Welcome to Motivational Mondays with Mark Kent your weekly Proactive Empowerment Performance (PEP) talk with Mark Kent.
How was your week? Have you been empowered by completing projects or have you felt defeated and overwhelmed?
In our lives we have to deal with two different brains when making decisions - particularly when it comes to overcoming obstacles, getting things finished, and taking on new challenges.
You may remember last week I explained the difference between long term and short term motivation and what was required to get the most of each type of motivation. Well there are two types of brains that directly impact upon how proficient you are and whether you will be reactive or proactive in completing large and small tasks. These two brains do not necessarily always agree and can in fact conflict with each other contributing to poor decision making but you might not even be aware of these differences until now.
The EMOTIONAL BRAIN is all about protection against threat, loss or potential harm. As well it is reactive, spontaneous,brings the past to the present, is( either or) and moralizes based upon right and wrong.
The RATIONAL BRAIN is more reflective, objective, is concerned with what you might gain, is (both and,) is ultimately concerned with what's best for you.
Now you can see how emotional decisions are filtered through these dynamics and what a huge role they can play in fear of change or taking risks to alter self destructive patterns. Usually the emotional brain is involved in short term motivation, while the rational brain is utilized for strategies necessary in long term motivation. For example you may find it difficult to complete short term rather insignificant tasks but find it easier to complete long term tasks or vice versa. This is why it is important to understand and be aware of which brain is dominant in the decision making and to implement more of the rational brain's processes in making better decisions and becoming more productive. For example, just about every task you complete will have some direct or indirect impact upon your life. Just asking the question, 'is this in my best interest to complete this task?', can help overcome avoidance habits and develop a more proactive approach to tasks you might otherwise avoid. Thinking in terms of (both and) instead of mutual exclusivity can give you more flexibility to find other ways around difficult problems that otherwise may paralyze you or cause avoidance anxiety.
So ask yourself which brain is dominating in your everyday motivation and the decisions you make to complete tasks. Try to move consciously towards using more of the rational brain and you will be more productive as you will make better decisions in the long run.
Thanks again for allowing me to serve you and share these ideas on motivation.
To your empowerment,motivation and success: Mark kent
In next weeks issue How seeing is believing is doing.
Mark Kent
