Podcasts about horacio sanchez

Welcome to Season 13 of Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning. Join Andrea Samadi as she wraps up a year-long exploration of Grant Bosnick's book on self-leadership, diving into the final chapters focused on the neuroscience of resilience, authenticity, and bias. Discover practical strategies and insights from the latest neuroscience research to enhance your self-awareness, build authentic relationships, and overcome biases for personal growth and improved well-being. Don't miss this final installment filled with expert knowledge and actionable steps to transform your daily life. And we will now resume PART 4, the final part of our review, to sum up last year, 2024, and our entire year studying one book, Grant Bosnick's “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] the end of January 2024. The goal was that each week, we focused on learning something new, (from Grant's book) tied to the most current neuroscience research, that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights this year. It honestly shocked me that this series took the entire year. We began with PART 1[ii] and the first 5 chapters of the book. PART 2[iii] we reviewed chapters 6-9 of Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, PART 3[iv], we reviewed chapters 10-13, and finally, today, we will finish with PART 4, Chapters 14-16.                                                                                         ((On today's EPISODE #360 PART 4 of our review of Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, we will cover)): ✔ EP 344 Chapter 14[v] “The Neuroscience of Resilience” ✔ EP 345 Chapter 15[vi] “Unlocking Authenticity: The Neuroscience of Relationships” ✔ EP 347 Chapter 16[vii] “The Science of Bias” If you have not yet taken the leadership self-assessment, or if you would like to re-take it to see if the results are different for you than last year, you can click the link here to find the quick test. I re-took the assessment for 2025, and did notice some similarities and some differences from last year. If you can, retake the assessment and see what you notice about yourself. I noticed that pathways 2 and 3 are my high areas of focus this year, and that I can drop pathway 6 from my focus. What about you? If you have a few minutes to spare, take this leadership self-assessment again, and see if you notice any changes in your areas of focus for 2025. This is an incredible way to remain laser focused on pathways that will move the needle of success for YOU this year. EP 344 Chapter 14 “The Neuroscience of Resilience: Building Stronger Minds and Teams” If you were to ask me which episode is my favorite out of the 16 chapters, I would have to say this topic is at the top of the list, even though this pathway came out as a 0% for me to focus on in 2025. It's not because I'll be brushing resilience under the rug this year, as it's an area of focus I work on daily, without even thinking about it. Who doesn't want to become more resilient, or understand how to build a stronger mind, and then translate this strength to others for predictable results in 2025? What drew me to this episode was learning about the fascinating new neuroscience behind the part of our brain called the anterior mid cingulate cortex that becomes bigger when we use our will power to do those things we just don't want to do. Scientists believe this ability to use our will power to do difficult things, which builds our resiliency, is what's really behind the will to live. Stop and think for a minute here. Does this resonate with you? If you enjoy doing difficult things, and you would describe yourself as being “resilient” doesn't it make your mind spin to think that you are actually building a bigger, and stronger brain with this trait? Dr. Amen from Amen Clinics does remind us that when it comes to our brain, that bigger is better and that “a larger, more active brain is associated with better cognitive performance and overall well-being.”[viii] On this episode we also covered: A review of EP 74 and 286 where we covered the Neuroscience of Resilience with Horacio Sanchez's work reminding us that our protective or risk factors in our lifetime, will determine how resilient we will be throughout our life. While 25% of the population are naturally resilient, Horacio asserts that “if you have little risk, it takes less to be resilient. But—if you have a lot of risk, it takes a lot more protective factors to offset the scale.” Horacio has dedicated his life to helping our next generation become more resilient. If you love Horacio Sanchez's work as much as I do, stay tuned, as we will be featuring him soon with his new book, Unlocking School Bias: Using Neuroscience to Improve Student Outcomes[ix]. Stay tuned for this episode that will be scheduled as soon as I finish reading his book. Next we looked at Grant Bosnick's book, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership (Chapter 14) where he gave us the analogy of the donkey who fell into the well, and demonstrated resiliency when he used the dirt shoveled on him, to climb out. This example taught us that we all will have dirt shoveled on our backs in our life, and “that we can either get buried in the dirt or shake it off and take a step up. Each adversity we face is a stepping stone, and we can get out of the deepest wells by shaking off the dirt and taking a step up.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 160). Another analogy we learned was through the mother and daughter story, and that when adversity faces you, Bosnick asks us to reflect. “Are you the carrot that seems strong but with pain and adversity (wilted) and became soft, losing its strength? Are you the egg that starts with a soft heart, but hardens with the heat? Or are you like the coffee bean that actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that (brought) the pain?” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 161). I'm hoping that we all desire to experience change with the adversity we face, like the coffee bean and use our difficult experiences in life to build a better, and stronger version of ourselves. After learning about building resiliency in ourselves, we learned about building resiliency within our teams, and looked at Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. The absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Then we learned to turn this around, using the five functions of a high performing team: trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 170). Finally, we looked at how we develop resiliency, using our Will Power from EP 294 where I shared an activity to strengthen this faculty of our mind either through meditation, or with an activity of staring at a candle flame, and with time, effort and sheer will power, blocking out everything else around you, until you and the candle flame become one. REVISIT THIS EPISODE TO REVIEW THIS CONCEPT IN DEPTH EP 345 Chapter 15 on “Unlocking Authenticity: The Neuroscience of Relationships“ we covered:  ✔ Author Mo Issa's definition of authenticity from his book The Shift: How to Awaken the Aliveness from Within. We met Mo Issa on EP 346[x]) We learned that Mo believes that “true authenticity means being ourselves—not an imitation of what we think we should be or what others want us to be. We all have a unique gift, and we must find and nurture it.” (Mo Issa, The Shift). ✔ Andrea's reflection from 2021 when Mo Issa asked her “what does authenticity mean to you?” What's authentic for me—it's living life according to my values. Living who I am by design. If I'm not putting health first, (for myself and my family) or learning, growing, researching, and then disseminating/sharing what I've learned, I'm not living my true authentic self. It will hurt my productivity if I compromise who I am, at this granular level. ✔ We ask the reader to consider: What makes YOU authentic? ✔ How do you know when you are living a truly authentic life? ✔ Have you identified your unique gifts or talents that make you stand out from others? ✔ Do you know what might be holding you back from being truly authentic? ✔ The Neuroscience of Our Social Brain “We have two systems in our brain: the X-system and the C-system. The X-system (or reflexive system) is automatic, responsive, like/dislike, reward/threat. The C-system (or reflective system) is controlled, conscious, with executive function and executive control.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 186). Motivation and effort are required to engage this part of the brain. The story of Phineas Gage who destroyed the C-system, in his brain and was operating on X-system only. In other words he had no control over his automatic, reflexive system, and his behavior became unbearable as a result. The C-system, (that requires motivation and effort to activate) we learned, is important for self-reflection and understanding self/other. We know this part of our brain as the Default Mode Network[xvi], and the part of our brain where we take breaks for creativity, thinking and learning to occur. “When the brain is at a resting state, this specific system kicks in, which is focused around social understanding (thinking about yourself, others' thoughts, others' actions etc.).” We learned to get into this resting state by “staring out of a window and do nothing (except reflecting on what else we can do to improve our relationships) and this knowledge that we uncover will help us to build more authentic relationships. We learned to slow down the conversation with people, truly listen to them empathetically and be fully present with them. This will build the relationship to be deeper…go slow with the conversation and communication in order to go fast with the depth of the relationship.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 186). ✔ 4 Steps to Building More Authentic Relationships Think of a person in your business, or personal life, that you would like to build a more authentic relationship with. Get to know them on a deeper level. How would you describe them? Are they introverted/extroverted? How do they approach authenticity and relationships? Let your brain go into your Default Mode Network. Stare out of a window and think: what could you do to build a more authentic relationship with each of the people you are thinking of? How can you go slow with your conversation to go fast with the depth of the relationship? And finally, we looked at the quote from Mo Issa that suggests that once we have done the work ourselves, and know what makes us truly authentic, once we know our own unique gifts and talents, and we continue to nurture and grow them, next, we can look outward, and recognize the unique talents and gifts in others. REVISIT THIS EPISODE TO REVIEW THIS CONCEPT IN DEPTH Finally, we covered EP 347 Chapter 16 “The Science of Bias“  where we ✔ Reviewed past episodes where we covered this topic of cognitive biases. ✔ Chapter 16 of Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership on The Neuroscience of Bias. ✔ A review of our two types of thinking (X-system=reflexive/automatic and C-system=reflective/intentional). ✔ 3 Steps to Understand and Manage our Biases from Grant Bosnick's book: Accept and admit we are all biased. It's a natural part of being human. The exercise from Daniel Kahnaman's book showed me how quickly I reverted back to system x, reflexive, automatic thinking. This self-awareness has helped me to consider where else I make quick judgments, without thinking reflectively. Label the Bias. While Bosnick covered three examples, similarity bias (making quick conclusions about people similar to you), urgency bias (where we put non-urgent tasks on hold to push through to do something that requires our immediate attention), or experience bias (where we believe our perception is the truth and that others who see things differently from us are wrong, knowing there are close to 200 different biases, it's a start to be aware that our thinking could possibly be flawed. Mitigate the Bias. We aren't going to solve all of our biases at once, but once we are aware that's it's human to have them, we can begin with looking at strategies to mitigate each. I'm looking forward to diving deeper into the neuroscience of Biases with Horacio Sanchez's new book. Stay tuned for this interview coming this Spring. ✔ 4 Strategies for Mitigating our Biases SLOW DOWN: Bosnick goes into detail on how to mitigate the top three biases that he listed. The strategy that he used was to step back, slow down and access your Systems 2 reflective thinking to see what you notice. The maze exercise showed me I could benefit from slowing down my thinking and not jump to conclusions. BE MINDFUL: When talking to others, work on “engaging our System 2 (reflective) thinking…the more mindful we are, the more we can engage our mental brakes, increase self-awareness, reduce emotional impulses, and reduce our susceptibility to unconscious bias.” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick, Page 212). Being mindful of others will help us to learn to appreciate different perspectives, as well, other people will connect more to us when they can sense we are thinking from their point of view. LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE: Talk to others so you can learn “how to get out of our own experience bias and appreciate other people's perspectives. This will help us to get out of our autopilot, easy route thinking of the urgency bias to have deeper, more robust and deliberate thinking.” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick, Page 212). ASK FOR OUTSIDE OPINIONS: Find others you can brainstorm with to come up with fresh ideas to help you to think in a different way. Ask for feedback to gain a new perspective. This is just the beginning of this topic for us here on the podcast. While writing this episode, I had a message from our good friend Horacio Sanchez, third time returning guest from EP 111[vi] and we will have him back on for a 4th time, to dive deeper into this topic. REVISIT THIS EPISODE TO REVIEW THIS CONCEPT IN DEPTH REVIEW and CONCLUSION: To review and conclude this week's episode #360, PART 4, our final piece of our review of Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, where we covered a review of the final chapters of his book, with strategies that can help us to implement each concept, from chapters 14, 15, and 16. EPISODE #360 PART 4 of our review of Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, we covered: ✔ EP 344 Chapter 14 “The Neuroscience of Resilience” ✔ EP 345 Chapter 15 “Unlocking Authenticity: The Neuroscience of Relationships” ✔ EP 347 Chapter 16 “The Science of Bias” We will see you next time, with some returning guests, Dr. Sui Wong (coming up in April) and Horacio Sanchez. See you next time. REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat' Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/   [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #355 Mastering Self-Leadership REVIEW PART 1 (Grant Bosnick) https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/mastering-self-leadership-with-neuroscience/   [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #356 Mastering Self-Leadership REVIEW PART 2 (Grant Bosnick)https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/unlocking-the-secrets-of-self-leadership-chapters-6-to-9-review/   [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #357 Mastering Self-Leadership REVIEW PART 3 (Grant Bosnick) https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/unlocking-the-power-of-persuasion-time-management-and-change/   [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #344 “The Neuroscience of Resilience”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-resilience-building-stronger-minds-and-teams/   [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #345  “ Unlocking Authenticity” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/unlocking-authenticity-the-neuroscience-of-relationships/   [vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #347 “The Science of Bias”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/unlocking-the-science-of-bias-mastering-self-leadership-and-cognitive-awareness/   [viii] https://www.amenclinics.com/conditions/brain-optimization-peak-performance/   [ix]Unlocking School Bias: Using Neuroscience to Improve Student Outcomes by Horacio Sanchez published Feb. 12th 2025 by Corwin Press https://www.corwin.com/books/unlocking-bias-292586   [x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #346 with “Mo Issa: The Midlife Shift: Discovering Authenticity and Vulnerability”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-midlife-shift-discovering-authenticity-and-vulnerability-with-mo-issa/  

