The Sharp Solution

A Brain-Based Approach for Optimal Performance

Heidi Hanna

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781118457399
• eBook ISBN: 9781118506691
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Desarrollo empresarial

Train Your Brain to Energize Your Life

In The Sharp Solution, Heidi Hanna introduces readers to a brain-based approach to realistic, sustainable energy management that supports a healthier brain, and as a result a healthier, happier body. By engaging our brain, we can strategically re-wire how we operate, creating more energy and improving productivity while simultaneously reducing stress. As a result, we become more focused and productive, flexible and resilient, and able to sustain higher levels of health and performance over time. These critical aspects of "cognitive fitness"—mental strength, flexibility, and endurance—allow us to function at our best and enjoy life to the fullest.

• Breaks down complicated concepts into easy to understand stories and applications
• Walks readers through a step-by-step process of designing a personal action plan that can be utilized to decrease stress, balance hormones, increase energy, and improve overall health, happiness, and performance
• Heidi Hanna, PhD, is a performance coach and keynote speaker who has trained thousands of individuals on practical ways to incorporate positive psychology and wellness strategies to improve productivity and performance

We all know what we should be doing to create a more optimal life—eating better, exercising regularly, sleeping more, taking time to relax, and having more balance in our life. But The Sharp Solution enables you to actually make those changes to your habits.

1

Understand Your Operating System

Despite the fact that your personal energy is your most valuable resource, most of us fail to manage it efficiently. As a result we often find ourselves running on empty. More often than not, this energy shortage causes us to function in survival mode, thereby limiting our productivity and engagement while taking a toll on our health and happiness. The human operating system depends on our ability to allocate resources to give us the energy we need to meet demands. Fortunately, we are designed in such a way that we can quickly make adjustments to reduce the demands on our energy that threaten our survival. We exist today because our ancestors were able do this effectively in times of an energy shortage, such as a famine, or a spike in demand, such as a predator attack. However, the antiquated system that once served us so well in times of trouble is now actually the source of much of our trouble. It can lead to chronic levels of toxic stress in our system, thereby undermining our health, happiness, and performance. The good news is we can use a few techniques to re-wire our operating system and design a more effective solution to deal with the demands on our energy, which will allow us to once again thrive, even in the midst of the most challenging circumstances.

There are two primary leaders that oversee the operations of your human system: your heart and your brain. Imagine that your heart functions as the CEO of your system; it's responsible for your passion, purpose, and motivation. It navigates you towards your most important goals in life, those related to your core values and beliefs. Your brain functions as your CFO; its job is to make sure you have enough energy resources to meet demands. It is the brain's responsibility to make sure that your system doesn't take on more than it can handle, and that when demands do increase the necessary adjustments are made to compensate.

As you well know if you've spent much time in business, sometimes the CEO and CFO don't see things from the same perspective. However, this partnership is essential to the survival of the organization, because if either were left alone, we could find ourselves either running around in circles or not running at all. On the one hand, the CEO is typically more emotionally driven and inspired by the big picture, and feels incredible passion to lead the organization toward its ultimate mission. Perhaps this is one of the barriers for entrepreneurs who try to take on too many roles; it's hard to be conservative about spending and investing when the passion of your heart is leading you.

On the other hand, the analytically natured CFO keeps a laser focus on resources and can often appear overly conservative and cautious, seeming distant from the heart of the organization. Sometimes this feels restricting to the CEO and slows down the growth process. Without a clear strategy in place, the CEO might chase after every inspirational idea that came its way; and conversely, the CFO could conserve resources too vigilantly, keeping the system from doing anything at all. But by working together, the CEO motivates and the CFO regulates, allowing them to meet their goals without running out of steam.

Thankfully, our CFO brain is wired to protect our energy reserves. It's constantly monitoring situations to make sure that we have the resources we need to keep the system operating. While it is the CEO's job to get the engine running, it is the CFO's responsibility to make sure that engine keeps going over time. And if the human system runs out of resources, we don't get a chance to declare bankruptcy; it's lights out, for good.

