Does Our Brain Make Right Sense?

Sometime ago, I stumbled upon this particular documentary programme on Discovery Channel which talked about how our brains make sense of our world. The programme features some of the most impressive works done by neuroscientists, and I'm particularly caught by this demonstration below (you can try this demonstration on someone else to test if it's true too).

Let’s look at how the brain works to help us make sense out of what we see. Can anyone read this?

I'm sure most of you would read the words as "JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS". Right?

 

Well, not exactly right. The actual words half-covered by the blue box are "IUMRINC TQ GONGLUSIQNS", which are words that don't make any sense at all.

 

So here, we see that the brain is using words it has learned to make a guess about what is written. Usually, this is really helpful like when we can’t read all of a sign or when we do crossword puzzles, but it is not perfect. We can fool it, and when we fool it, we can easily see that this filling in the blanks is going on.

In other words, what our brain sees are not always exactly accurate. Our brain depends highly on information stored from our previous experience to make judgements.

I tried to understand more about this, therefore I googled and found this "Top 5 Ways False Memories are Formed" at the Discovery Channel website: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/5-ways-false-memories-formed.htm

Apparently, the "trick" that your brain has pulled on you as you went through the demonstration above is called "Inference".

If you tend to remember all the cheerleaders from high school as having blonde hair and the football players as being dumb jocks, you may be a victim of inference-based memory error, or bias. These types of false memories often occur in memory reconstruction: Put simply, when we pull out memories with holes in them, we simply patch them up with things that seem to fit. While these makeshift reconstructions are sometimes accurate, they're more often distorted by our current knowledge, feelings and beliefs rather than being true representations.

False memories due to bias usually result from a desire to reduce psychological discomfort by having one's thoughts and memories remain consistent. As a result, people tend to rely on inference in a wide variety of situations. Along with the stereotype bias alluded to in the first paragraph, studies show that people also infer they've seen an event's cause when they've really only seen its effect. People will also remember that they felt a particular way in the past that coincides with how they feel in the present, or even that they were worse off many years ago to make themselves feel better about where they are now.

Upon completing a study skills course, for instance, students remembered their initial study skills as being lower and their later test grades as higher than did students not taking the course. In another study, people presented with a list of names supposedly belonging to criminals recently in the media were almost twice as likely to "remember" seeing stereotypically black names as they were other names.

I have always heard this saying,

"F.E.A.R is False Evidence Appearing Real."

Now with this piece of scientific information, I can see really see where this is coming from.

Decide What You Want

Principle #3 - Decide What You Want

"One of the main reasons why most people don't get what they want is they haven't decided what they want. They haven't defined their desires in clear and compelling detail.

Inside everyone of us is that tiny seed of the "you" that you were meant to become. Unfortunately, you may have buried this seed in response to your parents, teachers, coaches, and other adult role models as you were growing up.

After many years of these kinds of sanctions, most of us eventually lost touch with the needs of our bodies and the desires of our hearts and somehow got stuck trying to figure out what other people want us to do.

In the name of being sensible, we end up becoming numb to our own desires."

~ Jack Canfield

For those of you who are in the midst of making your new year resolutions for 2013, it's time to reclaim yourself and your true desires. Stop settling for less than what you want.

"If you don't like the color of the notebook you have, trade with someone else and get the one you want. You deserve to have everything in your life exactly the way you want it."

For those of you who are not sure what you truly want in life, start with making a list of 30 things you want to do, 30 things you want to have, and 30 things you want to be before you die. A sort of bucket list.

Here's a story of Monty Roberts, the author of "The Man Who Listens to Horses", to get you inspired:

When Monty was in high school, his teacher gave the class the assignment to write about what they wanted to do when they grow up. Monty wrote that he wanted to own his own 200-acre ranch and raise Thoroughbred racehorces. His teacher gave him an F and explained that the grade reflected that he deemed his dream unrealistic. No boy who was living in a camper on the back of a pickup truck would ever amass enough money to buy a ranch, purchase breeding stock, and pay the necessary salaries for ranch hands. When he offered Monty the chance of rewriting his paper for a higher grade, Monty told him, "You keep the 'F'; I'm keeping my dream."