In this episode of Trending in Education, we explore the fascinating intersection of neuroscience and resilience in education. We speak with Dr. Horacio Sanchez, the founder and CEO of Resiliency, Inc, about his groundbreaking work with K-12 systems.   We dive into Dr. Sanchez's origin story and learn how his early work as the youngest director of mental health in North Carolina led him to develop a resiliency-based treatment model for at-risk kids. We discuss how increasing protective factors, like positive relationships, can improve brain function and foster resilience, even in those not naturally resilient. We also explore the neuroscience of empathy and how it can be developed in students.   We also tackle critical issues such as the impact of poverty on brain development and the challenges of teaching in today's environment. We discuss the importance of understanding the neuroscience of bias and how it can be addressed in schools. Finally, we consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI in education, emphasizing the need to use technology to enhance, not replace, cognitive development.   Key takeaways include: Resilience can be taught by focusing on protective factors and their impact on brain function.   Understanding the neuroscience of empathy can help educators create more supportive and effective learning environments.   Poverty significantly impacts brain development, requiring targeted interventions in schools.   AI has the potential to be a beneficial tool in education, but it must be used thoughtfully to support learning, not replace it.   Tune in to discover how applied neuroscience can transform teaching practices, improve school climate, and empower students to thrive. Don't miss this engaging conversation! Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:39 Dr. Horacio Sanchez's Origin Story 01:37 Understanding Resiliency and Protective Factors 02:41 The Impact of Relationships and Neuroscience 04:39 Books and Applied Neuroscience in Education 05:23 The Role of Empathy and Technology 07:46 Poverty's Effect on Brain Development 09:34 Neuroscience of Bias 19:56 Reading and Writing: Neuroscience Insights 26:40 Artificial Intelligence in Education 31:56 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we bridge the gap between neuroscience and emotional intelligence to enhance well-being and productivity. In this episode, host Andrea Samadhi continues the 18-week self-leadership series, focusing on the neuroscience of biases as explored in Grant Bosnick's book, "Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership." Episode 347 delves into Chapter 16, examining cognitive biases through the lens of current neuroscience research. With insights from past episodes and experts like Jenny Woo and Howard Rankin, Andrea highlights the nearly 200 cognitive biases that influence our decision-making. The episode introduces Bosnick's strategies for identifying and managing these biases using Daniel Kahneman's dual-system theory of thinking. Listeners will learn practical steps to recognize biases, categorize them, and apply thoughtful approaches to mitigate their effects. This exploration aims to enhance self-awareness and improve decision-making processes by leveraging both reflexive and reflective thinking systems. Join us on this enlightening journey to understand the intricacies of human cognition and prepare for upcoming discussions, including the neuroscience of trust. This episode is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to refine their self-leadership skills and cognitive understanding. On today's EPISODE #347 “The Neuroscience of Biases” we will cover: ✔ A review of past episodes where we covered biases. ✔ Chapter 16 of Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership on The Neuroscience of Bias. ✔ A review of our two types of thinking (X-system=reflexive/automatic and C-system=reflective/intentional). ✔ 3 Steps to Understand and Manage our Biases ✔ 4 Strategies for Mitigating our Biases For Today, EPISODE #347, we are moving on to Chapter 16, reviewing “The Neuroscience Biases” that we first covered on EP 17[i] with Harvard Researcher, Jenny Woo. On this early episode on our podcast, I mentioned I had just learned that there “are almost 200 known cognitive biases and distortions that cause us to think and act irrationally.” (72 Amazing Brain Facts by Deane Alban). Then we explored cognitive biases even further with EP 146 with our FIRST interview with Howard Rankin, on “How Not to Think”[ii]  where he explains why "the more we know, the more we realize we know nothing at all." (Howard Rankin). If you've taken the leadership self-assessment[iii], look to see if Biases (in Pathway 6, our final pathway in this book study) along with relationships/authenticity, trust and empathy is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year. I was not surprised to see this pathway is a high area of focus for me. I remember being surprised at how many common problems occur with our human thinking process, and wondered how to be aware of all of these cognitive biases. Learning is a continual process, and awareness that our thinking contains these biases, is the first step towards improving our thinking process. So what does Grant Bosnick have to say about biases in chapter 16 of his book, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership? He opens the chapter with an exercise that came from Daniel Kahneman's book, Thinking Fast, and Slow[iv] a book that sold more than 2.6 million copies.   IMAGE CREDIT: (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick). If you are listening to this episode, look at the image in the show notes, and don't forget how you went on to solve this puzzle. Read the instructions and then solve the puzzle. It says “spot the error.” We will come back to the solution at the end of this episode. Bosnick next goes on to define what cognitive biases are, reminding us they are “mental shortcuts that allow us to quickly sort, categorize and make decisions on pieces of information in order to navigate the world in an efficient way. They can be positive, negative or neutral, although most of us probably associate them with the more negative side.” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick). Biases Bosnick says “can be conscious” like when you can relate to someone who is similar to you, or they can be “unconscious: we all have them and unknowingly use them to make judgements every day.” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick). We did learn from Howard Rankin, that we need to be “careful about how we think” and Bosnick agrees, saying that biases can impact the quality of our thinking, judgements and decisions. (And Bosnick's advice to us is that) in order to make better judgements and reduce bias, label the biases and mitigate them using appropriate mental and behavioral processes” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick) that we will examine today. So What is the Neuroscience of Bias? Bosnick brings us back to the two systems in our brain that we first saw on EP #345[v] “The Neuroscience of Relationships and Authenticity” where we looked at the neuroscience of our social brain with the famous story of Phineas Gage, Neuroscience's Most Famous Patient.  With this example, Bosnick tells us that “we have two systems in our brain: the X-system and the C-system. The X-system (or reflexive system) is automatic, responsive, like/dislike, reward/threat. Since this part of our brain is non-thinking, it's not affected by our mental load. The C-system (or reflective system) is controlled, conscious, with executive function and executive control.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 186). Motivation and effort are required to engage this part of the brain, and it can be affected by our mental load. X-system (reflexive)=automatic C-system (reflective) =we need motivation and effort to activate Remember: Phineas Gage destroyed his C-system (system 2, reflective system) when the iron railroad rod went through his brain, (his controlled thinking was impacted) so he was left operating on X-system only. In other words, he had no control over his automatic, reflexive system, and his behavior became unbearable as a result. He treated everybody as an object for his own personal reward” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 186) without control. So, going back to the neuroscience of bias, the X-System is where we think on auto-pilot (like Phineas Gage) and is “fast-thinking” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick, Page 193) and the C-System is “the more deliberate, slow-thinking, reflective system…and is much more demanging on our cognitive resources than the X-system.” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick, Page 193). Which means, it's easy to go to automatic reflexive thinking, and much harder to think with our reflective, “high road” intentional and controlled thinking.” Bosnick reminds us that we can't operate with System 2 all of the time, or we will burn out. We need some automatic thinking to navigate our world. We all know this. We've heard of productivity hacks, like what Steve Jobs did to make life easier by wearing the same clothes all the time. He said this reduced his cognitive load by eliminating the small decisions he had to make. He was putting the load of this small task thinking on his X-reflexive system, to make more space for his C-Reflective system. Now that we know how our brain operates, going back to these two systems of thinking, Bosnick asks us to think back to the problems he listed at the start of the chapter to see how we went about solving them. I gave one of the two examples of the maze, saying to “spot the error.” How did YOU solve this puzzle? I'll tell you what I did? I started looking at the maze, and was looking for where the maze had errors. I couldn't see any, so figured there was more to what I was looking at than I was seeing. Bosnick shares that the error is in the center of the maze where the instructions say “find the the error.” So I learned that while writing this episode, I'm cognitively busy and reverted back to my X-reflexive system to scan the diagram, and see if I could find the most obvious, easy to spot error. If I thought this way with this example, where else am I reverting back either consciously, or unconsciously to automatic thinking? Bosnick's chapter goes on to explore three out of the almost 200 known biases, and concludes his chapter on ways to manage these biases. He says that “biases are a natural part of the human condition. We cannot get rid of them. Therefore we need to understand them, and manage them.” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick, Page 193). He suggests these 3 Steps for Understanding and Managing our Biases: Accept and admit we are all biased. It's a natural part of being human. The exercise from Daniel Kahnaman's book showed me how quickly I reverted back to system x, reflexive, automatic thinking. This self-awareness has helped me to consider where else I make quick judgments, without thinking reflectively. Label the Bias. While Bosnick covered three examples, similarity bias (making quick conclusions about people similar to you), urgency bias (where we put non-urgent tasks on hold to push through to do something that requires our immediate attention), or experience bias (where we believe our perception is the truth and that others who see things differently from us are wrong, knowing there are close to 200 different biases, it's a start to be aware that our thinking could possibly be flawed. Mitigate the Bias. We aren't going to solve all of our biases at once, but once we are aware that's it's human to have them, we can begin with looking at strategies to mitigate each. 4 Strategies for Mitigating Biases: SLOW DOWN: Bosnick goes into detail on how to mitigate the top three biases that he listed. The strategy that he used was to step back, slow down and access your Systems 2 reflective thinking to see what you notice. The maze exercise showed me I could benefit from slowing down my thinking and not jump to conclusions. BE MINDFUL: When talking to others, work on “engaging our System 2 thinking…the more mindful we are, the more we can engage our mental brakes, increase self-awareness, reduce emotional impulses, and reduce our susceptibility to unconscious bias.” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick, Page 212). Being mindful of others will help us to learn to appreciate different perspectives, as well, other people will connect more to us when they can sense we are thinking from their point of view. LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE: Talk to others so you can learn “how to get out of our own experience bias and appreciate other people's perspectives. This will help us to get out of our autopilot, easy route thinking of the urgency bias to have deeper, more robust and deliberate thinking.” (Ch 16, Biases, Bosnick, Page 212). ASK FOR OUTSIDE OPINIONS: Find others you can brainstorm with to come up with fresh ideas to help you to think in a different way. Ask for feedback to gain a new perspective. This is just the beginning of this topic for us here on the podcast. While writing this episode, I had a message from our good friend Horacio Sanchez, third time returning guest from EP 111[vi] who let me know he is releasing a book on this exact topic, coming out March, 2025. We will have him back on for a 4th time, to dive deeper into this topic. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION To review and conclude this week's episode #347 on “The Neuroscience of Bias” we covered: ✔ A review of past episodes where we first talked about biases. ✔ Chapter 16 of Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership on The Neuroscience of Bias. ✔ A review of our two types of thinking (X-system=reflexive/automatic and C-system=reflective/intentional). ✔ 3 Steps to Understand and Manage our Biases ✔ 4 Strategies for Mitigating our Biases This is just the beginning, knowing there are close to 200 known cognitive biases that cause us to think and act irrationally, I know that I'm looking forward to learning more on this topic from Horacio Sanchez, whose forthcoming book will cover this topic. In the mean time, I'm working on ways to slow my thinking down, and hope that you have found it helpful to take a closer look at how we think. With that thought, I'll see you next time, with the Neuroscience of Trust. Have a great week! REFERENCES:   [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #17 with Harvard Researcher, Jenny Woo  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-researcher-jenny-woo-on-the-latest-research-brain-facts-and-myths-growth-mindset-memory-and-cognitive-biases/   [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #146 with Howard Rankin on “How Not to Think”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expert-in-psychology-cognitive-neuroscience-and-neurotechnology-howard-rankin-phd-on-how-not-to-think/   [iii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick's book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/   [iv] Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow October 25, 2011    [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #345 on “The Neuroscience of Relationships and Authenticity” #17https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/unlocking-authenticity-the-neuroscience-of-relationships/   [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #111 with Horacio Sanchez https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/resiliency-expert-and-author-horacio-sanchez-on-finding-solutions-to-the-poverty-problem/    

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity, and results using practical neuroscience. In Episode 344, we continue with our 18-week self-leadership series, diving into Chapter 14 of Grant Bosnick's book to explore the neuroscience of resiliency. We revisit past episodes with Horacio Sanchez to understand the factors that contribute to resilience and discuss the intriguing analogies presented by Bosnick, including the donkey in the well and the carrot, egg, and coffee bean story. Learn how to build resilience within yourself and your teams by focusing on Patrick Lencioni's five functions of a high-performing team. Discover how developing willpower, a crucial faculty of the mind, can enhance your ability to overcome adversity. We also delve into new research on the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, a brain region associated with willpower and resilience. Join us as we uncover strategies to harness resilience, strengthen our brains, and emerge stronger from life's challenges. Don't miss this insightful episode that equips you with the tools to face adversity head-on and lead with resilience. On today's EPISODE #344 “The Neuroscience of Resilience: Building Stronger Minds and Teams” we will cover: ✔ A review of past EP 74 and EP 286 on “Building Resiliency, Grit and Mental Toughness” ✔ A review of Horacio Sanchez's work on resiliency: protective vs risk factors. ✔ Ch. 14 from Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership book with 2 intriguing analogies presented by Bosnick, including the donkey in the well and the carrot, egg, and coffee bean story. ✔ Learn how to build resilience within yourself and your teams by focusing on Patrick Lencioni's five functions of a high-performing team. Discover how developing willpower, a crucial faculty of the mind, can enhance your ability to overcome adversity. ✔ Discover how developing willpower, a crucial faculty of the mind, can enhance your ability to overcome adversity. ✔ We also delve into new research on the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, a brain region associated with willpower and resilience. For Today, EPISODE #344, we are moving on to Chapter 14, reviewing “The Neuroscience of Resiliency,” a topic we have covered a few times on this podcast, way back with Horacio Sanchez, who named his Educational Consulting Business Resiliency Inc. back on EP #74[i] and then we did a deep dive Brain Fact Friday on EP #286 “Building Resiliency, Grit and Mental Toughness.”[ii] On this episode we reviewed Horacio Sanchez's definition of resiliency as “a collection of protective risk factors that you have in your life” and that there are some factors we are born with, and others come in through childhood, family, school, life events and social experiences. Horacio reminds us that “if you have little risk, it takes less to be resilient. But—if you have a lot of risk, it takes a lot more protective factors to offset the scale.”  This is why two people can possibly respond in two completely different ways after a traumatic experience. One person walks away, dusts themselves off, and recovers quickly, (they had more reservoirs of resilience to tap into) while the other has a completely different outcome, and needs more assistance to get back on track. With resiliency, we can overcome adversity or difficulty and have good outcomes in our life, but you can see why not everyone is born with exactly the same protective factors needed, so we don't all have the same levels of resiliency. Horacio mentioned that “25% of the population are naturally resilient” and his work focuses on instilling this trait in those who are not naturally resilient due to the number of risk factors associated to them. To this day, he continues with his mission, flying around the country, helping our next generation of students to become more resilient. Resiliency came out as a low priority for me with the with 0% (Pathway 5) along with Change and Agility, and it makes more sense to me now that I understand the protective and risk factors that I faced growing up as a child, from my family, from school, life and social events. When I review the list, I can see that I was fortunate to have more protective factors, than risk.   IMAGE FROM EP 74 with Horacio Sanchez. If you've taken the leadership self-assessment[iii], look to see if Resilience (in Pathway 5) along with change and agility, is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year. If you haven't listened to EP 74, or 286, where we dove deeper into the building resiliency, grit and mental toughness, I highly encourage that you listen to both of these episodes, in addition to what we will uncover today on resiliency.   So what does Grant Bosnick have to say about building resilience in ourselves, and our teams in chapter 14 of his book? He opens up the chapter with a situation with a farmer and his donkey, who had fallen into a hole in the ground, (a well) and couldn't get out. Finally, after trying to get the donkey out, he gave up, and decided to shovel dirt into the well, since the donkey was old, and not worth saving. At first Grant writes that the donkey cried with the dirt being shoveled onto him, until he eventually stopped and was quiet. When the farmer looked into the hole he was amazed at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt, the donkey would shake it off his back, and use the dirt to climb up higher, until he was able to easily step out of the hole and trot off happily. What Grant is showing us at the start of this chapter is that we all will have dirt shoveled on our backs in our life, and “that we can either get buried in the dirt or shake it off and take a step up. Each adversity we face is a stepping stone, and we can get out of the deepest wells by shaking off the dirt and taking a step up.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 160). There was another analogy in Grant's book that I liked, about a carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee.  The story went like this. There was a young woman who went to her mother one day, complaining the things were difficult for her with her life. Her mother took her into the kitchen and filled three pots with water, and placed them on the elements, bringing each one to a boil. One pot she placed carrots in, the second, an egg and the third one, coffee beans. After 20 minutes, she asked her daughter what she saw. Her mother's explanation was eye-opening. She explained to her daughter that “each of these objects faced the same adversity—boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it was softer and became weak. The egg was fragile…but after being in the boiling water, it's inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. (Bosnick writes that) after being in the boiling water, they changed the water…(and the mother asked her daughter) when adversity faces you, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 161). Grant asks the reader of his book to think about this question. Which one would you pick? “Are you the carrot that seems strong but with pain and adversity (wilted) and became soft, losing its strength? Are you the egg that starts with a soft heart, but hardens with the heat? Or are you like the coffee bean that actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that (brought) the pain?” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 161). I'm hoping that we all desire to experience change with the adversity we face. Bosnick gives two real-life examples of famous people who took their pain, and changed for the better, because of it. Terry Fox, a distance runner from British Columbia, Canada was his first example and Kawhi (Ka-why) Leonard, a professional basketball player from the NBA. You can look up these stories, if you don't know them already. Growing up in Canada, I remember Terry Fox's story well. Terry Fox took the pain of a cancer diagnosis that led to one of his legs being amputated and replaced with an artificial leg, and rather than giving up, or becoming hard or soft, he changed the situation with his Marathon of Hope.  It was “first held in 1981, and has now grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research, with over $750 million Canadian dollars raised in his name.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 162). Bosnick reminds us that “resilience is not only about bouncing back from adversity, but rather it is about surviving and thriving through the stress caused by the adversity, and changing our situation to make it better.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 162). Building Resilience in Ourselves and Then with Our Teams After Bosnick focused on building resilience in ourselves, he went on to show how to build resilience in our teams, and he mentioned a book, that we have recently talked about with mediation expert John Ford, from EP 340.[iv]   I love making connections with past episodes, and when I read Bosnick mention The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni[v], I went straight back to that episode with John Ford. In chapter 14, Bosnick outlines “the five dysfunctions of teams: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. (Next he outlines) the five functions of a high performing team: trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 170). Bosnick writes that “when we feel accountable and have attention to results, we adopt a mindset or attitude of control, which enables us to take direct, hands-on action to transform changes, adversities and the problems that they may cause…If we believe that we can influence the outcome of an adverse situation, we are more apt to push ourselves to deal with it. If the opposite is true, we may question our ability to turn adversity around and stop trying.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 171). When I think of a recent time that I faced adversity, and had to be resilient in the process, if I didn't think it would be possible for me to be successful, there is no way I would have persevered. Each individual on a team must have this mindset, as they go through change and adversity. The focus must be on Lencioni's work: “building a high functioning team—with trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results—(that) will lead to proactive behaviors and increase our own (personal) resilience and the resilience in our team.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 171). Bosnick offers a reflection activity in Chapter 14 where he asks the reader to: Think of an adverse situation that you are facing at the moment (could be in your work or personal life). Consider how this situation is making you feel. I'm going to add that if you feel like the situation is in control of you, then you are not going to win. You' ve got to be confident that YOU are in control of whatever it is that you are going through. How can you adopt a more prosocial mindset to see the adversity as opportunity to make things better for yourself and others? Thinking of the carrots, the egg and the coffee bean. What will it take to get you to become the coffee bean? How can you help yourself and your team to be more high functioning? Thinking of Lencioni's 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, how will you help your team to move towards trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results? Developing Our Will to Overcome Adversity:  What will it REALLY take for you to become more resilient and overcome adversity? It will take a highly developed Will Power. We have talked about how to develop this faculty of our mind on EP #294[vi] where we dove deep into the 6 Faculties of our Mind, with our Will Power being one of them. I do highly recommend listening to this episode if you want to review these important faculties. Since I can always use a refresher myself, I'll highlight what we covered on this important faculty that we will need to develop, to overcome adversity. YOUR WILL: This is one of my favorite faculties. (out of the 6: along with our ability to reason, use our intuition, perception, memory and imagination). This one (The use of the Will) gives you the ability to concentrate. While sitting down to write this episode, I've gotten up from my desk a few times, but I'm determined to finish writing this, so I can record and release this today. That's the will at work. You can also use the will to hold a thought on the screen of your mind, or choose thoughts of success, over thoughts of failure. OR-use the power of your Will to overcome the adversity you face, like Terry Fox, or Kawhi (Ka-why) Leonard. If you have a highly evolved will, you'll lock into doing something, block out all distractions, and accomplish what you set out to do. HOW TO DEVELOP THIS FACULTY TO OVERCOME CHALLENGE OR ADVERSITY? Developing the will takes practice. Meditation can strengthen your will, but so can staring at a candle flame until you and the flame become one. I tried this activity in my late 20s, and remember it was a few hours of staring at this candle flame, before I was able to block out the distractions of the outside world, and the flame extended towards me.  This faculty, like the others, takes time and practice, but once you've developed this faculty, you'll know you have the ability to sit, focus, and do anything. An extension of this activity would be that once you and the flame have become one, try to change the color of the flame. In your head say “blue, blue, blue” and watch the color of the flame turn to blue. Pick a different color and see if you can quickly change the color of the flame from blue, to red, to orange, to whatever color you think of.” This activity will strengthen your will. BRINGING IN THE NEUROSCIENCE: It was here that I wondered what neuroscience has to say about this topic. We have covered The Neuroscience of Resiliency on past episodes, but we have not yet covered some new research that Dr. Andrew Huberman discovered this past year about what happens to our brain when we have a highly developed Will Power, that we will need to overcome adversity and challenge. This new research actually made famous scientist jump out of his chair. DID YOU KNOW that there is a part of the brain called “the Anterior mid cingulate cortex. This area is not just one of the seats of willpower but scientists think it holds the secret in “the will to live?”[vii] When I first heard about this part of the brain, I knew it was important for overcoming adversity, and helping us to become more resilient. Scientists discovered that this part in the brain increases in size when we do something we don't want do, like exercising when we would rather not, or diet or resist eating something we know is bad for us, when we would rather eat the old way. Dr. Huberman shared on this eye-opening episode with his guest, David Goggins that “when people do anything that they don't want to do, it's not about adding more work, it's about adding more work that you don't want to do, this brain area gets bigger.” This part of the brain is larger in athletes, larger in people who overcome challenge, and as long as people continue to “do difficult things” this area of the brain keeps its size. To me, this shows that building resilience in ourselves and our teams is not just good for whatever challenge we are looking to overcome, but we are building stronger, more resilient brains: specifically, stronger anterior mid cingulate cortexes. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION To review and conclude this week's episode #344 on “The Neuroscience Behind Building Resilience in Yourself and Your Teams” we covered: A review of EP 74 and 286 where we covered the Neuroscience of Resilience with Horacio Sanchez's work reminding us that our protective or risk factors in our lifetime, will determine how resilient we will be in our life. While 25% of the population are naturally resilient, Horacio asserts that “if you have little risk, it takes less to be resilient. But—if you have a lot of risk, it takes a lot more protective factors to offset the scale.” Horacio has dedicated his life to helping our next generation become more resilient. Next we looked at Grant Bosnick's book, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership (Chapter 14) where he gave us the analogy of the donkey who fell into the well, and demonstrated resiliency when he used the dirt shoveled on him, to climb out. This example taught us that we all will have dirt shoveled on our backs in our life, and “that we can either get buried in the dirt or shake it off and take a step up. Each adversity we face is a stepping stone, and we can get out of the deepest wells by shaking off the dirt and taking a step up.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 160). Another analogy we learned was through the mother and daughter story, and that when adversity faces you, Bosnick asks us to reflect. “Are you the carrot that seems strong but with pain and adversity (wilted) and became soft, losing its strength? Are you the egg that starts with a soft heart, but hardens with the heat? Or are you like the coffee bean that actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that (brought) the pain?” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 161). I'm hoping that we all desire to experience change with the adversity we face, like the coffee bean. After learning about building resiliency in ourselves, we learned about building resiliency within our teams, and looked at Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. The absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Then we learned to turn this around, using the five functions of a high performing team: trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 170). Then we looked at how we develop resiliency, using our Will Power from EP 294 where I shared an activity to strengthen this faculty of our mind either through meditation, or with an activity of staring at a candle flame, and with time, effort and sheer will power, blocking out everything else around you, until you and the candle flame become one. Finally, we looked at the fascinating new neuroscience behind the part of our brain (the anterior mid cingulate cortex) that becomes bigger when we use our will power to do those things we don't want to do. Scientists believe this ability to use our will power to do difficult things, which builds our resiliency, is what's really behind the will to live. I hope you've found this episode on building resilience in yourself and your teams as valuable as I have, and that when challenge comes our way in the future, that we continue to lean into it, using every ounce of our will power, and become a coffee bean, emerging stronger than the challenge we faced, and knowing that this process is building a part of our brain (our anterior mid cingulate cortex) to be bigger, helping us to continue to do difficult things in our future. With that thought, I'll close out this episode and see you next time, with two interviews coming, to help us to continue to build stronger versions of ourselves this year. I'll see you next week. REFERENCES:   [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #74 with Horacio Sanchez on “How to Apply Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/leading-brain-science-and-resiliency-expert-horatio-sanchez-on-how-to-apply-brain-science-to-improve-instruction-and-school-climate/   [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #286 on “Building Resiliency, Grit and Mental Toughness”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-building-resiliency-grit-and-mental-toughness/   [iii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick's book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/   [iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #340 “Navigating Workplace Conflicts: Insights from a Mediation Expert, John Ford”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/navigating-workplace-conflicts-insights-from-a-mediation-expert/   [v] The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni Published April 11, 2002 https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756   [vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #294 “Beyond Our 5 Senses: Using the 6 Faculties of our Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/beyond-our-5-senses-understanding-and-using-the-six-higher-faculties-of-our-mind/   [vii] How to Build Will Power Dr. Andrew Huberman with David Goggins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84dYijIpWjQ        

