
The inverted you - performance was poor at low levels of stress.
You stress/positive stress to help perform well. Arousants help by bringing urgency to tasks, a kind of fear.
Too much arousal and under arousal and over arousal aren’’t good things. Too stimulations for too many things isn’t good.
it triggers too many activities on your prefrontal cortex. Like oestrogen. Ex: how women & men handle deadlines. also the arousants’ level - under and over arousal can influence. There should be just the right levels. Peak performances require the right amount of stress, not the minimum. penopropylene and dopamine are the two which help you.

Scene 6: getting past a roadblock.

Sometimes the conscious prefrontal cortex is alone not enough when it comes to being more creative on demand. Impass is something that is like a writer’s block. That doesn’t let you recollect things like a friend’s name from the past. Mostly when you are creative, you encounter impasses unlike non-creative people. You should move from impasses to insights. Getting around an impass is really necessary to streamline the thought process, ex: Turing the traffic on a bridge. You will have to stop the traffic to be able to drive around. And most insights happen when you are in the shower. They say it has a thing to do with water and active ways to diminish the thinking. Get it out of the way, and the solution will appear. clarity of distance. This gives you a good perspective to solve the problem from a distance. Sometimes not knowing everything is okay. one person who has all the info + a person who has very little info on the same problem can solve it together than them trying to solve it separately. you have to be creative on command. The right anterior temporal lobe. aria - awareness reflection insight action. The right hemisphere for insights is important. thats why you kinda quiet down when they are trying to focus. sometimes you have to get all the actors on stage, so that unconscious thoughts can solve the problem. Quiet mind with minimum electrical activity. insights happen when you are so relaxed and happy. The right hemisphere is the Bridge between the information you hold and the specific data. reduce the anxiety/quieting your mind/focus to see patterns and connections and links from a high level than getting into detail. Stop and focus on insights when they occur.

Intermission: Meet the director. Metacognition - thinking about ur thinking. Metaawareness - being aware of ur awareness. Knowing yourself is the first thing to change. Step out of ur skin and looking at yourself through the eyes of another person can help you get a meta perspective of yourself. Without self awareness, you don’t get what your capacity is. putting the director under a microscope. The idea of living in the present. Mindfulness is a trait and can be developed. MINDFUL AWARENESS ATTENTION SCALE - MAAS to measure mindfulness of individuals. everyone has a default network when you think about yourself and gives an narrative. The brain holds vast information about yours and those of other people. Your brain weaves a giant tapestry with this information, and thus displays mindfulness.

ACT 2 - Stay cool under pressure.

Scene 7 - Derailed by drama

Labelling & arousal.

Scene 8 - drowning amid uncertainty - the brain is good at recognising patterns and predicting them. The predicting capacity involves more than your 5 senses. 40 emotional cueues your brain can pay attention to at any given time. The only certainty is more uncertainty. When you can’t predict the outcome of something, your brain sends an alert to pay more attention. A sense of not being able to predict the future generates more uncertainty. Autonomy and certainty are two things to consider. the feeling of being in control reduces the stress and increase your autonomy. The perception of choice matters to the brain. three types of reappraisals. Cognitive reappraisal can help differentiate and gives insight and reinterpreting an event. Reduces uncertainly and increases sense of control.

Scene 9 - when expectations get out of control

You can see only problems, but upward spiral lets you see more than the problem. Happy people see a wider range of data and are able to make better decisions. Happiness is a great state for mental performance. Live with good amount of novelty, and creating right expectations. manage expectations, and setting the scene for the future. Minimise the threat to increase the odds of your rewards or possible outcomes in most situations. To pay attention to possible expectations which you know for sure. This helps you maintain a good level of dopamine.

ACT 3 - Collaborate with others - the need for food, water, shelter - these social needs, if not met, is kind of a threat.

Scene - 10 - Turning enemies into friends.

When you sense a foe, you don’t interact them with them normally, and feel no empathy and less sense of collaboration, and makes you feel lesser than them. It changes how you interact when you think of someone as a competition. These mistakes generate more threat responses. You can get easily upset and discord their ideas. don’t get emotionally charged. Defuse the natural foe state to do some difficult thinking.

Going from foe to friend - handshake, having a coffee, discussing something you have in common, discussing weather or traffic to cause oxytocin release. have shared experiences and likely to treat them as a friend. this works when you turn strangers into friends. To offset the feeling of foe, have shared experiences. Have shared goals vs competing goals to let people relate too. It’s highly impactful.

Scene - 11 - When everything seems unfair

sometimes you may get a deeper sense of unfairness, by someone painting a misleading intent about someone else. When you tag someone as a foe, it’s even more difficult. You have to be extra careful in these situations. You may get intimidated when there’s no fairness and kinda feel everyone’s treating you unfairly. Prefrontal cortex tends to shrink when you hit puberty. increase sense of fairness an increase level of dopamine and oxytocin. This lets you collaborate with a great sense of belongingness. employees feeling of unfairness may be contributing to their physical and mental health. Increase the feeling of collaboration to make people feel decisions were made fairly. It affects the cortisol levels and the longevity of life itself. A sense of fairness can be a primary reward.

Scene -12 - The battle for status

You raise your status vs someone else, or perhaps your own selves from the past. To play against yourself, you’d need to know yourself. Increase your capacity and get faster in reading other’s mind. You increase relatedness when you share, and are able to make better decisions and collaborate with others. 5 domains of social experience that your brain treats the same as survival issues - SCARF model - status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness. If your status is attacked publicly and unfairly, and it can take years to recover from social pain. It comes back when you think about it again, unlike physical pain which is gone. change your focus to make your oxytocin level increase. You’ll get an insight.