Today Monty's 154-acre Flag Is Up Farms in Solvang, California, raises Thoroughbred horses and trains hundreds of horse trainers in a more humane way to "join up" with and train horses.

Enjoy making your new year resolutions!

Happy New Year, my dear friends!

Character Ethics vs Personality Ethics

Some of you may be wondering why am I such a huge fan of Dr Stephen Covey's teachings?

Well, it's because of something that he has taught in this short video, which has shifted my paradigm ever since.

Stephen Covey explaining the character ethic and the personality ethic

Back when I first read about this in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", I could totally relate to it because of an experience I had in school.

There were 2 students in my class - Peter and John (both not their real names). Both of them were smart students, but with different ethics.

John was a diligent student. He had always done all the research himself and completed all his homework by his own without fail. Being an introvert, he was not the type of student that teachers would notice much in class.

On the other hand, Peter was a lazy student. He had always copied John's work. Sometimes, Peter would even cheat during exams by bringing in small slips of notes, or making secret pacts with others to copy each others' answers. Being an extrovert, he was the sweet talker who would sweet talk his way into the hearts of his teachers. All the teachers adore him.

At the end of the day, Peter had always scored better results than John. Teachers would speak so highly of Peter, citing him as a role model for other fellow students to learn from. Meanwhile, there was no mention of John, even though he was always the first to submit his homework by his own hard work.

Over the years, I had heard of others' comments on both Peter and John. Some had said that Peter studied smart, which was why he scored better results despite not being as hardworking as John, and therefore deserved the credit. Some had even teased and laughed at John for being so diligent but yet not delivering results when it mattered the most.

This example has clearly shown that most people nowadays have shifted into the "personality ethics" category. Here are more evidence:

• People reading books or attending courses to learn how to write impressive resumes to cover for their meagre skills and knowledge. (If a candidate is really good in skills and knowledge, his resume would naturally be impressive.)
• People seeking quick tips on how to excel in job interviews. (If a candidate has substance, he would naturally excel in job interviews.)
• People, who normally dress like a thug, going for makeover sessions to get themselves a "success look", so as to look impressive during job interviews. (If a candidate observes good hygiene and proper grooming, he would naturally look good under any circumstance.)

Nevertheless, let me clarify this. There is no right or wrong in terms of choosing which set of ethics to abide by. But personally, I'm a strong believer in character ethics and the inside-out approach. I buy more into John's character than Peter's personality. Call me a dinosaur if you like, but that is one thing about me which is not going to change.  :)

Begin with the End in Mind

Welcome to the world of imagination...

Imagine if you're an artist, and you're about to paint a masterpiece about your life, how would your painting look like? What is the story that you would like to portray in your painting? What are the things that you would feature in your painting? What colours would you use for your painting? And what kind of tributes would you like others to give to your painting?

Your life is like a masterpiece, and you're the painter who decides how the masterpiece would look like. You're given the opportunity to  paint your very own unique story.

FranklinCoveys 7 Habits Video Preview: Masterpiece

Imagine today you're celebrating your 80th birthday. Your family members, close relatives and friends are gathered around you. Someone starts a round of toast for you. What would you like these people to toast about you?

FranklinCovey's 7 Habits Video Preview: 80th Birthday

Everyone has equal opportunities to live through an experience twice: first in the mind, second in reality. Don't miss the first opportunity, because it's gone once the second sets in.

Tearing Down the "Berlin Wall"

What did the world get when the famous Berlin Wall was torn down in year 1990?

• We get to see the German reunification.
• We see the rise of the new Germany to become one of the most powerful countries and economies in the world.

And many more.

What about your life? Do you have walls around you? Imagine if these walls were to be torn down like the Berlin Wall, what would you get?

Watch this enlightening video from my all-time idol Dr Stephen Covey for an enlightening short lesson.  :)

Keys to tearing down walls:

• Think "we", not "me".
• Listen to understand, not to reply.
• Believe in Third Alternatives.

It starts from YOU.

Why Do You Wake Up Every Morning?