Whenever elite fighter Hazel Gale entered the ring, she felt fear. Not just the rational fear of being knocked out. But something deeper as well. The fear that she didn't deserve success, and that she would let everyone - especially herself - down. Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/1VDpu_KfZwk On today's episode #308 we will cover:  ✔ The story of elite fighter, Hazel Gale, that took her from confident champion, to burnout. ✔ How she now helps others with what she discovered from her life's journey. ✔ What is the research-based BETWIXT (story-based wellness app) and how does it help take us to new heights? ✔ Where can we ALL begin in our own personal "Journey of Our Mind?" ✔ How can we identify behaviors that self-sabotage our results? ✔ What are some common "monsters" and what can we learn from them to take us to new heights (personally and professionally). ✔ Where can we begin our own transformational journey of The Mind? While others saw a confident world champion athlete, Hazel was plagued by anxiety, self-doubt and depression. It was these things - the monsters of her mind - that she felt were her most dangerous opponents, and she waged a war. It was that hard-fought internal battle that ultimately led her to burn out. Now the founder of the story-based wellness app, Betwixt[i], Hazel is pioneering a new approach to digital mental health that she calls mindful entertainment. A sought-after London therapist, Hazel has created a revolutionary system for overcoming fear, underperformance, and self-sabotage. There is never a good time to confront the monsters that hold us back, but if we truly want to be our best selves, our highest performing, it begins with a deep level of self-awareness that our next guest has discovered through her own journey of life experience, and now helps others to do the same in the most captivating and unique way, that I've ever seen. Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that's finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren't taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I'm Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.    For today's episode #308, we will be speaking with Hazel Gale, she's a former kickboxer and boxer with multiple World, European and National titles. Her outward success, however, had a dark side: the stress of competition and relentless self-doubt drove her into an emotional and physical burnout that led to years of chronic illness. Hazel's eventual recovery inspired her to qualify as a therapist and coach, and for over a decade she worked with high-level athletes, business executives and others as a master practitioner of cognitive hypnotherapy – an evidence-based approach that combines elements of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and traditional hypnotherapy with theories of modern neuroscience. Hazel's 2018 book "The Mind Monster Solution" was published internationally and became an Amazon bestseller in both mental health and psychology. Currently, Hazel is the co-founder and the chief creative officer of Betwixt – an award-winning app that blends psychology with interactive storytelling to make wellness feel like an adventure instead of a chore. I downloaded this app, and was blown away with what she has created here. If you want to learn more about who you are, at the deepest levels, I highly recommend this app. I downloaded it for free, and was able to go through the first interactive story, and experience the app, before deciding to purchase it. You can continue your journey for free, or for $19.49 you gain lifetime access. I did purchase the app, as I liked what I saw, and am curious what else I will learn from Hazel's “Journey of her Mind.” So How Did I Meet this Inspiring Author, World Class Athlete and Wellness App Creator? When I was introduced to Hazel, I was drawn to learn more from her story from the mental resilience side of her work. While we know that mental resilience is critical in the sports world, it's equally as important in most people's day to day life. Mental resilience is as crucial to my day as brushing my teeth, and when I'm struck with difficult situations, I feel like I have a lot of tools available already to me, just from hosting this podcast. We were introduced to the Fisher Wallace[ii] brain stimulator that was once our most listened to episode, that helps keep anxiety at bay, while also improving sleep. I'm clear about the benefits of daily exercise to combat stress, improve a student's academic achievement and help keep our focus in the workplace from our interview with Dr. Ratey and his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain[iii].  I've bought myself a Whoop device when I turned 50 to measure and track my sleep and recovery for our interview with Whoop's VP of Performance Science, Kristen Holmes[iv],  I've got a clear understanding of how to eat the right foods, and nourish my gut-brain axis  after our recent interview with Neurohacker's Dr. Kelly[v], and a few episodes where we've looked at building our mental resiliency with Horacio Sanchez[vi]. We've built a great list of tools and resources that go deep into combatting stress, as this has been one our main focal points for improving productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. While we did meet with Erika Ferszt and discussed work burnout, on EP 198[vii], but what were we missing I wondered when I saw her work? Here's what it was: I've never met with a world class athlete who had to rebuild themselves and overcome the physical and emotional burnout that led her body to break down in the first place. What she has done to rebuild herself shows the high level of mental and physical strength that she holds within herself, that can help anyone who needs to find a new pathway in life, towards health and wellness, with her model. She is the real deal. I only wish we could be in the same room with her for this interview, because she's has some talents that she knows she has, that have taken her years to develop, but these talents are what she will help us all bring out in ourselves. I do have some questions for Hazel, that I'd like to know myself around building up my own mental strength, and I hope you find this interview helpful with Hazel's high level of understanding of what's needed to create the mental mindset needed at the highest level of sport that we can transfer into our own personal life experience for heightened success. I know that this is just the beginning of the journey, but am grateful to have this chance to open up the doorway of possibility that maybe we could ALL be much more than we are today. Let's meet this elite world class athlete, Hazel Gale, and see what we can learn from her story that takes us from confident champion, to burnout, and see how we can all rebuild ourselves from the inside out. Welcome Hazel Gale, thank you for joining us on the podcast today. Where exactly are you located in the UK? Intro Q: Before creating your questions for today, I listened to the podcast episode you did with The Mind Muscle Project[viii] and at the end of this episode, you had me thinking about your book, (that we will get to) and what my monsters are (or subconscious programs that hold me back). I had no idea that I would be thinking and writing notes, and talking over with my husband about “who” I really am because I've been on this quest for over 25 years. Before we talk about this launching point--which is what I want us to uncover at the end, can you begin with an overview of your life, and what happened to get you to where you are today, with the focus on this story-based wellness app that you've created? Q1: I have over 13 pages of notes from that podcast episode we mentioned. It's all about your life's journey. We all have a life and a journey, and it really is neat to connect all the dots as we look back, and think “Oh wow, if I didn't do that, I'd never have ended up here!” Looking back now, what were some of those pivotal moments for you? What would you say would be that first AHA moment of “this is where it all began for you?” Q2: While this was a “Moment of Truth” for you, when you fell in love with kickboxing, and it might have been the beginning, looking back now, and seeing where this moment took you, and how have you designed your app to help others to pause, think, and understand about their own personal “moments of truth” isn't life an incredible journey? Your story is especially inspiring to share. Q2B: How did you tie the most current research into your app? Q3: Your love of kickboxing was almost the end of you. While I'm not a pro athlete I completely understood your need to train and the strength you received from it. My Whoop device measured me at Too Much Strain, Not Enough Sleep for a good year before I stopped overtraining. I'm sure I could dive deep into that part of me, (that I connect to with you) and maybe others who connect with your story, it's a good place to look at. At what point did you REALLY understand the MIND, the importance of looking at the stuff that underneath the surface with the iceberg analogy, getting closer to the truth of who we really are, and then uncovering this with your app? (STORY 1: The In-Between: The Ice World, Exploring the Change You Want to See, STORY 2: The Game of Trust: Exploring the Things You Love, Appreciate and Value, STORY 3: The Power of Flaw: Your Journey Awaits). Q3B: Where does hypnotherapy come in for you to digging deeper into the depths of our mind? Q4: What inspired you to write The Mind Monster Solution: How to Overcome Self-Sabotage and Reclaim Your Life[ix] I wondered want it is that you'd like to open up for others with your book and life's journey? Q5: As we are all thinking about our purpose in life, and using our strengths, and getting through difficult times, I think that a lot of this we've got to discover on our own? I was listening to a recent podcast episode of Dr. Andrew Huberman[x], on self-awareness it's tied to our mental health, and I rarely sit down and actively think “hey, that thing that happened yesterday made me defensive” and then sit down and get to the root of it before I do anything else in my day. This rarely happens unless I'm about to interview someone like you, who has made me think a bit deeper than usual. What's so important about knowing the Monsters in Our Mind that hold us back, and becoming more self-aware in this process? What are some common monsters? Q6: This is the same question again, just asked after I saw the artwork you have at https://www.mindmonsters.online/  and I was trying to figure out mine, or what I would draw and it wasn't that easy. How can we figure out quickly what our monsters are, so we can draw them out, know them, and become more self-aware in this process to create change? Q7: You said something about that if “I am the common denominator” and I keep having this issue, then there MUST be something about ME here that I've got to understand. I think this would be an incredible book to write…The Common Denominator of Me or something. How do we bring these things to surface so we can “see” them, and create change? Q8: What superpowers do you think you've developed from understanding yourself (listening to your body) at this deep level? I recognized one of your talents, and it had to do with being able to read someone who was sitting in front you. What goes on inside us, shows up loud and clear on the outside. I have this superpower as well. Put me in front of anyone and I can “feel” what they really are thinking., Q9: I absolutely LOVED your Betwixt App for mental health. I downloaded the app, and did “The In-Between” The Ice World, and for someone who moved from Toronto to AZ over 22 years ago, because I can't handle snow/ice or the cold. The app brought back the memories of the cold for me, in a way that made me wonder…what about the cold weather drives me bananas? What should we be paying attention to with this app? Who is the narrator supposed to be? They say “you humans fascinate me” Who is talking to me? How is this app designed to help us to grow/improve/change? Q9B: I know there is research behind the stories. Can you explain this? Q10: Is there anything important that I've missed? I wanted to have us end this interview with a deeper level of self-awareness, or at least some steps to get there. Hazel, I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me, and sharing your fascinating story of rebuilding yourself from the inside out, with our audience. I knew there was a lot for me to learn from you, when I heard your interview, and story of strength where you rebuilt yourself, and now help others do the same, I really wanted to meet you. If people want to reach you, what's the best way? Other than downloading the app, are there other services you offer? Thank you!! SOME FINAL THOUGHTS When I said “may the journey of our minds begin” I really meant it. This is really important work that we are covering here on the podcast. If we truly want to be improved versions of ourselves, it begins by looking within, finding our truths, learning, changing and growing. These types of changes don't happen overnight. Look at how Hazel had to learn about who she was at the very core with years of thought and introspection, and then she created the BETWIXT app to help others to do the same. This is where it all begins. I am going to take some time to go through the APP, thinking about my own Journey of the Mind, and we will have Hazel back on the podcast to discuss what I learn, on a future episode. Until then, as you listen to this episode, I hope that you started to think: Who are you? How can you be an improved version of yourself? What are your monsters that could possibly lead you to self-sabotage? Could you possibly MAKE A CHANGE to change your own life? These are difficult questions. Like we noticed, it took Hazel years to uncover the answers for herself. I noticed my WHOOP device saying “hey, you aren't getting enough sleep, and your strain is too high” before I thought “maybe I should do something differently.” It's pretty obvious now looking back I needed to create more balance with my daily activities, but I missed the daily message until I noticed my feet and legs were hurting, prompting me to make some changes. I hope this episode has made you think more  about who you are, in a deeper way than you would usually think, with some possible ways that you could me MORE than you are today for yourself and others. And with that thought, I'll see you next week with some NEW ideas to take our results to new heights. CONNECT WITH HAZEL GALE Website https://hazelgale.wixsite.com/hazel-gale Buy Hazel's Book on AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Hazel-Gale/dp/147366246X/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=604569085381&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17706718117481243741&hvtargid=kwd-757439751793&hydadcr=25775_13483905&keywords=the+mind+monster+solution&qid=1696379192&sr=8-1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hazel.gale.therapy/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazelgale/?originalSubdomain=uk Medium https://hazelgale.medium.com/ Twitter https://twitter.com/HazelGale Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hazelgalehypnotherapy/ Download the Betwixt App https://www.betwixt.life/ REFERENCES: [i] Download the Betwixt App https://www.betwixt.life/ [ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE on “My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Brain Stimulator” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/update-one-year-later-on-my-personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-sleep-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleep-management/ [iii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #116 with Dr. John Ratey  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/ [iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #134 with Kristen Holmes VP of Performance Science from Whoop.com  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ [v]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #305 with Dr. Gregory Kelly https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/returning-guest-dr-gregory-kelly-on-qualia-synbiotic-optimizing-digestion-and-mood-with-prebiotics-probiotics-and-postbiotics/ [vi]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #111 with Horacio Sanchez  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/resiliency-expert-and-author-horacio-sanchez-on-finding-solutions-to-the-poverty-problem/ [vii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #198 with Erika Ferszt on Preventing Workplace Burnout  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/mood-and-stress-expert-erika-ferszt-on-using-your-brain-to-prevent-workplace-burnout/ [viii] The Mind Muscle Podcast with Hazel Gale https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/mind-muscle-project/930-tbt-hazel-gale-this-Uj-8PwxDV07/ [ix] The Mind Monster Solution by Hazel Gale https://hazelgale.wixsite.com/hazel-gale [x] Dr. Andrew Huberman with Paul Conti on How to Understand and Assess Your Mental Health https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLRCS48Ens4  

