Have you ever wondered how Google became the giant it is today? How did Mark Zuckerberg go from a top student to a genius entrepreneur? What would you think if we told you that the key to success – the one that allowed Google and Zuckerberg to consolidate themselves in the business world – is within your reach and has to do with your ability to have a winning mind?
It is not a joke. The brain of a successful person is not only characterized by having a high coefficient. John Coates, a specialist in cognitive and behavioral neurology at the University of Cambridge, assures that an individual’s success has nothing to do with their IQ or the circumstances that surround them.
in his book The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: Risk Taking, Gut Feelings and the Biology of Boom and Bust Coates refers to “the winner effect”, a brain process that works as an osmosis, reinforcing the secretion of the hormones of success and failure, that is, testosterone and cortisol.
According to the specialist, testosterone is related to the state of euphoria that the brain perceives when taking risks, which prompts it to react positively when under a lot of pressure or in the face of imminent risks. This allows us to perform better and thus have the necessary confidence to achieve the objectives .
So, if we can relate success to self-inflicted mental processes, what can we do to master our brain and turn it into a powerful weapon that guides us towards our goals?
Jeff Brown, Mark Fenske and Liz Neporent also say that it is a myth that achievers are born gifted for success. in his book The brain of the winner. 8 strategies from great minds to achieve success, The authors indicate that there are five tools that are available to everyone, and that allow you to master the mind.
Five tools of the winning mind
1. Opportunity radar
The mind works in surprising ways. When a person feels confident in themselves – a necessary state to be on the path to success –, they are responsible for playing to their own advantage, that is, they make the most appropriate decisions to guarantee personal satisfaction and security.
The opportunity radar consists of detecting the precise solutions that allow you to find innovative solutions to problems.
2. Optimal risk indicator
Every action carries a risk. Success comes from facing risks throughout life, but with due care: the brain also seeks protection and stability. Given this, it is important that you identify what your comfort zone to get out of it, but at the same time as being bold, try to be prudent. Finding a balance is an art.
3. Laser goals
Likewise, every person who longs for success has goals. The goal laser consists of having your own goals, but above all, taking them from the level of the unrealizable to achievable projects, which can be achieved with a constant effort. It is very important that you renew your goals every certain period, and that you establish measurement methods.
4. Effort accelerator
It’s simple: what motivates you? Your incentives are called accelerators, because they are responsible for giving you the push you need to do everything you set out to do. Feed each incentive to make it more powerful.
5. Talent Meter
Make sure you measure the risks before taking the leap. This does not mean that if something represents a greater risk you abandon it, but it does mean that you are aware of what you can and cannot do. Know your own limits and working on them is one of the tools that will allow you to get closer to success.
Eight success factors to master your winning mind
Self-awareness
Knowing yourself from head to toe, inside and out, will allow you to control your reactions and relate appropriately to the world. Likewise, knowing yourself perfectly allows you to measure your talent, know your limitations and enhance your skills. An excellent tool to know yourself better and maintain physical and mental balance? Meditate every morning.
Motivation
You need a boost to reach the goal. For many it would be recognition, for others the personal satisfaction , in other cases the family or children; Whatever the case, you need to cultivate these motivators.
Concentration
We can focus on one word: mindfulness. Focus on what really matters and what benefits you, stop wasting efforts and seek to create opportunities. Concentration acts on the goal laser, the effort accelerator and the opportunity radar.
Emotional balance
Yes, once again, emotional intelligence. This directly influences the opportunity radarin the goal laser and in the risk indicator.
Memory
What’s the point of knowing too many things if you don’t use them strategically? It is not about knowing or learning as much as you can, it is about making what you learn fruitful for your daily life. Make sure that everything you learn you can execute and use for your own benefit. Memory impacts all five tools.
Resilience
The art of endurance: the brain of a winner recovers from life’s challenges by facing deficiencies, mistakes and failures, whether self-generated or a product of circumstances. Achievers reframe failures to work to their benefit, and they know that when things don’t go as planned, the journey isn’t necessarily over. In fact, failure often hides a new opportunity.
Adaptability
It is the brain’s ability to constantly renew itself to cope with new circumstances. Exercise your winning mind!
Brain care
The proper functioning of the brain also depends on how we take care of it, that is: giving it adequate nutrition, constant physical activity, daily reading and learning, restful sleep, among other habits.
And you, what do you do to control your brain? What are your tips to improve each brain tool?