Few days ago, my mentor asked me, "Why do you wake up every morning?" I guess what he really meant is:

What is the purpose that drives me out of bed every morning?

Of course, I did know my answer very clearly. But I do remember there was a period of time in my life that I had lived without a purpose. I was merely hanging on to my life because there was nothing to take it away from me and that my heart was still beating. In other words, I have been through times where I had lived without any purpose, and times like now where everyday of my life is full of purpose.

Your answer to the question above tells you a lot about yourself and where are you heading to. Some may say:

"Huh? Never thought about it wor."

"Need reason one meh? That's just something natural to do wor. That's part of life ma, right?"

"Aiya, if I wake up today, I live another day loh."

"To get to office on time lah. So that I won't be late loh."

"Wah, every morning when I wake up ar, there are so many things I need to do loh. I need to take the kids to school lah. I need to go to the market la. I need to go to the post office to settle some bills lah. I need to rush home to cook lah, so that I won't miss my favourite drama series...."

Whatever your answer is, just ask yourself, are you satisfied with your answer?

If you're satisfied with your answer, carry on. You're definitely on track for what you're looking for.

If you're not satisfied with your answer, obviously you need start thinking and doing something different.

Introducing to you...

Principle #2 - Be Clear Why You're Here

Quoting some of the most impactful remarks made by Jack Canfield in this chapter:

I believe each of us is born with a life purpose. Identifying, acknowledging, and honouring this purpose is perhaps the most important action successful people take They take time to understand what they're here to do - and then they pursue that with passion and enthusiasm.

Purpose can bring an aspect of fun and fulfillment to virtually everything I do.

Without a purpose in life, it's easy to get side-tracked on your life's journey. But with a purpose, everything in life seems to fall into place. To be "on purpose" means you're doing what you love to do, doing what you're good at and accomplishing what's important to you. When you are truly on purpose, the people, resources and opportunities you need naturally gravitate towards you. The world benefits, too, because when you act in alignment with your true life purpose, all of your actions automatically serve others.

Everything you do should be an expression of your purpose. If an activity doesn't fit that formula, you wouldn't work on it. Period.

You were born with an inner guidance system that tells you when you are on or off purpose by the amount of joy you are experiencing. The things that bring you the greatest joy are in alignment with your purpose.

I urge you to find your dreams and discover your life purpose. Reading this book really helps a lot. I sincerely would like to see everyone around me happily living their lives on purpose.

My purpose is to use my passion in learning and leadership skills to inspire and lead others to achieve their fullest potential in life and live the lives of their dreams with their families and loved ones!

Do You Feel Responsible for Your Life?

I have been reading this brilliant book by Jack Canfield "How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be" for some time. In this book, Jack Canfield has laid out the 25 principles of success, and to begin with...

Principle #1 - Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life.

Many times I have seen people put the blame on external factors for the disappointments in their life. They put the blame on luck for not having the one golden opportunity to succeed. They put the blame on their spouses for not being supportive and understanding enough when they wish to pursue a new career or investment opportunity. They put the blame on office politics and favouritism for not getting the promotion that they have longed for. They put the blame on their children for occupying their precious time, and so not having the time to pursue any business venture. They put the blame on almost everything under the sun, expect for themselves. I had been guilty of all these too.

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself." ~ Jim Rohn.

This basically says that, if you want to be successful, you have to take 100% responsibility for everything that you experience in your life. Taking 100% responsiblity means you acknowledge that you create everything that happens to you. It means you understand that you are the cause of all your experience. This can be simplified further with this formula below:

E + R = O

(Event + Response = Outcome)

The idea of this formula is that every outcome you experience in life is the result of how you have responded to earlier events in your life.

Can we change the events which are occuring outside of us? Posible, but not likely.

Can we change our response towards the events? Absolutely yes. We can continually change our responses to the events until we get the outcome that we want.

The life you currently live is the result of all of your past thoughts and actions. If you want things to change for the better...

You have to give up blaming.

You have to give up complaining.

You have to start paying attention to the results you produce. Results don't lie.

When you start taking responsibility for your life, that is when you start gaining ownership over your life.

"99% of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses." ~ George Washington Carver.