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Lexia Learning.The webinar recording can be accessed here.Understanding “The Reading Brain” can help educators enormously in their implementation of Science-of-Reading-based instructional strategies and student support. Yet, academics alone are not enough to accelerate learning. We need students who are supported in all aspects of their development to achieve success.We often use the term “resilience” to describe how students overcome challenges in the pursuit of academic success. While this mental and emotional elasticity is touted as a positive skill, is it really the answer for students, or do we need to dig deeper into the systems and structures that require this resilience while offering research-backed, effective instruction?Listen to this edWeb podcast with Lexia's Senior Education Advisor, Kerri Larkin, and Resiliency, Inc.'s President and CEO, Horacio Sanchez, as they discuss brain function during reading, the role resilience plays in education, and how the Science of Reading can support learning for all students. You learn about brain processes during reading, what resilience is and how it is often misused, and how educators can activate the Science of Reading to better serve their students.This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-12 teachers, school and district leaders, and education technology leaders.Lexia Learning Lexia is all for literacy because we know that literacy can and should be for all.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Our guest Horacio Sanchez, President and CEO, Resiliency Inc.  Horacio Sanchez is a highly sought-after speaker and educational consultant, helping schools learn to apply neuroscience to improve educational outcomes.  He presents on diverse topics such as overcoming the impact of poverty, improving school climate, engaging in brain-based instruction, and addressing issues related to implicit bias. He is recognized as one of the nation's leading authorities on resiliency and applied brain science. Horacio has been a teacher, administrator, clinician, mental health director, and consultant to school districts across the United States. Horacio sits on the True Health Initiative Council of Directors, a coalition of more than 250 world-renowned health experts committed to educating on proven lifestyle principles as medicine. He is the author of the best-selling book, The Education Revolution, which applies brain science to improve instruction, behaviors, and school climate.  His new book, The Poverty Problem, explains how education can promote resilience and counter poverty's impact on brain development and functioning. The Takeaway By understanding the profound effects of poverty-related stress on the brain, acknowledging the power of subconscious biases, and implementing practical strategies for emotional regulation, educators can foster resilience, equity, and optimal learning experiences for vulnerable students. As you listen Poverty-related stress can have a significant impact on the brain, leading to changes in memory, emotional regulation, and decision-making abilities. Societal biases, particularly those related to race, can be subconscious and influence our perceptions and interactions with others. Strategies for regulating emotions in the classroom include pre-planning, ritualizing the environment, and using rituals to help students regulate their systems faster and adjust. It is important to build protective factors and concrete skills for vulnerable students, especially those from poverty or who have experienced racism and bias. Teachers should have an understanding of how the brain learns and establish foundational knowledge for students before moving on to more complex topics. Connect with Horacio Sanchez Twitter - Horacio Sanchez @ResiliencyInc Website - https://resiliencyinc.com/ Referenced The Education Revolution The Poverty Problem  

In this podcast, Kerri Larkin of Lexia® sits down with Horacio Sanchez, president and CEO of Resiliency Inc., and Maya Goodall, senior director of Emergent Bilingual curriculum at Lexia. Join them in discussing how an understanding of neuroscience can help support educational equity for all.   Watch now!

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Lexia Learning.The webinar recording can be accessed here.When we talk about the science of reading, we often think about the research into instruction and classroom best practices. Understanding how the brain functions when learning to read is just as important, especially when we talk about equity.Listen to Horacio Sanchez, President and CEO of Resiliency, Inc., Maya Goodall, Senior Director of Emergent Bilingual Curriculum, Lexia Learning, and Kerri Larkin, Senior Education Advisor, Education Partnerships, as they discuss neuroscience, equity, and the pursuit of literacy during Lexia's Science of Reading Week.Listeners discover the connection between optimal brain function and literacy success while understanding how factors like poverty and lack of resources can impact students in classroom. Learn how neuroscience can help us better support all our students in this session.This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-12 teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, and education technology leaders.This edWeb podcast is part of Science of Reading Week.This five-day event, April 24th – 28th, is your front row seat to learn from the brightest minds in the national literacy conversation and your key to unlocking literacy learning for every student. Join us for the week to unpack the science and ensure your students learn to read, write, and speak with confidence.Lexia Learning Lexia is all for literacy because we know that literacy can and should be for all.Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.” ― Angela Duckworth On today's Episode #286 we will cover: ✔ A review of EP126 on building resilience (what we covered back in April 2021). ✔ A deeper look at what resilience is, with an evidence-based strategy we can all use TODAY if we are ready, to build up our own reservoirs of resiliency to better handle our life and work stressors. ✔ Tools for Measuring Resiliency. ✔ Checks for Resiliency. ✔ A Resiliency Challenge at the End to See if We Can All Push Ourselves to Try Something New to Build Resilience, Grit, Mental Toughness, and Our Ability to Use Our Head When We Need it the Most. I needed to write this episode this week because it was just in time for me to try something new to build up my own levels of resiliency!! I hope you enjoy these ideas. And with that introduction, I want to welcome you back to Season 9 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I'm Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast to share how the understanding of our complex brain transfers into our everyday life and results. Each concept we cover here I'm hoping will help you, wherever you might be listening to this podcast in the world, just as much as these ideas are helping me personally and professionally. For today's episode #286, we're staying in line with our season theme of “Going Back to the Basics to Build a Stronger, More Resilient 2.0 Version of Ourselves” which was an intention I set at the very start of the year on EP268[i] where we talked about prioritizing mental health in 2023 with a focus on self-awareness and resiliency. A Review of Horacio Sanchez's Definition of Resiliency: This topic goes back with our interview with Horacio Sanchez who I was just speaking about this week because he was presenting at a Science of Reading Event, and many of us were talking about where our understanding of the brain and learning first began, with Horacio's work at the center. He was introduced to me in our very FIRST interview EP3[ii] with Ron Hall from Valley Day School who shared that his connection of the brain and learning first began with Horacio years ago, while attending a conference where he was conducting a training session. When we spoke with Horacio on EP74[iii] he explained resiliency as “a collection of protective risk factors that you have in your life” and that there are some factors we are born with, and others come in through childhood, family, school, life events and social experiences. Horacio reminds us that “if you have little risk, it takes less to be resilient. But—if you have a lot of risk, it takes a lot more protective factors to offset the scale.”  This is why two people can possibly respond in two completely different ways after a traumatic experience. One person walks away, dusts themselves off, and recovers quickly, (they had more reservoirs of resilience to tap into) while the other has a completely different outcome, and needs more assistance to get back on track. With resiliency, we can overcome adversity or difficulty and have good outcomes in our life, but you can see why not everyone is born with exactly the same protective factors needed, so we don't all have the same levels of resiliency. Horacio mentioned that “25% of the population are naturally resilient” and his work focuses on instilling this trait in those who are not naturally resilient due to the number of risk factors associated to them. To this day, he continues with this work, flying around the country, helping our next generation of students to become more resilient. While researching for this episode, I wondered what I could add to help us to all become more resilient in addition to Horacio's work. I looked at what Dr. Andrew Huberman had to say about resiliency with his most recent episode with a retired Navy Seals officer and author of multiple books on effective leadership, team-work, self-discipline and mindset, Jocko Willink.[iv]  I listened this episode that covered a wide variety of topics, and they got into a discussion of building resilience by doing something that makes them uncomfortable every week. Something like a cold water plunge where you'd rather be sleeping in your warm bed, than doing something that Dr. Huberman would say was uncomfortable, or “like a splinter.” Retired Navy Seals Officer Jocko Willick said that “You develop your legs by doing squats, and you develop resiliency by doing things that make you tougher” but on today's episode, I want us to think deeply about this because there's more to building resiliency than just doing what makes us stronger and tougher. What makes YOU tougher, might not make me tougher, (if we think about Horacio's work on resiliency and how we are all different with these risk factors). If we are truly going to build resilience, we have to be prepared to try new things that push us past where we have been before and each person will have different thresholds and experiences. MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: Remember that I am not a medical doctor, and that if you are going to try anything new, to always consult a medical doctor first. Today I will share ideas and strategies that I have used myself, while looking at what the most current research says, but will always remind listeners to never try anything new without first consulting your own doctor. This leads me to look closer at cold immersion[v], an evidence-based strategy that has been shown to build resilience to stress, reduce pain in the body, improve circulation, stimulate weight loss and decrease fatigue, but over time, the research shows that your body becomes “habituated” to this practice. As for the proper dosing for this strategy, I know that Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests “progressing gradually”[vi] while Dr. Mike Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology at the University of Portsmouth in the UK who studies the body's reaction to extreme environments, adds that “researchers still don't know the best way to reap the mental health benefits of cold water, or the minimum dose required” and says that “a little bit is good for you, but too much is not.”[vii] While writing this episode, I had to think about what I do to build resilience. I always thought that exercise was my solution to every problem, but if I think about it, these runs thought the beautiful mountain tops in Arizona are NOT like a “splinter” for me, like Dr. Huberman's mentioned. I know exercise is making me physically stronger, improving my mental health, (and solving all the other problems we know exercise solves) but now I wonder, am I doing anything on a weekly basis that makes me tougher, challenging my mind to overcome daily stress? Not according to Dr. Huberman's definition. What is like a splinter for me to do? Am I really doing something I'd rather not be doing every week? There might have been a time when waking up early to exercise was a “splinter” or maybe most days in the winter here, it's not easy to leave a warm bed when it's 40 or 50 degrees outside, so I can see where exercise could possibly help to build a stronger, more resilient version of myself. ARE YOU BUILDING YOUR RESILIENCY MUSCLES? What about you? What is your splinter that builds your capacity (mentally and physically)? If we don't think about this one, we could fall into the trap of thinking we are building resilience when we really aren't. Or getting comfortable with what might have worked in the past, and not trying anything new. This made me think back to having my brain scanned at Dr. Amen's Clinics and I had my review of the scan with Dr. Shane Creado, on EP 84.[viii] I remember that while he mentioned some areas of improvement, he did notice that my resilience levels were higher than many of the elite athletes that he's tested, and I wondered where this came from. The only thing I've done consistently over the years that at times has felt challenging is with health (exercise, nutrition). It was evident with this brain scan that my sleep has always been a weak link but doing certain things the right way has got me this far.  Now I wonder, what else could I do to build a stronger, more resilient version of myself?   Deliberate Cold Exposure to Build Resiliency and Mental Toughness Then I thought back to when Dr. Huberman suggested deliberate cold exposure[ix] as a protocol to build mental and physical resilience, and wondered why I hadn't tried it yet.  Cold exposure isn't something that I'm excited about (living in Arizona, my friends from snowy climates joke with me when I tell them “it's freezing here” in the desert in the winter, and I get this skeptical look that it can't be as cold as where they are. What caught my attention on Dr. Huberman's Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance[x] episode was that he said this practice “systematically builds up resilience.” He went on to say that “it's an opportunity to deliberately stress our body and because it's deliberate we can learn to maintain mental clarity, we can learn to maintain mental calm, while our body is in a state of stress.” This is exactly what I was looking for, but of course I listened to this episode when it first came out over a year ago, and thought “there's no way I'm ever doing that” until today, when I started DAY 1 of deliberate cold exposure, to see if I notice a difference with my ability to better handle daily stress. Dr. Huberman explains the science behind this example extremely well, by saying that when we feel stressed in life (with our work, our relationship, or anything else that comes across our phones that in the moment makes us want to react in a way that we know we shouldn't) that norepinephrine and epinephrine build up in the body. This is similar to what happens to our body when we deliberately expose it to cold (whether through a shower, immersion, or from going outside into the cold). He says that this systematically builds up our resilience. So of course, I'm taking notes about how to implement this and this morning I took my first ever cold shower using Dr. Huberman's protocol. Have you tried deliberate cold exposure? Did you notice any benefits? I followed these steps that he suggested for a shower: STEP 1: Pick a temperature that's uncomfortable. STEP 2: Get in for a certain duration of time (start with 1 minute and work your way up to 3 minutes). STEP 3: Get out. How Does This Build Resiliency? Remember, this experience has got to be like a “splinter” to build resiliency, and you will release those 2 chemicals (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that are the same chemicals that flood your brain and body during stress. The longer you can function with a clear mind with these chemicals flooding your brain, the more resilient to stress you will become. This is how resilience is built. I thought this was brilliant, and it got even better when he went on to explain how he pushes himself to stay in the cold longer, building up more resilience. He said that he “visualizes walls” so just getting into the shower is WALL 1. Then he feels ok until he thinks, “ok, it's time to get out” and if he can stay in, let's say go past minute 1 to minute 2, he's got over WALL 2. Then he visualizes WALL 3 off in the distance, and when arrives at that wall, he begins to use his interoceptive awareness and think about how he's really feeling. Can he stay in longer? Can he think clearly? Could he stay in 10 more seconds? If he can, he's jumped over another wall, and is standing at WALL 4. At the point where he's numb, and can do nothing else, he gets out, and knows he pushed it hard with this exercise. I thought it was such a great example that I tried it myself, and was able to get to WALL 1 (getting into a cold shower), WALL 2 (pushed myself past 1 minutes and 30 seconds to 3 minutes) and WALL 3 (thought about how I felt, and how clearly I could think). This was enough for DAY 1, but this is going to be something I do at least 3 times a week moving forward. Other Ways to Build Resiliency? Another example I can think of would be strength training (and particular pushing past 20 reps to 25). My trainer used to always tell me to cheat when I'm working out on my own. He'd never let me get away with this.  Now I know now that this is what builds my capacity for mental/physical resilience. It's definitely a splinter for me, but YOU might love pushing past reps when you're tired, while I dread it.  This is just like you might dread running up and down a mountain, while I love it. We will all be different here. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION: To review and conclude this week's EPISODE on a Deeper Dive into Building Resiliency, I challenge you to look at what you are doing, and see if you can identify where your “splinters” are. If you think you might be getting used to your workouts, and that they bring you joy (like they do for me) it's time to think hard about NEW ways you can build up your capacity for more resilience. Since we started the year with the goal to build a stronger, more resilient version of ourselves, the key to doing this is to build our immune system up by being able to better manage our levels of stress. My hope for all of us is that as we face our challenges on a daily basis, that we push ourselves always to reach new heights that are greater than where we were yesterday. I'll close out with a quote from Lee Ann Womack, “I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
. Never settle for the path of least resistance”― Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance Keep your eye on overcoming challenge, and you'll be a stronger, more resilient version of yourself by the end of the year. See you next week! REFERENCES: [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #126 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-prioritizing-mental-health-in-2023-improving-self-awareness-and-resilience/ [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #3 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/interview-with-ron-hall-valley-day-school-on-launching-your-neuroeducational-program/ [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #74 with Horacio Sanchez on “How to Apply Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/leading-brain-science-and-resiliency-expert-horatio-sanchez-on-how-to-apply-brain-science-to-improve-instruction-and-school-climate/ [iv] https://hubermanlab.com/jocko-willink-how-to-become-resilient-forge-your-identity-and-lead-others/ [v] Using Cold Water Immersion to Build Stress Resilience Published May 22, 2022 https://www.meducos.com/using-cold-water-immersion-to-build-stress-resilience [vi] Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance Huberman Lab #66   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq6WHJzOkno [vii] Cold Water Plunges Are Trendy. Can They Really Reduce Anxiety and Depression? Published by Chloe Williams https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/well/mind/cold-water-plunge-mental-health.html [viii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/ [ix] Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance Huberman Lab #66   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq6WHJzOkno [x]Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance Huberman Lab #66    https://hubermanlab.com/using-deliberate-cold-exposure-for-health-and-performance/  

