Mindfulness, meditation, and breath awareness. Is this all a big fad or can you actually gain a cognitive edge from sitting for 15-20 minutes each day focusing on the breath? A recent study published in Science Daily states even after…
Many people who take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator will ask whether or not their psychological type can change. According to type theory, basic type preferences for perception or judgment are inborn and do not change. However, it is also known…
Much has been written about the importance of formulating goals to achieve success. First, you appraise your current situation. Next, you decide what you wish to achieve. Then you identify specific activities that will help you reach that goal. Simple,…
Identifying your unique personal qualities is a key factor in maximizing potential. The challenging part is to find out how you can parlay these characteristics into behaviors that are actually going to yield improved competence, a better job, or general…
A family friend was interested in learning about neurological rehabilitation. What do you do with someone who suffers a head injury? Even minor head injuries can result in increased irritability, memory problems, difficulty with judgment, impulse control... Of course, the…
March is Brain Awareness Month so the bookstore was overflowing with intriguing selections for me to take on vacation. I have a lifelong passion for brains. How do they work? What happens when they are broken? How do you get the most out of your brain? For instance, I am intrigued by the notion that many of the behavioral observations that have been made about the brain, behavior, cognition, and personality over the course of thousands of years can now be confirmed through imaging techniques such as the fMRI or the PET scan. Indeed, there is no better time than now to learn about the brain, appreciate individual differences, and to be wowed by it’s wonders.
The first book I read was The Edison Gene/ADHD and the Gift of the Hunter Child by Thon Hartmann (By clicking the link, you can also read the American Psychiatric Institute’s review of the book). There is ongoing controversy as to whether ADHD is a real disorder or if it is the gift of creativity and adaptability in it’s highest form. Thomas Edison, left school after only 3 months of formal education and was labeled, “a problem child, stupid and difficult” by his teachers. He set his father’s barn on fire to see what would happen. He laid on goose eggs to see if he could hatch them. His mother had to move his laboratory into the basement for fear that he would blow up the house. Of course, without Thomas Edison, there would be no light bulbs, no phonographs, and no motion pictures among other critical inventions. The author makes the case that medicating or trying to “break” the highly creative types like Edison, our society would not move forward. As I read the book, I imagined the Thomas Edison types to be intuitive- thinking-perceiving types ( ENTP and the INTP) using the Myers-Briggs terminology. Another parallel terms would be right brain thinking (holistic, random, intuitive and a “could be” focus) versus left brain thinking (linear, sequential, concrete,and a “what is” focus).
I agree with the author’s assertion that people are wired differently and are therefore more adept at various tasks. Some individuals tend to remain open to changes in incoming data and adapt accordingly while others prefer structure, organization and consistency. Neither style of thinking is superior to the other.
Recently, I resigned from my job as a speech pathologist in a hospital, a position I had held for 24 years. What's more, I now have no hospital affiliation whatsoever for the first time since 1980. My position at this…
Cognitive blind spots present a significant roadblock to the full realization of individual human potential. There are many kinds of blind spots including those that are common to all humans such as the Bandwagon Effect , where individuals become attracted to popular trends, or the Restraint Bias where individuals overestimate their capacity to resist temptation. There are also other types of blind spots that are common to individuals who have suffered neurological damage. The term reduced deficit awareness refers to an individual’s lack of awareness of a cognitive problem and it’s impact on his functional capabilities. For example, a patient may be certain he can drive despite deep paralysis and a visual field cut! Even our normal dominant psychological preferences for sensing versus intuition and thinking versus feeling as defined by our MBTI personality type set the stage for cognitive blind spots and biases.
Interestingly, the process to overcome these challenges is similar.. First there is an awareness that our personal effectiveness is limited in some way. Next is an acceptance that a mindset or an existing way of approaching a problem is the reason we are coming up short of our goals. Finally, an action plan is generated to bring about change.
For instance, in neurological rehabilitation, one of the most important indicators for significant recovery after a stroke or brain injury is awareness of deficits. Realistically, how can improvements be made if one is blind to the need for change? Moreover, there are several levels of awareness that must be achieved in order to change:
7 Levels of Self- Awareness That Can Lead to Change:
I have a very poor sense of direction. I have driven down roads that have turned into pastureland. I have taken routes that I thought were correct only to find myself miles away from my intended destination. I have ridden on the wrong subway or hopped on the wrong bus so often that I am usually surprised when I get it right. I have been lost so many times that I usually don’t say, “I’m lost”. Instead I say, “This is not the most efficient route, I know, I know…” One of the roadblocks that I frequently encounter is that I usually don’t know where I am in the first place! Where is Point A in relation to Point B? Poor topographical orientation (the cognitive scientist’s way of saying, “You don’t know where the hell you are!”), is an effective analogy to describe how many of us feel at during our lives. Where am I? Where am I going? How do I get there?
The answer to the question, “How do I GET there?” in life is as varied as the maps and gadgets that are available to help us reach a physical destination. Deciding what tool provides the most effective guidance is really dependent on several factors including how familiar we are with the area, our general sense of direction, or whether we want a map or written directions. For that matter, we may have a preference for north-south/east-west directions versus left-right/”turn at the Target store on the corner” type directions. I have found the GPS system to be most helpful but believe it or not, I had to learn to actually listen to it before it was of much use to me. The point is, what we use to navigate our surroundings is a matter of personal choice. One must seek the most understandable and the most effective option.
Everyone procrastinates; some do so rarely and others battle it all of the time. For some MBTI personality types, particularly the ENTP and ENFP types, procrastination is omnipresent. For these types, there always seems to be a monkey on the back or an alligator snapping at the knees waiting to be addressed. That is because these two types have extraverted intuition as the dominant cognitive process. The ENTP and the ENFP are always scanning the external environment for something more interesting, amusing or new. The brain is literally lit up when a new experience is present and conversely, it is lulled to sleep when an old task has to be completed or is excessively repetitive. People procrastinate because they can’t find the focus to do what needs to be done. In the world of a dominant extraverted intuitive, possibilities present themselves almost constantly with procrastination being a natural byproduct of these distractions.
Now what happens when an ENTP type and an ENFP type, two professional procrastinators get together to get work done? Here is the amazing story of Lockdown 2010. I am an ENFP and I had work that had been hanging over my head for 6 weeks. My friend, an ENTP, had a project that had hung over her head for much longer than that. We both knew that we would feel the sense of accomplishment once it was done. However recall, taking something off the “TO DO” list isn’t necessarily the driving force that spurs a dominant extraverted intuitive into action. It’s the newness. The fun. We can start off with the best of intentions but easily get sidetracked by something interesting to read, lunch with a fascinating companion, a new project. Anything is better than dotting the “i’s” or crossing the “t’s”. We knew we had to make it fun.