Without our key energy resources, oxygen and glucose, our cells cannot generate the energy we need. Our bodies literally begin to shut down—which is what we see happen physically during a heart attack or stroke or mentally with fatigue and burnout. Knowing all of this, our CFO keeps a close watch on the balance between the energy we have and the energy we need. It communicates constantly with the body's many systems, which report back via hormones to let the CFO know how well they are operating and the status of their energy demands at any given time.

Unfortunately, sometimes the CEO and CFO have competing interests. This often happens when you know what you should be doing but yet can't seem to find a way to do it. Your heart may believe that a new behavior—such as eating healthier or exercising more—would be of great benefit to your system. However, your brain might recognize that both of those strategies limit the amount of energy you have available at the present moment and talk you out of it—especially if you're operating on an empty tank.

Do you ever notice how tough it is to make good decisions at the end of the day? That's because the energy that fuels your brain to think, make judgments, evaluate options, monitor your attention, and multitask is put to use all day long. So expending all of this energy making decisions at work and then trying to make a healthy choice might compromise a major energy investment. In other words, your brain will be quick to talk you out of the salad and grilled chicken and into a hamburger, fries, and chocolate shake.

---

Sharp Science: Is Obesity All in Your Head?

Scientists at the University of Turku and Aalto University, both in Finland, have found new evidence for the role of the brain in obesity. Researchers determined that the reward system in obese individuals’ brains responded more vigorously to pictures of foods, whereas responses in the frontal cortical regions involved in cognitive control were dampened. Their results suggest that obese individuals’ brains may constantly generate signals that promote eating, even when the body doesn't require additional energy.¹

---

I was sitting in a hotel lounge just the other night when I overheard a very common conversation between two guests who were enjoying the free dessert buffet. Carrying a plate with a piece of pie, the woman said, “I'm on Weight Watchers and I'm counting points, but I'm starting tomorrow.” If I only had a nickel for every time I've heard that statement! No matter how much you want to make healthy choices, when you're running on empty at the end of the day, you have no energy to support necessary willpower. Your brain convinces you that you'll start tomorrow because your energy will be replenished and discipline will be easier to fuel.

When we reach for poor sources of energy, we must evaluate the behavior's desired outcome and determine if there are other, more beneficial ways to get there. For example, when physical energy levels are low and you have the option to either eat a Big Mac or go for a run, your energy-hungry brain will make the obvious choice: invest, don't spend. You'll therefore find yourself drawn to the food as a smarter energy investment.

Even knowing that exercise will make you feel better in the long term isn't enough if you're running on fumes at the end—or even in the middle—of the day. You may be better off looking for another energy investment strategy in this case, such as watching a funny video, connecting with a good friend, or utilizing the Brain Recharge process we'll be discussing later in this book. These investments in your personal energy can help get you back on track without putting you into conservation mode, and ultimately fuel your progress towards your goals.

Anytime we ask the brain to help us change, it's not as simple as pleading the case that something needs to be done simply because we want to do it. We have to prove to the brain that the energy we need to make the change is worth the cost. If we demand too much of the brain at once, it may let you try something out for a few days; however, you'll soon find yourself returning to old habits that have been ingrained over time, and therefore require less effort and a much smaller energy investment.

Many of my high-achieving perfectionist “type-A” clients, tend to find themselves in this situation, trapped in an all-or-nothing mentality. Feeling a strong motivation to change, their minds can quickly drift back to the way things used to be. I was speaking to a large group of financial advisors when I met a former football player from my alma mater. He told me he was feeling like garbage about letting the business wear him down, so he was going to get back to his playing weight once again by incorporating the strategies I had mentioned in my talk.

I quickly asked him to tell me about his life back then to find out exactly what he'd be returning to. His days were filled with classes (when he felt like going), a steady social life, and a few hours in the gym. He loved his life, was in fabulous shape, and felt energized all the time. Then I asked what his life was like now. He told me that he'd spend up to 16 hours in the office or meeting with clients and prospects, had a young family who wanted his full attention when he got home, and was sleeping about four (mostly interrupted) hours a night. He still loved his life, but didn't feel like he had the energy to keep up with its demands.