“The brain has a capacity for learning that is virtually limitless, which makes every human being a potential genius.” Michael J. Golb I want to welcome you back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I'm Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results.  For today's episode #276, we will go back to one of our early episodes, #119[i] on “The Key Ingredients of Learning with the Brain in Mind” and take a look at what I picked out as the key ingredients for learning back then, to see how NEW research has informed this area today. When I went back to review this episode, there were some ingredients in this “learning” equation that we've talked about often on this podcast, and the new research I found was eye-opening. The new research took what we covered so beautifully on those early episodes, to a whole new level, showing me why it's important to go back to the basics and see what strategies are effective, and why. Before we get to what's NEW, let's look back at where our podcast began, and what we were focused on, with learning with our brain in mind. Learning with the Brain in Mind We can go right back to our very first interview EPISODE #3[ii] with Ron Hall, from Valley Day School, who mentioned how things changed for him when he met Horacio Sanchez and began teaching with brain science in mind. This is the whole reason why we are going back to the basics this season, as we connect the new research to our past episodes, to strengthen where we all are in our process of building a stronger, more resilient 2.0 version of ourselves in 2023 and beyond. It's always easy to look back, and connect the dots[iii] like Steve Jobs' famous quote, and trust that these dots will connect again in the future, with new meaning that's evolved with time, knowledge and understanding. John Hattie's Research: As I glanced at our earlier interviews, Greg Wolcott from EPISODE #7 on “Building Relationships in Today's Classrooms” was our next guest in this learning equation, as he was the first guest to mention that his work and book, Significant 72[iv], was inspired by New Zealand Professor John Hattie.  John Hattie became known for his two books Visible Learning and Visible Learning for Educators that focused on teaching strategies that have a high probability of being effective. You can read directly from John Hattie himself, as he connects his dots looking backwards, where he says he believes he got some parts wrong with his approach to learning in the classroom.  He shares he'd like to stop looking at the strategies teachers are using and look closer at the impact we have on our students and how they learn best when he reflects that “we need to switch from saying (I care about how you teach), to saying (I care about the impact of your teaching).”[v]  Hattie goes on to talk about the criticism he faced with the term “visible learning” because learning isn't visible at all. As John Hattie now prepares to release Visible Learning: The Sequel[vi] this March, 15 years after his first book that sold out in days of its release and was described as “teaching's Holy Grail” he's returning to his ground-breaking work, with a new angle. Like the direction we are taking with this podcast, going back to the basics, this is what Professor John Hattie is doing with his next book where he not only looks at WHAT works best with learning, as he shares the research is his new that is now informed by more than 2,100 meta-analyses (more than double that appeared in his first book, drawn from more than 130,000 studies, and has involved more than 400 million students from all around the world. He then asks “WHY” did these strategies work so well, with some thoughts of how we can improve learning, using current and future research. I remember back to my early days of teaching when we were observed by our school principal, and given feedback for how effective our lessons were. I remember thinking this process was such a waste of time as the students were behaving differently knowing their teacher was being evaluated. I knew that there wasn't much learning happening other than finding a way to beat the system to have my students behave in this artificial environment. True learning, Hattie points out, happens when a teacher has to adapt a lesson, as they notice the students who might be missing the point, and need a new way to learn. Hattie noticed:   Professor John Hattie[vii] take this new knowledge and tells us that Australia has now gone with a new method of observation where they “ask expert teachers to consider a lesson they are planning to deliver, and then record themselves talking through their planning. Then the lesson is filmed. The expert teacher then records themselves again, explaining the decisions they made in the moment. The two recordings are then layered over the video. This allows those who watch the videos to hear what the teacher is thinking in real time.” (John Hattie, Why Teaching Strategies Don't Make You an Excellent Teacher). Hattie believes that this is where the research is turning to, with more thinking aloud and dialogue around learning, and he goes on to project there will be “a massive breakthrough in automation of classroom observation and teachers will improve because of it.”[viii] I can already see useful technology emerging in the corporate workplace that uses Artificial Intelligence to score a sales employee on their presentations, providing immediate feedback on specific metrics, including content, articulation, and even picking out keywords to help improve presentation skills. The future of learning is evolving, and it undeniably involves an understanding of our brain. Learning with the Brain in Mind: Friederike Fabritius on EPISODE #27[ix] was next to contribute to our formula of learning and “Achieving Peak Performance” as we began to connect the neurochemicals involved in those high levels of achievement where peak performance or flow occurs. Dr. John Dunlosky's Research Our next guest to help us to decipher this formula for learning was Kent State University's Dr. John Dunlosky, from EPISODE #37[x]  on “Improving Student Success: Some Principles from Cognitive Science.” I'll never forget when the lights started to go on for me, when I first heard Dr. Dunlosky speak in 2016 of an Edweek Webinar about “deliberate practice” being one of the most effective learning strategies vs cramming to learn something new (whether a new skill in the classroom, or a sport). This led us to EPISODE #38[xi] on “The Daily Grind in the NHL” with Todd Woodcroft, who at the time was an Assistant Coach with the Winnipeg Jets. His episode covered the importance of “the daily grind” or doing the same things every day, for predictable results in the pro sports world. The Key Ingredients of Learning: I could keep going through our episodes, and connecting the guests who spoke about the key ingredients of learning, but as we move towards the current research, I want to start with what we first identified with learning with the brain in mind. On today's Episode #276 on “Looking Back at the Key Ingredients of Learning” we will cover ✔ A review of the key ingredients of learning from our early episodes (that include motivation and repetition). ✔ A look back on John Hattie's Research with his ground-breaking book Visible Learning as he prepares to release Visible Learning: The Sequel to see “What's New” when it comes to teaching and learning in the classroom. ✔ What is NEW with Learning and the Brain? (Dr. Andrew Huberman). ✔ How Can We Learn NEW Skills Faster with the Brain in Mind: A 3-STEP PROCESS ✔ Using Repetition and the NEW Research to Learn NEW Skills Faster: A 4-STEP PROTOCOL ✔ Thoughts on the Future of Learning. What Dr. Huberman's Research Says About Learning NEW Skills Faster: When I looked up what's new in this area, I didn't need to go anywhere else, other than with Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman and his Huberman Lab Podcast. I found two very thorough episodes that were similar in content, both close to 2 hours in length. You can access each of his episodes by clicking on the link in the show notes, but for today's episode, I wanted to take the research, and tie it to what we already know about learning, with some steps for how we can use this research in the future. I took his Podcast #20 on How to Learn Skills Faster[xii] that was published a year ago, in 2022, a year after I took a stab at explaining the key ingredients of learning. I remember listening to this episode while exercising and thinking I really needed to take notes, as he went into depth on the science behind acquiring new skills, affirming that we had uncovered some of the most important ingredients, specifically the repetition of a new skill and the motivation. I remember thinking it would have been good to know this as a former PE teacher, and I'll be sure to copy my friend Dan Vigliatore[xiii] who trains our next generation of educators with what's new and innovative for PE teachers in the classroom at York university in Toronto, or even just thinking back over those early episodes, it was clear why doing things a certain way (whether it's learning a new skill in the classroom, for athletic performance or in the workplace) that tapping into the Science of Learning, improving what we already know works in the learning process, will take everything to a deeper level for all of us. According to Dr. Huberman: How to Learn Anything Faster: STEP 1: Open Loop vs Closed Loop Dr. Huberman explains there are 2 types of skills: open loop and closed loop skills and you'll want to be able to distinguish between these skills. Open Loop: is a skill that when it's completed, you know if you did it right, or not. It would be like if a gymnast is doing a back flip. They either do the back flip, or they mess it up.  The only way to do it correctly, is to attempt it again if they messed up something and were scared halfway through. Or like throwing darts at a dart board. If the darts go on the ground, you missed the skill and the only way to get the skill, is to try it again. Or a free throw in basketball. I think we've got the point of this skill type. We can either do the skill, or we don't. This is an open loop.   Closed Loop: is a skill that allows for correction while performing the skill, like if you were running and your coach is giving you tips on your stride or something that you change and improve along the way, or if you were playing the drums, and you were given instruction on how to speed up or slow down your tempo. STEP 2: Ask “what should I focus my attention on?” Next, Dr. Huberman says we ask ourselves “what should I focus my attention on” and there are three places. It's either going to auditory attention (you are listening for something), visual attention (you are watching something) or it's proprioception (sometimes known as our 6th sense) where we think about where our limbs are in relation to our body as we are performing a certain skill (like being able to walk or kick without looking at your feet). STEP 3: Your Neurology Will Take Care of the Rest This is where things get exciting, as Dr. Huberman goes into the in-depth explanation of how learning something new translates within certain parts of our brain. Without attempting to teach what he explains so well, I'm going to break it down so we can understand the basic ideas that he covers.   Central Pattern Generators: exist in our spinal cord and it's this part of the brain that generates repetitive movements with skills we have learned. Things like walking, running, swimming, cycling, are all controlled by this part of the brain. The CPG also controls already learned behavior. When you have developed a certain skill, this part of the brain is taking over and controls the movement. I thought about something Friederike Fabritius said in her first interview with me when we were talking about her book, The Leading Brain and I asked her about something she wrote about on this topic of understanding learned behavior and how it shows up in our brain after years of repetitive practice. She gave 2 examples of people who didn't rely on their conscious thinking brain, but they used their unconscious brain to increase the speed, efficiency and accuracy of their performance. The first example she used was with Sully Sullenberger's quick thinking with his emergency landing of that plane in the Hudson River and the other was with Wayne Gretzky, who used his unique “hockey sense” to “skate where the puck will be, not where it is.”  Friederike explains in her book The Leading Brain that “there's a common misconception that intuitive decisions are random and signify a lack of skill, the exact opposite is true. Intuitive decisions are often the product of years of experience and thousands of hours of practice. They represent the most efficient use of your accumulated expertise.”[xiv]   So, if you are executing a skill that you've spent years learning, you will be activating this part of your brain, the Central Pattern Generator. Let's say you haven't spent years learning a sport. Like for me, with golf. If I swing a golf club, the parts of my brain that will be working are much different than the brain of a golf pro who would be using the CPG. I'd be using the next part of our brain, the Upper Motor Neurons in our cortex, that are the neural pathways that control movement, and are involved with things like picking up a pen, or a deliberate action, like swinging a golf club. This part of our brain is important to note in the visualization process, with skill building, that we will touch on in a minute. Then there's the Lower Motor Neurons in our spinal cord that send messages to our muscles that causes the muscles to move. When it comes to skill acquisition, I'm sure you've heard of the 10,000 hour rule. Someone just said it to me the other day, and while it does explain that work is involved with learning a new skill, it doesn't explain HOW we learn that new skill, using science. The secret to NEW skill acquisition Dr. Huberman says is not about the hours you put in, it's about the repetition. This made me think back to those early episodes where we took Dr. John Dunlosky's research, connected it to what we know works in the sports world, with the daily grind that's required for pro sports athletes, and now Dr. Huberman adds something new to this equation. He says of course “there's a connection between time and repetition, but there's new research that states that it's important what you are focused on as you learn a new skill, and if you can adjust the number of repetitions that you do, adjusting your motivation for learning, and you can vastly accelerate learning.”[xv] He went on the share study after study that backed this idea up, but without going into the weeds with the research, he says the protocol for learning any skill faster, something he says has been dubbed online as “The Super Mario Effect” or “The Test Tube Experiment” with mice or rats has to do with stimulating a certain brain area that can lead to vastly accelerating learning. He goes into where he has seen this being tested with Lewis Howes on his podcast “How to Learn Anything Fast”[xvi] where Lewis Howes almost fell off his chair with what he was learning. The issue with this method is that it's being tested now in military environments, and not something that any of us could use for immediate results, as we'd have to drill holes in our skull to stimulate a certain part of the brain to get these accelerated learning results (and they are doing this in certain places). But what can we do right away with this research? Dr. Huberman says that “whatever it is we are learning, that we are to perform as many repetitions per unit of time as we possibly can, even if we make errors” and this repeat of performance, even if there are errors will help you to accelerate skill learning.”  So, we did get the ingredients of learning correct with the emphasis on repetition, but I didn't know that the research now shows that making errors would promote plasticity in the brain and accelerate the learning process. Here's a 4 STEP Protocol to Help You to Learn Faster with Brain Science in Mind Get as many repetitions in per session. (whether a sport or even going back to Dr. Dunlosky with his importance of spaced repetition). Pay attention to the errors you make and don't worry about bad habits getting engrained. You will know the right actions vs the ones you want to discard. Know that neurochemicals are being created from the successful repetitions. After the session: REST. DO NOTHING. Don't look at your phone for 1-5 minutes to allow the neurons in the brain to replay the sequences you practiced. The errors will be eliminated and the correct sequence will be played back. What is interesting with Dr. Huberman's research is that he noted that when you sit and let the brain go idle after this repetition, that the brain will play the sequences backwards as it consolidates learning (and he says they aren't sure why) but the brain in sleep, plays the sequence forward. He also covered using a metronome (that tool we know helps you to learn to play the piano) as a powerful tool to increase the number of repetitions. I thought about how I would use this strategy, and think it makes the most sense for sports (thinking of when I was a PE teacher of how I could have used this information), or even apply it to my girls who practice gymnastics, and share with them that it matters how many turns they take to practice their skill. I asked them “how many times do you practice a back flip in one 4-hour practice” and they didn't have a number for me. If they are messing around in practice, they are taking away from others getting these higher repetitions, as well as themselves. I know their coaches know this, but I'm hoping that the girls understand why these focused repetitions area important for their results and skill learning. If I were a coach, with this brain science in mind, I'd have athletes count the number of reps they were doing with a certain skill, in a certain time period and see how each practice they could increase this number. What Does the Research Say About Visualization and Learning: I've spent a lot of time covering Visualization on this podcast, as it's a part of my daily routine, so of course I wondered what Dr. Huberman and the research says about adding mental rehearsal to your learning. While he did say that “visualization is a powerful tool and that it works” he added “not as good as the actual experience” of doing the actual physical activity. Dr. Huberman says that “closing your eyes and thinking about a sequence of movements and visualizing it in your mind's eye creates the activation of the upper motor neurons that's very similar, if not the same as the actual movement.” He said that visualization is a good supplement to your learning routine, but not a replacement. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION: To review and conclude this episode on the ingredients of learning, I think we uncovered the main ingredients from our episode 2 years ago (repetition and motivation) that's crucial for learning, but Dr. Huberman's research on making sure we get as many repetitions as we can per session, even if we make mistakes in the process, did help me to look at learning with a new lens. I also couldn't forget how he said the military is experimenting with stimulating parts of the brain to accelerate learning and know that years down the line, it might be easier for us to learn a new language, or master a new skill in a sport, with advancements in our understanding of brain science. I hope that this episode helped you to think of what else you could do to accelerate learning for your students in the classroom, whether it's with John Hattie's reflections of “thinking through” an effective lesson, or with the tried and true strategies of Dr. John Dunlosky of spaced repetition that have proven to accelerate results in sports and the classroom, or even Dr. Huberman's idea of increasing the amount of repetitions per unit of time, without worrying about errors. This episode on learning made me think of more questions than I have answers for. It was only two years after we wrote ep 119, that Dr. Andrew Huberman released his new research, and many studies that have emerged about how to accelerate learning with repetition, and how our brain is involved in this process. 15 years after Professor John Hattie released his ground-breaking Visible Learning book in the field of education, that he reflects back now on AI for classroom observation.  I'll close with a quote from Mark Zuckerberg who says that “unsupervised learning is the way that most people will learn in the future. You have this model of how the world works in your head and you're refining it to predict what you think is going to happen in the future.” This makes me wonder: What will we uncover 3 years from now? Will we ever be able to find the science that gives us answers to other ways we can learn, like finding answers from our dream world? Will we be able to predict our future somehow like Mark Zuckerberg suggested by refining something in our head? While Dr. Huberman says that visualization is a powerful tool that works, he still says that it doesn't work as well as actually doing the skill. He has the data to prove this today but will we uncover something about our brain and places we can stimulate it without having to drill open our skull in the future that could improve our effectiveness, even if it's a few percentages of improvement?  Maybe tweaking something with our visualization process could unlock some of the secrets Jose Silva unlocked in his Silva Mind Control Method[xvii] that we dove deep into at the end of last year?  One thing I know for sure is that I'll never stop asking questions and searching for answers that can help us to all be a stronger more resilient 2.0 version of ourselves.  What about you?  What questions do you have? How has science informed your learning? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the future of learning… And with that I'll close out this episode and see you next week as we revisit EP #122 on “Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience”[xviii]  See you next week! FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  REFERENCES: [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #119 on “The Key Ingredients of Learning with the Brain in Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-key-ingredients-of-learning-with-the-brain-in-mind-with-andrea-samadi   [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #3 with Ron Hall from Valley Day School on “Launching Your Neuro-educational Program” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/interview-with-ron-hall-valley-day-school-on-launching-your-neuroeducational-program/   [iii] Steve Jobs https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/steve_jobs_416875   [iv] Greg Wolcott Significant 72 https://www.significant72.com/   [v] John Hattie: Why Teaching Strategies Don't Make You an Expert Teacher by John Hattie Jan 11th, 2023 https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/john-hattie-visible-learning-teaching-strategies-dont-make-you-expert   [vi] Visible Learning: The Sequel by John Hattie Published by Routledge, March 20, 2023  https://www.routledge.com/Visible-Learning-The-Sequel-A-Synthesis-of-Over-2100-Meta-Analyses-Relating/Hattie/p/book/9781032462035   [vii] IBID [viii] IBID [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #27 with Friederike Fabritius on “The Recipe for Achieving Peak Performance” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneer-in-the-field-of-neuroleadership-friederike-fabritius-on-the-recipe-for-achieving-peak-performance/   [x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #37 “Dr. John Dunlosky on “Improving Student Success: Some Principles from Cognitive Science” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kent-states-dr-john-dunlosky-on-improving-student-success-some-principles-from-cognitive-science/   [xi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #38 with Todd Woodcroft on “The Daily Grind in the NHL”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-coach-to-the-winnipeg-jets-todd-woodcroft-on-the-daily-grind-in-the-nhl/   [xii] How to Learn Skills Faster by Dr. Andrew Huberman, EPISODE #20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0IBzCjEPk   [xiii] https://twitter.com/PhysEdDynasty   [xiv] The Leading Brain, Page 148, Friederike Fabritius https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Brain-Neuroscience-Smarter-Happier-ebook/dp/B01HCGYVM2/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAiAr4GgBhBFEiwAgwORreGYXo-LXa5995xdbpY7AiCFCyjNHxQ842EYgZOf2uGIaCZmtq3T7xoCGc4QAvD_BwE&hvadid=174274111864&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030068&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1212127332165576286&hvtargid=kwd-262053540231&hydadcr=22536_9636732&keywords=the+leading+brain&qid=1677786313&sr=8-1   [xv] How to Learn Skills Faster Dr. Andrew Huberman PODCAST EPISODE #20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0IBzCjEPk   [xvi] Lewis Howes and Dr. Andrew Huberman on “How to Learn Anything Fast” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADygLWbL2M4   [xvii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 on “Applying the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/   [xviii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #122 on Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-transforming-the-mind-using-athletics-and-neuroscience/  

