Dopamine and strategy can be two of your greatest allies for success, allowing you to re-wire your brain to actually love the tasks you hate! From cold calling, conflict management, paperwork, BAS & Tax to going for a jog!
Adding a little science to your daily routine may radically change the way you view and experience those dreaded “to do’s”.
There are two components in this Neuro Success™ strategy.
- The Reward System – is the brains mesolimbic & mesocortical dopamine pathways. These areas in layman’s terms may be described as the pleasure pathways. A positive stimulus causes the secretion of dopamine, (the brains natural “high”) which then journeys along these pathways causing us to experience pleasure, happiness even ecstasy!
When we are deliberate in setting up rewards at the end of unfavourable tasks we begin to link pleasure to the completion and even activation of these jobs. It’s imperative you choose a reward that is affordable in both time and money AND that you carry it out after you complete the task. This sets up a new association, (thanks to dopamine), in the brain that completing that particular task means pleasure.
If you fail to activate the reward after completing the task this will wire the brain to understand that the task is exactly that, “a task”, and there is no pleasure associated to it hence perpetuating the “drag” originally associated to it.
- Motivational Neuro Success™ strategy. Adding this strategy to the above is like throwing in a turbo boost to success.
Utilising our 5 senses in a deliberate sequence can generate remarkable motivation. Once you know how it is super simple and one strategy that is easily addictive due to the results it produces.
Our 5 senses work both externally (e), and internally (i). Giving us a total of 10 options. For example, you can visually (V), see a tree with your eyes open. This is represented as Ve (Visual external). Or you can close your eyes and imagine a tree. This is represented as Vi (Visual internal).
This is duplicated across the 5 senses – hearing = Auditory (A), touch = Kinaesthetic (K), Smell = Olfactory (O), & Taste = Gustatory (G). Each of which can be represented externally or internally – in our mind.
We have unconscious strategies for every task, some are highly motivating and others produce dread. When we deliberately allocate a highly motivating strategy to a dreaded task we can dramatically alter the feelings associated to the task, changing it to something we love to achieve instead of putting it off.
Here is an example. I use to hate going for a run. When it was suggested to me I unconsciously saw myself on the run, hot sweaty. (Vi) then I would imagine how that felt, puffing, uncomfortable & the pain of doing the task, (Ki). Finally, I would say in my head, “I hate running” (Ai). This would consistently produce a feeling of dislike associated with going for a run. My unconscious strategy for this task was: Vi, Ki, Ai = unmotivated!
Funnily enough, my husband loved going for runs, so we compared strategies. He also began with Vi, but the difference of WHAT he visualised – (the sub-modalities) made all the difference in creating motivation. He saw himself AFTER the run, eating a bowl of fresh fruit. He then imagined how amazing he felt being vibrant alive and super healthy – (Ki). Finally, he would say to himself, “I feel great” – (Ai).
When we look at his strategy, on the surface it was exactly the same! – Vi, Ki, Ai. BUT, the actual pictures, feelings and self-talk, (the SUB-MODALITIES), were vastly different and this is what produced motivation.
We can map motivation strategies across to any undesirable task to change the feeling associated to them. From that moment, I borrowed his strategy when I had to go for a run and to this day I actually love jogging! I don’t have to consciously think of the strategy now it happens automatically as my brain has re-wired the neural pathway to tap in to my Reward System – linking pleasure to this previously arduous task.
You can do this with all sorts of cringe worthy jobs, I dare you to try it, but be careful, you might just become addicted!
For more information visit www.simoneleslie.com or email Simone at simone@simoneleslie.com.