To get back to his previous physical conditioning would require the same type of commitment, if not more due to his aging body. It was reality-check time. I asked him if he felt comfortable quitting his job, leaving his family, and moving to an island somewhere for peace and quiet. While his heart was saying, “I can do this, I've done it before, and I know how,” his brain was saying, “Yeah, right!” Most of us have experienced our brains allowing our hearts to run away with the idea of a life change for a little while; with the right passion and purpose, we might get away with it for a few days, weeks, or even months. The CEO is in charge, and the heart has gotten the engine started. But once we've put too much strain on the system, made it feel too uncomfortable or work too hard at something, the brain will give the mind a million reasons why it needs to stop attempting to change an old habit:

• It's not actually that important.
• You can't really do it.
• You've tried and failed before so this time won't be any different.
• You're fine the way you are; heck, you're doing better than most.
• You'll start tomorrow.

The key to sustainable behavior change is to align the heart and the brain. You must get the CEO and the CFO on the same page and comfortable with the fact that you have the resources you need to change behavior just slightly, one small step at a time, without overwhelming your system. This requires a strategic plan for improving your entire system's fitness level—not just the body but also the mind.

The New Vision of Fitness

Most wellness programs of the past have focused on physical fitness in isolation, teaching strategies that quite honestly everyone already knows they should be doing. I've spent over a decade teaching corporate wellness courses, and I always start off asking what the group already knows about healthy living and what they think they should be doing to take better care of themselves. Not only do individuals know the general strategies for wellness; they are also the only experts on their own operating system. They always have an immediate answer to these questions, whether it's to eat less or more often, move more regularly, reduce stress or sleep more (just to name a few). Yet most of them are not actually doing any of these things. This is where the brain comes in. While nutrition, physical activity, rest, and recovery are critical for overall well-being, you must support these strategies with cognitive fitness—that is, the ability to use your mental energy to support your brain and body's efforts to sustain behavior. Training the brain to be fit requires both strategic exercises that are geared to challenge and develop cognitive functions, as well as strategic rest for optimal repair and recovery.

It's clear that non-stop strenuous exercise is not the best approach to being strong, coordinated, and healthy. We require regular periods of rest and recovery at all levels of biological dynamics in order for our muscles to develop and function optimally. This regular shifting between exercise and rest—called oscillation—is especially important when it comes to your mental energy, both as something to understand and also to regularly practice.

---

Sharp Science: Need to Create? Meditate.

Have you ever noticed that the harder you try to solve a problem, the tougher it becomes? Sometimes the best solution is to not try at all. A recent study showed that open monitoring meditation, where the individual is receptive to all the thoughts and sensations experienced, without focusing attention in a particular direction, increased divergent (outside-of-the-box) thinking, and generated more new ideas than before meditation. In contrast, focused attention meditation—trying to concentrate on something specific rather than free flowing— had no significant effect on the ability to resolve a problem. While focused attention training may help strengthen our ability to focus, relaxation techniques that are geared more towards non-judgmental awareness create more opportunities for insight, thereby building mental flexibility and boosting creative thinking.²

---

Science has clearly documented that it's critical to not over-train your brain. Instead, you need to train deliberately in ways that will actively reduce stress, encourage neural expansion, and help your brain regularly recover and express its full potential. It's important to remember that physical and mental fitness aren't just about brute strength. Yes, you do need to keep your brain fit for bouts of long hours while you deal with a mass of detail; that's part of work. But there are three distinct dimensions to mental fitness: strength, flexibility, and endurance.

To nurture these three intertwined brain qualities, you sometimes need to actively engage your mind in cognitive workouts. However, you also need to shift into recovery mode for creative insight from time to time. And at work, just like at home, you also need to be able to instantly shift into interpersonal empathy mode, so that you can relate to your team or clients at highly successful levels.

There's no way of getting around the blunt fact...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Understand Your Operating System
• Chapter 2: Balance Your Brain
• Chapter 3: Engage Your Heart
• Chapter 4: Focus Your Mind
• Chapter 5: Energize Your Body
• Chapter 6: Strengthen Your Community
• Chapter 7: The SHARP Solution Plan
• Final Thoughts
• Notes
• For More Information
• Index