"Self-regulation will always be a challenge, but if somebody's going to be in charge, it might as well be me." Daniel Akst On today's Episode #273 we will cover ✔ A review of Brain Fact Friday #112, where we introduced Self-Regulation, and why it's important for our overall mental health and wellbeing.  ✔ One strategy from the work of Dr. Daniel Amen for Self-Regulating Automatic Negative Thoughts. ✔ Two strategies from the work of Dr. Andrew Huberman--One on using self-regulation to calm ourselves down in less than a minute, and the other to strengthen the NO-GO Circuits in our brain to help with impulse control.   Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new listeners, I'm Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results.  This season (Season 9) we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics as we revisit our past Brain Fact Fridays, narrowing in on how anything new from the field of neuroscience can be tied to improving our productivity, our results, our mental and physical health. Why are we going back to the basics? When we are building something worthwhile, something that we want to last, going back to the foundations will help us to strengthen our understanding of our brain, and our mind, to our results, providing us with the extra strength we will need to overcome the obstacles and challenges that will come our way. My hopes are that this step backwards will help us to become better prepared to move forward, towards our goals, or whatever it is that we are working on this year, with this strong foundation in place. Today's EPISODE #273, we are going back to our second Brain Fact Friday, EPISODE #112, released in March of 2021 on “Training Your Brain to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts and Emotions”[i] where we looked at our recent interview with my good friend Horacio Sanchez, from EPISODE #111 on “Finding Solutions to the Poverty Problem.”[ii] Horacio Sanchez said, “Did you know that when we engage in inner speech, all the mechanisms of outer speech and the auditory process activate in the brain? Therefore, what we say to ourselves is just like hearing it said by someone else to us. Inform students (and ourselves) that inner speech can build them up or destroy them.” (Horacio Sanchez)[iii] I brought up the damaging effects of Automatic Negative Thinking on one of our early episodes, #14 on Self-Regulation.[iv] This skill of managing our thoughts, emotions and behavior comes under the competency of self-regulation (one of the 6 social and emotional learning competencies that we covered in the beginning episodes of this podcast, to set the foundation for what I envisioned with the content we would be covering here. It's these 6 pillars that I saw as the foundation for us to build upon, and improve and is the heart of The Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast. What is Self-Regulation and Why is it So Important to Be Able to Manage Those Negative Thoughts, Our Emotions and Even Our Behavior? Self-regulation is “the ability to manage your emotions and behavior in accordance with the demands of the situation. It includes being able to resist highly emotional reactions to upsetting stimuli, to calm yourself down when you get upset, adjust to a change in expectations and (the ability) to handle frustration”[v] In other words, it's the ability to bounce back after a setback or disappointment, and the ability to stay in congruence with your inner value system.  On EPISODE #111, I gave some examples of how we could teach self-regulation to our children and students, and even gave some thoughts on why it's an important skill to master in the workplace. You can go back this episode if you want to review these tips by clicking on the link in the show notes, but for today's episode, almost 3 years later, I wonder, “how good am I at self-regulation” and have I improved this skill at all over the years? Since this is a how-to podcast, where I want to provide tips for us all to use and implement immediately, backed by the most current neuroscience research, I thought I would check in with what Stanford Professor and Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman would say about self-regulation. I'm probably going to reflect back to his work, or anyone else who can explain how to implement the concepts I'm trying to reinforce on this podcast, or anyone who can help me to explain the details of science in a way that we can all understand and apply it. So far, I've found Dr. Daniel Amen (who I've talked a lot about on this podcast with his idea of controlling our ANTS, or automatic negative thoughts) and will look at Dr. Andrew Huberman's work to see what he says about self-regulation. Dr. Amen and Controlling Those ANTS What I love about Dr. Amen's work, is that he explains why eliminating negative thoughts is so important. Did you know that “every time your brain has a thought, it releases chemicals? Every time you have a sad, hopeless, mad, cranky, unkind, judgmental, or helpfulness thought, your brain immediately releases chemicals that make your body feel awful.[vi] He goes on to explain the physiological effects of negative thinking saying “your hands get cold and wet, your muscles get tense, your heart beats faster, and your breathing becomes shallower (and all of this activity) in your frontal and temporal lobes decreases which negatively affects your judgement, learning and memory.” (Dr. Amen). Do what can we do to avoid this pitfall of making ourselves feel rotten? Dr. Amen suggests that we “work on disciplining the mind” to get rid of these Automatic Negative Thoughts to keep ourselves in a healthier frame of mind. On our last episode, we talked about an effective strategy used in cognitive behavioral therapy[vii] of saying the word “SWITCH” in your head as you focus on switching the negative emotion that you feel to something more positive. This takes some practice, that's for sure. I've always used the strategy of saying “STOP” when this happens and changing the thought pattern in my head to something more productive. Also, remembering the idea of RESPONDING to situations with questions to dig deeper, and learn more, instead of REACTING with emotion, or jumping to conclusions, or incorrect assumptions, is always a better solution. Now let's dive a bit deeper here, and see what Dr. Andrew Huberman has to say about self-regulation. Dr. Andrew Huberman on Self-Regulation Dr. Huberman reminds us why self-regulation is important, and says that “knowledge of knowledge can actually help you to intervene” (which is why we are doing this podcast and breaking down the science so we can all use it to improve our lives) and he discusses why self-regulation with our behaviors is important. He notes a question to ask ourselves “when I'm thinking that I'm feeling low, nothing feels good, am I depressed? Maybe (he says) or maybe you've saturated the dopamine circuits and you're now in the pain part of things. What do you do? (He says) you have to stop. You need to replenish dopamine. You need to stop engaging in the behavior (whatever it was you were doing that you noticed lost something for you) and then the pleasure for it will come back. You have to constantly control the hinge, make sure the hinge doesn't get stuck in the pain or in pleasure.”[viii] We covered this concept in depth with our interview with Dr. Anna Lembke and her book, Dopamine Nation on EPISODE #162[ix] where she dove deep with us on how we are constantly trying to distract ourselves from the present moment to be entertained” and “that we're all running from pain—we'll do almost anything to distract ourselves from ourselves” and that “we've lost the ability to tolerate even minor forms of discomfort.”  Here's where I notice my inability to tolerate even mild forms of discomfort as Dr. Lembke was saying. Let's take writing these episodes. I wake up early, go to my desk, and am ready to get back to my notes over the week where I've gathered ideas and research, and now I need to put them all in one place for this episode. It's not as mentally challenging as I've already written the first episode, but now I've got to see if I can improve it somehow with the latest research, and while writing, the minute I get stuck on what to say next, I will get up, and do something to distract myself, and come back after a few minutes. Is there a better, more effective, science-backed solution for me to use when I've hit a wall, and need a break? Dr. Andrew Huberman explained it beautifully on Mayim Bialik's Podcast[x] (side-note, do you remember her? She's an American Actress who was on the NBC Sitcom Blossom, and went on to study in the field of neuroscience, crossing paths with Dr. Huberman along the way. On this episode, she did with Dr. Huberman, he describes an activity he uses for stress reduction in minutes, that we can all use to self-regulate when we need it. Try This Activity! How to Self-Regulate Your Brain in Less Than a Minute I loved this episode with Dr. Huberman and Mayim[xi], as she talks about him as being “the smartest human being on the planet” and he talks about remembering her when she was interviewing at Graduate School and he didn't miss a detail. There's an obvious respect that each one has for the other. On this episode, with Mayim, Dr. Huberman shares a quick and easy activity we can all to do calm us down in less than a minute. He says, “Do a double inhale through your nose, one longer inhale and then sneak in a quick second inhale, which re-inflates the sacks in your lungs, and then do a long full exhale to empty out all the air from your lungs” This,  he says “naturally activates the neural circuits in the brain and body that shift that see-saw from sympathetic (alertness and stress) to parasympathetic.”    It looks like this. Just one of these, Dr. Huberman says will return us to a calm state. While reflecting back to our first episode on self-regulation, we did talk about a couple of examples to say “STOP” or “SWITCH” to stop those negative thoughts from ruminating in our head, but this breathing activity, I think is something I will try moving forward. What About Self-Regulating Our Behaviors? So now I think we all have a strategy we can use right away to calm ourselves down when we need to, but how else could we train our brain to self-regulate? This one, I learned from a podcast episode from Jessica Stillman's INC Magazine's article[xii] where she picks Dr. Huberman as a resource for this strategy. You can also watch an incredible interview with Shane Parrish[xiii] on this concept. The important part to understand here is that our Basal Ganglia is vitally important for controlling our thoughts and actions and Dr. Huberman teaches us that “there are two main circuits that are both regulated by dopamine. Some of the circuits are involved in the go functions (where we lean into our work—its action oriented) and the other one is no-go and it involves certain neurotransmitters like dopamine to suppress behavior.”[xiv] He gives some examples reminding us as adults, that most of the time we are operating with our GO circuits (waking up, making our bed, getting ready, go to work etc) but think of our kids and many of their circuits involves to NO go circuits, like when we tell our kids, sit still, don't do that etc) and it's not easy for them to do this. The research behind the whole marshmallow experiment that I re-enacted with my kids[xv] proves how important this skill is for our students' future success, so I wondered, how can we all improve this NO-GO circuit in our brain? Activity 2: How to Train Your Brain to Control Your Impulses and Self-Control This is what Dr. Huberman does to intentionally train his brain to become stronger, keeping his impulses under control. He intentionally plans 20-30 NO-GO activities a day to strengthen this circuit in his brain. He says that the things you choose would be specific to you, and one way we both relate is that when I'm working in a block of time, and get stuck, I have this impulse to look at my phone, or get up and heat up my coffee or something. Anything to take me away for a minute of where I'm stuck. Instead of doing this, he suggests, stay there a minute longer and see if you can get past the block. This will strengthen my NO-GO circuit, and help me to reach those higher levels of productivity. He mentions another example of how many of us find it difficult to sit and meditate. I remember the first time doing this I really struggled as I could hear the kids running around, and I really wanted to get up. This was because my GO circuits were stronger than my NO-GO circuits. What's interesting is that you will have to monitor this one over time, because meditation and blocking out the world gets easier with time, so if I want to keep strengthening my NO GO circuit, I'll have to look for 20-30 things (to replicate Dr. Huberman's Strategy) that I want to do each day, and not do them, or at least, not do them right away. Can you think of 20-30 things that you will suppress to strengthen YOUR NO-GO circuit? If it's difficult, begin with just 4 things. Here's some ideas- Don't eat the thing you were going to eat. Don't get up from working when things are difficult. Change up a work out and don't do it the same. Don't pick up your phone when you are working. Whatever you habitually do, do it differently and it will feel strange at first, until you strengthen this part of your brain that Dr. Huberman says is like “keeping the blad sharp on both sides (the get up and go into action side, and the don't go, leave the phone alone) side. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION: To Review and Conclude this week's Brain Fact Friday, we took a deeper dive into EPISODE #112, on “Training Your Brain to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts and Emotions”[xvi] with some tips from Dr. Daniel Amen on how to stop those Automatic Negative Thoughts from making ourselves feeling rotten, and disciplining our mind to stay in the positive. Then we went to Dr. Andrew Huberman's research with 2 strategies for calming our mind in one minute with that breathing exercise and the idea of strengthening our NO-GO circuits by suppressing certain actions in our day. I hope that you find these strategies helpful for improving your day to day work and personal life, and that we all can use the science behind these strategies to strengthen our brain and our results. I have to say that I did use the breathing strategy BEFORE recording this episode, and plan on carving out some NO GO activities within my day today. I'd love to know what you think of this episode. With that, I'll see you next week where we will look at what's NEW for building a faster, stronger, more resilient brain. RESOURCES TO FOLLOW: To follow Dr. Andrew Huberman's work https://hubermanlab.com/  To follow Dr. Daniel Amen's work https://www.amenclinics.com/  FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/    REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #112 on “Training Your Brain to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts and Emotions”https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-training-your-brain-to-self-regulate-automatic-negative-thoughts-and-emotions/   [ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Episode #11 with Horacio Sanchez on “Finding Solutions to The Poverty Problem” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/resiliency-expert-and-author-horacio-sanchez-on-finding-solutions-to-the-poverty-problem/   [iii] Horacio Sanchez on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hsanchezceo_neuroscience-education-activity-6770706945264386048-BDCn   [iv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #14 with Andrea Samadi on “Self-Regulation: The Foundational Learning Skill for Future Success” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/self-regulation-the-foundational-learning-skill-for-future-success/   [v] Edutopia article “Teaching Self-Regulation by Modeling” (January, 2019) https://www.edutopia.org/video/teaching-self-regulation-modeling   [vi] The Number one Habit to Develop In Order to Feel More Positive by Dr. Daniel Amen August 16, 2016 https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/number-one-habit-develop-order-feel-positive/   [vii] What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Therapist Kati Morton YouTube uploaded Sept. 23, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7B3n9jobus   [viii] Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman on Self-Regulation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ1zYZHg8k4   [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #162 with Dr. Anna Lembke on “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/medical-director-of-addictive-medicine-at-stanford-university-dr-anna-lembke-on-dopamine-nation-finding-balance-in-the-age-of-indulgence/   [x] Mayim Bialik's Podcast with Andrew Huberman on Regulating Stress in Real-Time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk5GC269WT0   [xi] Mayim Bialik's Podcast with Andrew Huberman on Regulating Stress in Real-Time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk5GC269WT0   [xii] Stanford Neuroscientist: How to Train Your Self-Control So You Don't Mess Up Your Life by Jessica Stillman https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/stanford-impulse-control-no-go-function.html   [xiii] How to Control Your Impulses So They Don't Ruin Your Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wpP1W8eoaI&t=1s   [xiv] IBID [xv] The Marshmallow Experiment with Andrea Samadi Uploaded Nov. 2, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq903CXJUpg   [xvi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #112 on “Training Your Brain to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts and Emotions”https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-training-your-brain-to-self-regulate-automatic-negative-thoughts-and-emotions/  