ACT 4 - FACILITATE CHANGE

brain constantly changes based on external factors, but can also be changed by changing people’s attention.

Scene 13 - When other people lose the plot.

When you review your own work - you have a pressure to make it look good. The idea of protecting your status, and the brain is focussed only that what you did was right. When you read someone else’s works, you tend to find mistakes so very easily. They lost the plot, when they feel threatened. Focussing on the solution helps you get better results. And don’t put people use their energy is defending themselves and channel it to drive the solution.

Scene 14 - The culture that needs to transform

Facilitating change in another person is not easy, as much as it is over a group of people with diverse characters. Change is hard and so is their behaviour. Using a blunt instrument to change approach will not help as emerged from behaviourism with a conditioned response, like the carrot and stick method, u can try this with kids, but not with adults, where it’s perceived as a threat, and will lead to arguments and fights. Real change required repetition. Repeated attention. Frequency, duration, and the intensity. When you make a promise, and your brain brings it up as often as it can. Ex: learning music - repetition, and the effects of rehearsal. in a garden - there’s always sunlight, but very less rain. So you gotta water it as often as possible. Water them in small amounts, regularly. to get people to change, let them collaborate, and talk about it regularly, and have people share their thought. It can also be beneficial to see where other’s attention is. pay attention to everyone’s attention and to focus their attentions into the new ways. Self developed neuro-plasticity. Being heavily cognitive or being goal focussed can make situations worse. Sometimes, giving people power has upside and can cause impact with their intent.

Encore:

The latter Emily and Paul have good life at office, family, and personally.

[Andriy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Твій мозок в роботі" досліджує феномен самосвідомості з точки зору побудови та функціонування мозку яу ми його знаємо сьогодні (книга вийшла у 2008 році).
Праця Девіда Рока не лише знайомить читача з нейронаукою, але й робить це у вигляді оповіді, в якій чудово балансують історії й приклади з життя персонажів та наукова теорія. Ви проживаєте один день з життя сім'ї Пола й Емілі часто впізнаєте себе у їхніх буденних пригодах, і наче мимоволі щоразу більше дізнаєтесь про те як працює ваш мозок і що ви можете зробити щоб зробити своє життя якіснішим, спокійнішим і наповненішим. До кожного параграфу є підсумки та практичні поради, що стосуються теми параграфу. Завдяки читанню багато відомих починаєш краще розуміти багато прийомів, підходів з виховання й менеджменту і зокрема допомагають зрозуміти чому якісь з них є ефективніші за ініші.
Радий, що розпочав читальний 2021 рік з завершення саме цього тексту про пізнання себе, самосвідомість і те як ефективніше спілкуватись з іншими людьми.

Якщо маєте можливість читати англійською, то рекомендую звернутись до англомовного блогу чи статтей автора. Зокрема це допоможе мати точнішу інтерпретацію таких важливих понять як ARIA (Awarenes Reflection Insights Actions) та SCARF (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness), які в книзі перекладені як УМІД (Усвідомлення Міркування Ідея Дія) та СВАСС (Статус, Впевненість, Автономію, Спорідненість, Справедливість) відповідно без жодного відсилання до англійських оригіналу й абревіатури, які в міжнародному бізнесі та англомовній бізнес літературі давно уже є вживаними термінами і мають зрозуміле інструментальне й прикладне значення.

Прекрасна книга, яку усім рекомендую.

[Andrei Zgirouski · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are books that are well written and the process of reading them is a great pleasure, but they are fiction or just author’s personal opinion. There are also books that provide scientifically reliable information, but they are difficult to read and boring for non-specialists. This book is the golden mean between those two.

The book introduces the reader to the topic of neuroscience.
* How exactly do we solve new difficult tasks?
* How our brain resources are limited during the day?
* What are insights from brains perspective and how they occur?
* How emotions are born inside the brain and how they affect our ability to make decisions (and
how to cope with them)?
* How our brain perceives social life?
* Can our understanding of the brain change it?
* What are the best ways to induce another person to change?

Answers to these questions as well as many others all could be found in the book. Author uses theatre metaphor with stage and actors to explain in simple terms the mechanisms of the brain. Before every concept he also tells short stories from everyday life of ordinary people with their problems and decisions and afterwards he shows how they could act differently relying on neuro-scientific research.
Now I can say that it is one of the best books I’ve read, would recommend it to anyone who has ever been interested in how the brain works.

[Liad Magen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the methods described in the book very helpful. I can clearly notice a difference since I've started practicing its recommendations.

[Emma Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a neuropsychologist and reformed (-ish) theater kid, this book hit a sweet spot for me in its approach to the content. What I appreciated most about Rock's writing was that it was so clearly rooted in science, and he took the time to explain how and why. This was not a frivolous "hack your life" book, nor was it really about "hacking your brain," per se, but rather a book about knowing your brain and using that knowledge to your advantage. While rooted in some complex science, Rock managed to explain the core of the work in the field without shying away from the content. It really made this book feel accessible to a wide variety of readers - you certainly don't need to be a neuroscientist to understand it, but if you are a neuroscientist you won't feel bored out of your mind (brain?). Reading this book allowed me to make immediate everyday changes in my life that have already clearly had benefits in my work. Even when knew some of the background, Rock presented everything in terms of active opportunities for change rather than passive statements about human nature.

TLDR; this book was very well done and well-balanced, and I recommend it for readers of all backgrounds.