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” On this episode we will cover: ✔ Brain Fact: DID YOU KNOW THAT "95% of the decisions we make take place in our subconscious mind?" (Deane Alban). ✔ A review of EP #207 with Greg Link with his tips to INTENTIONALLY create a legacy, reading a book a week.  ✔ Applying the 7 Levels of Awareness to our Daily Life to Be INTENTIONAL With the Life We Create. ✔REMINDER: To see and recognize the "spirit" in everyone.  What does this mean to you? On today's episode we will be diving into this quote…to see how much of our life we really do have control over. At the end of this episode I hope to show that with being intentional about every action we are taking, that we don't leave anything up to chance, and that we can in fact, create an exciting life, and future, without relying on chance or luck, and there's magic in the creation process, that illuminates the fact that there's much more to who we are. I am not just my name, Andrea Samadi (or the human being you see), there's a spiritual side to me, and there's a spiritual side to you. Do you see it? Do you see the spiritual side in others? Once you see it, you won't be able to see anything else, and I hope we can all begin to see the “spirit” in each other. Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I'm Andrea Samadi, (and I hope by now you see I'm more than just my name, and that you know the “why” behind this podcast without me saying it each week. With that in mind, for this week's Brain Fact Friday, I want to go back to EP #207[i] with my dear friend Greg Link, the cofounder of CoveyLink who worked directly with Dr. Stephen Covey for many years, with our episode on “Unleashing Greatness with Neuroscience, SEL, Trust and the 7 Habits.”  On this episode, Greg opened up with the quote I read at the start of this episode, from his back porch in Sedona, Arizona, reminding me just how much the 7 Habits connected to the brain, social and emotional learning and to this magical thing we call life. It was an extraordinary opportunity to speak with Greg on this day, as he hadn't spoken publicly for almost a decade, since I saw him last, and when I got the prompting to ask him to come on the podcast, there was no way I was going to ignore it, or worry about whether he would say no, or not. Just a reminder, for those who haven't listened to episode #207 (go back and check it out—here's the link to the YouTube interview[ii]) but I met Greg Link when I worked in the motivational speaking industry, when he was brought to help some of the speakers to gain more traction, and solve some of their problems with his experiences. Greg had recently skyrocketed Dr. Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People book that sold over 40 million copies since its first publication, and many leaders in the industry were looking to learn from his success. On this episode, Greg gave us a running list of the books that influenced his life, and urged us to do the same to leave a powerful legacy behind. As we are now in the final weeks of Q3 in 2022, I've focused the past few Brain Fact Fridays on Building a Stronger 2.0 version of ourselves, so we can all get a running start to 2023, and when I was interviewing Greg Link, I knew it was going to be an epic interview that I would refer back to often. I just didn't know how powerful it was going to be at the time, but looking back now, connecting the dots backwards, after just a few months, this episode now has over 1100 downloads. I knew after we recorded that episode that I'd need to do a follow up and be sure to highlight his Legacy Building Activity. With that in mind, for this week's Brain Fact Friday, I want to take a closer look at HOW exactly we take control of our life, how do we build a stronger 2.0 version of ourselves in pursuit of whatever it is we are doing, and leave a meaningful legacy for others to learn from? How do we do this when we know from this week's Brain Fact that “95% of our decisions take place in our subconscious mind?” (Deane Alban)[iii] How can we be sure that we create the future that we want, and help others to do the same, and leave a meaningful legacy, when most of our decisions are made subconsciously? To build a stronger, 2.0 version of ourselves, intentionally, I'm going to follow Greg Link's advice from our interview, and keep learning, reading and shaping who I am, since “learning is an active process (where me must learn to access it) at the right moment and apply it in real world contexts.” (Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Professor of Education, Psychology and Neuroscience) who joined us on EP #100.[iv] When we can see the power that each of us holds, (our spiritual side) we should ALL be capable of doing whatever it is that we want to do, by putting our minds to work, rolling up our sleeves, and intentionally creating something out of nothing with time and effort. In our interview, Greg suggested that in order to leave a legacy that you are proud of, why not document the books you read, or the people you have studied, that took you to where you are today. His suggestion was so powerful, that I immediately contacted Julie Porter, a good friend of Horacio Sanchez, our 3rd time returning guest from EP #111[v] and asked if she could create a graphic of Greg's book list, with the top lessons he's learned in his career, to inspire others to do the same. You can review the image in the show notes, and I've also put a link to it in the resource section if you want to print a copy. To Review Greg Link's Interview Take-Aways: He talked about: How “we are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience” He challenges us to all read a book a week and then ponder, contemplate, and connect the dots with what you are reading. This will inspire you and “people who are inspired are 52% more productive than those who are engaged.” This will help you to “Find your voice, and then help others to find theirs.” (8th Habit). We captured the 22 books that Greg mentioned inspired him on the graphic Julie created for us in the show notes, and he also listed other notable authors he's learned from. Reminding us that “you can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will connect in the future” with whatever it is you are doing. He talked about Jack Canfield's idea of taking “inspired action” and to listen to those promtings as you never know where they will lead you. Have you ever had a gut feeling to reach out to someone, maybe someone you haven't spoken to in years? I never ignore those promptings! Then he told us about Dr. Stephen Covey's advice that “you've got to carry your own weather with you. You are bigger than your weather” which came from Greg's story of how he almost didn't go to work with Dr. Covey in the beginning because he would have to work in Utah, after he's been enjoying the wonderful climate in San Diego, CA for some time. He ended up following Dr. Covey's advice, and went back and forth between the two states to make this work. Finally, Greg talked about the many connections between the 7 Habits, SEL and neuroscience. They are there when you look for them. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION: WITH THE 7 LEVELS OF AWARENESS Greg Link built a powerful empire, that he credits to his wife Annie, who saw the vision before he did, and listened to the many promptings they both received. He documented his career for us to all learn from, with the books that inspired his path, and encouraged us to do the same. So, if “95% of our decisions take place in our subconscious mind” I don't know about you, but I want to be sure that I'm being intentional with the actions I'm creating, to push me forwards, rather than backwards. To do this, I will continue with reading as close to a book a week as I can get, and share what I'm learning with you on this podcast. But there's something else I think we can all do, to be intentional with our growth and this included being aware of the 7 LEVELS OF AWARENESS.   Are you aware of them? They are the 7 stages of consciousness in a person's life, showing the progression from where we all start out (knowing nothing), to where we begin to express our own talents, abilities and individuality. We can either ignore our own special talents, (or our spirit) or we can with discipline, step out and become someone great, unique, inspirational (like Greg, or others I have studied and have show cased on this podcast). These 7 stages of consciousness can be seen often expressed in music,[vi] psychology,[vii] or even the arts where you see the progression a person takes over the span of their lifetime, towards mastery, or internal wisdom/enlightenment. To close out this week's Brain Fact Friday, where we looked at how “95% of our decisions take place in our subconscious mind” (Deane Alban) I wanted to highlight the activity that Greg Link shared with us so that we don't leave anything up to chance or luck. Keep moving confidently towards your goals, studying, learning and growing and think about where you are in the 7 Levels of Awareness. The 7 Levels of Awareness: Where are you? We all begin at the same place: Survival at the bottom of Barrett's chart, or the Animal level on the second chart I took from my notes from my days working in the seminar industry. Many people get stuck in this “non-thinking” state where they are not contributing to society. No one wants to be at this bottom level, so they aspire for more. Each diagram shows how we can move up towards Mastery, where we step out into the world, with our unique talents, contributing something to society, with our knowledge. It's the middle steps where our transformation occurs. As we progress up these levels of awareness, as we aspire to be and do more with our lives, our relationships strengthen, along with our self-esteem, and we begin to express our individual talents and abilities, stepping away from the crowd. Once we take action towards our goals, discipline will keep us on track, along with time, effort, study and experience. Stay in the game….until you look up one day, and you realize you are doing the thing that existed only in your dreams. After a lot of experience, you've now hit the Mastery, or Sage level where you've acquired wisdom, and now, like Greg Link did with his book list, it's up to us to share what we've learned with others, so that we can help others move past these lower levels of awareness, and intentionally create a life of contribution that they can look back on, at the end of their life, and be proud of. We must control our own destiny, or someone else will!! I hope this episode has got you thinking about how unique each of are (the spiritual side that we all have) along with how we can all further develop our unique talents and abilities by reading a book a week like Greg Link suggested and then compiling our list of 20 books to share, to create our legacy, and move up the 7 levels of awareness towards mastery where we will be living a purpose-filled life, contributing our special and unique talents and abilities with the world. That seems to be the meaning of life to me…I'll see you next week. RESOURCES: Greg Link's 22 Book List Graphic https://www.dropbox.com/s/62cw8ab2kt8ixof/Andrea_Samadi_091222%20%281%29.png?dl=0 Julie Porter on Twitter https://twitter.com/JuliePorterEC  REFERENCES: [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #207 with Greg Link on “Unleashing Greatness with Neuroscience, SEL, Trust and the 7 Habits.”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/co-founder-of-coveylink-greg-link-on-unleashing-greatness-with-neuroscience-sel-trust-and-the-7-habits/ [ii] Andrea Samadi Interviews Greg Link Published on YouTube April 1, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCRjLyCKE40 [iii] Deane Alban, 72 Amazing Human Brain Facts Based on the Latest Science https://sdbif.org/72-amazing-human-brain-facts-based-on-the-latest-science/ [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #100 with Professor Mary Helen Immordion-Yang on “ The Neuroscience of Social and Emotional Learning”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/professor-mary-helen-immordino-yang-on-the-neuroscience-of-social-and-emotional-learning/ [v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #111 with Horacio Sanchez on “Finding Solutions to the Poverty Problem”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/resiliency-expert-and-author-horacio-sanchez-on-finding-solutions-to-the-poverty-problem/ [vi] 7 Stages of Consciousness depicted in the 1976 Album L'Heptade https://www.discogs.com/release/1887068-Harmonium-Lheptade [vii]Richard Barrett's Seven Levels of Consciousness https://www.discogs.com/release/1887068-Harmonium-Lheptade  

On this episode we will cover: ✔︎ The importance of making mistakes and failing forward ✔︎ How an understanding of the most current research can improve productivity and results in our schools, sports and workplaces ✔︎ An important ingredient for change to occur ✔︎ A review of past episodes to consider what change you could initiate in your workplace ✔︎ Prepare for our NEXT EPISODE #210 with Dr. Jon Finn the author of The Habit Mechanic. “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”--American architect, systems theorist, author, inventor, philosopher and futurist, Buckminster Fuller This quote made me think of why we launched this podcast in the first place. Not to fight against all the models that we struggle with in our world today, but to offer solutions like Sir Ken Robinson[i] did with his thought-provoking case of creating an educational system that nurtures, rather than undermines creativity. If you haven't watched Sir Ken's TED talk in a while, I encourage you to go back to it (it's got over 72 million views)—and you'll see how the concepts he talks about are still as valid today, as they were in 2006. Sir Ken's TED Talk reminded me that “all children have exceptional capacity for innovation” and that “creativity is as important as literacy” in our schools, but we tend to squander it. I could “ponder deeply” (Greg Link, EPISODE 207) about that for a while, and am always looking for ways to increase creativity and innovation for our next generation of students in the classroom. Sir Ken said something else that hit me on a deep level on his famous TED talk, as I sat at my desk, listening to his words, knowing that he's been gone for some time, but he's not really gone. His legacy lives on as he makes me think about his words and write this episode, making connections to past episodes and speakers, and sharing these thoughts with you, wherever you might be listening to this podcast. With one of his examples, he said “If you are not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original” when he shared a story of a four-year-old who wasn't afraid to be wrong and then he brought it back to how school teaches us that mistakes are the worst things you can make. Making me think again-- Am I afraid of making mistakes? Not so much anymore, but take me back to 7th grade, being wrong in class (in front of everyone) probably would have prevented me from trying in the future without someone there to encourage the idea of failing forward, which is such an important concept for us to all learn early. With today's episode on “The Neuroscience of Change” I'm hoping that we can all take Sir Ken's advice, and be prepared to be wrong, with the hopes that it somehow moves us forward. Looking back and connecting the many dots over my career, I know I wouldn't be here today on this podcast if an educator didn't sit me down in his office, and show me where he thought I was wrong and could improve my work and career path with this understanding of simple neuroscience as the solution. But it did take action on my part without worrying about the outcome. We've got to be prepared to be wrong first, Sir Ken reminds us. What about you? Do you have ideas that you would like to move forward with—to impact change? Maybe in your school, or to be used in sports with athletes, or in your workplace?  These episodes were created in the how-to format to generate ideas for all of us.  I hope we can all ponder deeply about this, think about where we would like to see change, write down some thoughts and ideas, and see if these ideas can take us to somewhere new, somewhere we've never been before, as we make connections with the neuroscience of change. For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new here, I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator, with a passion for learning, understanding difficult concepts, and breaking them down so that we can all use and apply the most current research to improve productivity and results in our schools, sports, and modern workplaces. Today's EPISODE #209, on “Using Neuroscience to Inspire Change” we will build off of our last two interviews where we dove deep into why The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People book with Greg Link on EPISODE #207[ii] sold over 40 million copies worldwide, breaking the Covey organization through many obstacles along the way, taking them to where they had never been before not only in North America, but also in Japan, using many of the principles that connects the dots back to simple neuroscience, years before the research could explain their success. Or Blaine Oelkers from EPISODE #208[iii] who showed us how change begins in our mind with “what we think about.” We will continue to stretch our thinking on EPISODE #210 that's being recorded later next week with Dr. Jon Finn, author of The Habit Mechanic[iv] where he will show us how traditional approaches to being our best are outdated and ineffective and will really take our thinking to new heights when he shares the secret science behind an iconic sporting success, Roger Bannister, who is famous for being the first athlete to run the 4-minute mile, but did you know that Bannister's secret advantage had to do with the fact that at Oxford University, Bannister was training to be a medical doctor, and he used his understanding of the inner workings of the body to gain a competitive advantage over all other athletes, making his training “more effective and efficient.” (Page 59, The Habit Mechanic). As we begin this episode, I know there are some things that are very difficult to change and what I'm proposing here isn't easy at all. Beliefs run deep, and require some serious thought. We covered self-belief and identity on EPISODE #199[v] where we could actually see when our identity and self-belief forms in the brain and that this pathway is strengthened with daily practice (whether it's through meditation, a sport, or practicing an academic skill) that we learned from Dr. John Dunlosky's work all the way back to EPISODE #37[vi]. We covered “The Neuroscience of Belief” on EPISODE #173[vii] where we looked at cognitive bias, and challenging our beliefs which is important especially when we follow the most current brain research. I just learned yesterday that something I once believed, is no longer true as new research has already debunked it, and found there is a more effective way. On episode #159[viii], we looked at “The Power of Surprise” and how our brain secretly changes our beliefs, and then EPISODE #146[ix] with Howard Rankin, taught us “How NOT to Think.” The goal of this episode is not to change your mind, or challenge you to believe what I believe, (that an understanding of how our brain works can lead us all to increased productivity and results) but my goal is to show all of us that hearing those words “you are wrong” can actually lead to innovation, like Sir Ken told us, and to keep an open mind as we are learning. Especially as we move ahead with our interview with Dr. Finn next week, where we will see how the most current research leads to innovation, when we are ready to make change, without the fear of failure, or of being wrong. Just look at these examples and think about how “being wrong” could possibly move us forward, to uncover a new way. Right or Wrong? You Tell Me… If you are in the field of education, you'll likely be aware of the reading wars,[x] where one camp believes in teaching phonics versus the whole word, and each camp firmly believes in their methodology. I know I could create a presentation for a group of educators and show how an understanding of the science of reading could make you lean towards having more belief in the need to break words down as we are learning them, (and teach the skill of reading with the brain in mind) but this still might not convince a die-hard fan whose taught reading a certain way their entire career. Is there a right or wrong? Just keep an open mind and see if there could possibly be another way to teach a child to read—with the brain in mind. Like the reading wars, I learned about the “therapy and coaching wars” yesterday, where brain scans that began in the late 1990s now reveal that some of the practices that exist in traditional coaching and therapy are not effective,[xi] as they are not evidence-based. John Norcross, American professor, board-certified clinical psychologist and author in psychotherapy, behavior change and self-help has spent the past 15 years researching what works in psychotherapy, that can be applied to coaching/therapy as well. You can read the links in the show notes of what Dr. Norcross has discovered doesn't work in therapy or coaching, but I want to focus on one particular finding that he mentioned DOES work and that's when the client, or student is “self-initiating, self-motivated, and self-aware—with the ability to self-heal.”[xii] Which brings me back to our EPISODE with Greg Link where he talked about the “secret sauce” of Dr. Covey's success with the 7 Habits book, and he mentioned that the secret to their success came from the fact that people who attended Dr. Covey's events were “self-initiating” or they chose to be there. When they were not forced to attend his events, but chose from their own free will, they participated in an entirely different way than if they were told they had to attend. This is what Dr. Norcross noticed made psychotherapy work, and what Dr. Covey also noticed led to personal change with the 7 Habits. There does appear to be a neuroscience to change, and it has to do with “leaning in” to what you what to learn or accomplish. If you are listening to this podcast, you are also “leaning in” and open to change with the ideas that you are learning. This is how change occurs, one person at a time. Change in the Classroom: Scroll through our episodes and see if there are certain ones that stand out to you as interesting, and listen to those ones to generate new ideas for change and innovation in your school or classroom. I can't list all of them, but do highly recommend EPISODE #56[xiii] with Dr. Lori Desautels on her book “Connections Over Compliance” that rewires our perceptions for discipline in our schools, Greg Wolcott's EPISODE #64[xiv] on “Making Connections with Neuroscience and SEL,” EPISODE #78[xv] with Dr. David A. Sousa on “How the Brain Learns” and EPISODE #111[xvi] with resiliency expert Horacio Sanchez on “Finding Solutions to the Poverty Problem.”   Change in the Sports World: If you work with athletes, don't miss EPISODE #38[xvii] where we connected the daily grind required for success in the sports world to Dr. John Dunlosky's research of the importance of spaced repetition, or EPISODE #116[xviii] and #121[xix] where we saw how exercise impacts academic achievement, #134[xx] on wearable devices that measure and track sleep, strain and recovery, #163[xxi] on reading the emotions in others, and #166[xxii] on accelerating leadership for success in sports and the classroom.  Episode #168[xxiii] with Dr. Bruce Perry and Steve Graner uncovers the importance of teaching and coaching with the brain in mind. As we prepare for our episode with Dr. Finn next week, on “Fine-Tuning Your Brain to Supercharge How You Live, Work and Lead” and think of new ways to inspire creativity and innovation in our workplaces, without being afraid to make mistakes like Sir Ken reminded us, we will dive deep into the science behind habit building.  We will look closely at why some traditional approaches to being our best are outdated and ineffective, with an understanding of cutting edge science to better build our habits, to create higher levels of success in our future. And like Dr. Norcross pointed out, whatever we are learning today, might change in 30 years as new science is revealed…but that shouldn't stop us from looking at change through the lens of neuroscience, with the hope that what we can learn can take us to new heights in the meantime. I hope you enjoy reviewing some of our past episodes, or ones that you find interesting to your field of work, and I'll look forward to seeing you next week with Dr. Finn that I know will take us ALL to new levels of awareness. See you then! REFERENCES: [i] Sir Ken Robinson TED 2006 “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”  https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en [ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #207 with Greg Link on “Unleashing Greatness with Neuroscience, Trust and the 7 Habits” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/co-founder-of-coveylink-greg-link-on-unleashing-greatness-with-neuroscience-sel-trust-and-the-7-habits/ [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #208 with Blaine Oelkers on “Mastering Your Thoughts, Goals and Life with the WYTAYBA Strategy: What You Think About You Bring About” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/blaine-oelkers-on-mastering-your-thoughts-goals-and-life-with-the-wytaba-strategy-what-you-think-about-you-bring-about/ [iv] Dr. Jon Finn The Habit Mechanic https://www.tougherminds.co.uk/habit-mechanic-overview/ [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #199 on “The Neuroscience of Self-Belief and Our Identity” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-behind-self-belief-and-our-identity/ [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #37 with Dr. John Dunlosky on “Improving Student Success”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kent-states-dr-john-dunlosky-on-improving-student-success-some-principles-from-cognitive-science/ [vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #193 on “The Neuroscience of Belief” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-belief/ [viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #159 on “The Power of Surprise: How Your Brain Secretly Changes Your Beliefs” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-michael-rousell-on-the-power-of-surprise-how-your-brain-secretly-changes-your-beliefs/ [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #146 with Dr. Howard Rankin on “How Not to Think” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expert-in-psychology-cognitive-neuroscience-and-neurotechnology-howard-rankin-phd-on-how-not-to-think/ [x] The Reading Wars: Phonics vs Whole Word Published on YouTube August 18, 2020  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7UZP3irJ3I [xi] Dr. John Norcross on What Does Not Work in Psychotherapy https://www.psychalive.org/dr-john-norcross-work-psychotherapy/ [xii] Psychotherapy Relationships That Work: Volume 2, Norcross & Wampold https://www.oxfordclinicalpsych.com/view/10.1093/med-psych/9780190843953.001.0001/med-9780190843953 [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #56 with Dr. Lori Desautels on her book “Connections Over Compliance” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/educational-neuroscience-pioneer-dr-lori-desautels-on-her-new-book-about-connections-over-compliance-rewiring-our-perceptions-of-discipline/ [xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #64 with Greg Wolcott on “Making Connections with Neuroscience and SEL” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-superintendent-greg-wolcott-on-making-connections-with-neuroscience-and-sel/ [xv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #78 with David A. Sousa on “How the Brain Learns” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/award-winning-author-david-a-sousa-on-how-the-brain-learns/ [xvi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #111 with Horacio Sanchez on “Finding Solutions to the Poverty Problem” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/resiliency-expert-and-author-horacio-sanchez-on-finding-solutions-to-the-poverty-problem/ [xvii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #38 with Todd Woodcroft on “The Daily Grind in the NHL” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-coach-to-the-winnipeg-jets-todd-woodcroft-on-the-daily-grind-in-the-nhl/ [xviii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #116 with Dr. John Ratey on “SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/ [xix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #121 with Paul Zientarski on “Transforming Students Using Physical Education and Neuroscience” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/naperville-central-high-schools-paul-zeintarski-on-transforming-students-using-physical-education-and-neuroscience/ [xx] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #134 with Kristen Holmes from Whoop.com on “Unlocking a Better You: Measuring Sleep, Recovery and Strain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ [xxi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #163 with Dan Hill on “How to Read the Emotions in Others” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dan-hill-phd-the-faces-guy-on-how-to-read-the-emotions-in-others-for-schools-sports-and-the-workplace/ [xxii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #166 with Chris Gargano on “Accelerating Leadership for Maximum Results” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/vice-president-executive-producer-of-the-new-york-jets-chris-gargano-on-accelerating-leadership-for-maximum-impact-and-results/ [xxiii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #168 with Dr. Bruce Perry and Steve Graner on “What Happened to You” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-bruce-perry-and-steve-graner-from-the-neurosequential-network-on-what-we-should-all-know-about-what-happened-to-you/  

This is Season 3, Episode 7 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Horacio Sanchez. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience for Delaware teachers and leaders. Don't miss what Horacio says about overcoming the impact of poverty in schools, specifically what teachers and leaders can do to build an environment that promotes resiliency. _______________________________________ Horacio Sanchez Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners Horacio Sanchez is a highly sought-after speaker and educational consultant, helping schools learn to apply neuroscience to improve educational outcomes. He presents on diverse topics such as overcoming the impact of poverty, improving school climate, engaging in brain-based instruction, and addressing issues related to implicit bias. He is recognized as one of the nation's leading authorities on resiliency and applied brain science. Horacio has been a teacher, administrator, clinician, mental health director, and consultant to school districts across the United States. Horacio sits on the True Health Initiative Council of Directors, a coalition of more than 250 world-renowned health experts, committed to educating on proven principles of lifestyle as medicine. He is the author of the best-selling book, The Education Revolution, which applies brain science to improve instruction, behaviors, and school climate. His new book, The Poverty Problem, explains how education can promote resilience and counter poverty's impact on brain development and functioning. ___________________________________________________ Show Notes from FocusED with Horacio Sanchez Horacio talks about the connection between what we know about the brain and how poverty impacts the functioning of the brain, including memorization and learning. Horacio wastes no time jumping into the practical use of evidence-based strategies. Maximizing sensory inputs during learning leads to better retention. Daily music practice and repetition in older students can increase their brain function. We have to incorporate movement in our lessons. It's one of the most powerful sensory inputs that we can group together with the content of the lesson. When we teach teachers how to teach using brain research, we must model the practices, not just talk about them. Truly believing that you have a competency is a protective factor. The only academic protective factor is reading. Schools need to design the environment with every protective factor possible, like getting along with others. Students from poverty observe negative queuing more than positive queuing. Teachers need to be more intentional with positive queuing. Try to make every aspect of the school experiential, even lunch. Sanchez mentions the need to read research, not just books. Empathy is the foundation for… Horacio suggests more unplugging and single-task activities. Horacio plans to write a book called, The neuroscience of Leadership. We can't wait for that one. __________________________________________________________ Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you'll get all of our content sent directly to your email. FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.

Horacio Sanchez is the President and CEO of Resiliency Inc., an agency leader in helping schools improve school climate, instruction, and discipline. Horacio is recognized as one of the nation's prominent experts on promoting student resiliency and applying brain science to improve school outcomes. The Maladaptive Council (Academy of Science) recognizes him as a leading authority on emotional disorders and resiliency. He is a highly sought-after speaker and has keynoted many national conferences.Horacio has been a teacher, administrator, clinician, mental health director, and consultant to the Department of Education in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and other states. His diverse education and background have helped him to merge research, science, and practice. Horacio sits on True Health Initiative Council of Directors, a coalition of more than 250 world-renowned health experts, committed to educating on proven principles of lifestyle as medicine. He has authored several articles and books on the topics of resiliency, closing the achievement gap, and applying neuroscience to improve educational practices and outcomes. He is the author of the best-selling book, The Education Revolution published by Corwin Press, which applies brain science to improve instruction, behaviors, and school climate. His new book is The Poverty Problem.https://resiliencyinc.com/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hownottothink)

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Career Focus Series on the Success InSight Podcast.The Career Focus Series supports individuals who are pursuing careers that tap into their skills and passions and introduces you to the entrepreneurs and organizations that are helping to make that dream a reality.Our guest today is Dr. Horacio Sanchez. Dr. Sanchez is a Lean Six Sigma Black-Belt, Supply Chain Specialist, Architect, Author, Researcher, and Coach. I met Horatio on LinkedIn after we published a Career Focus episode with Dave Alexander this past October.Horacio has authored a number of books, including:Supply Chain in the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Industry (EPC): A Case Study (Nov 2019)Architecture for Kids (July 2017)Architecture for Kids 2 (Dec 2019)Architecture for Kids 3: Color in Architecture (Jan 2021)To learn more about Architecture for Kids, you can visit their website at  https://www.architectureforkids.net/To learn more about Horacio and his work, you can connect with him on LinkedIn, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/horaciosanchezsalinas/ Recommendations for Continuous DevelopmentThe Start With Why Series by Simon SinekStart with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take ActionLeaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don'tFind Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team Kim Kaupe - Founder at Bright Ideas Only, Keynote Speaker, LinkedIn Learning Instructor & Host of Coffee With Kim a LIVE Weekly Podcast Success InSight is a podcast production of Fox Coaching, Inc.

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for our very FIRST Panel Interview and EPISODE #177. Watch the interview on YouTube here. https://youtu.be/vIcdMG-a6Ag For those new, or returning guests, welcome! I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of you listening, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies that we can use to improve our own productivity in our schools, our sports, and workplace environments. This week, I'm thrilled to welcome back 4 guests to our very first panel interview, with Horacio Sanchez, from www.resiliencyinc.com, Dr. Jon Lieff, MD from www.jonlieffmd.com, Dr. Howard Rankin, PhD. from www.hownottothink.com, and Tom Beakbane, author of How to Understand Everything. Consilience: A New Way to See the World" This panel was actually Tom Beakbane's idea, after his EPISODE #144[i] this summer, he mentioned that he had listened to Dr. Lieff's episode on his book, The Secret Language of Cells, and thought it would be a good idea if we hosted a panel discussion in the near future. Not wanting to miss any opportunity to learn something new, I agreed, and wrote down the idea, thinking of late Fall for this panel discussion. When the time felt right, I emailed Horacio Sanchez, Jon Lieff, Howard Rankin and Tom Beakbane with the idea, and all agreed immediately, and it was set in stone. Today I want to welcome back all 4 speakers to our discussion, and will give their background, so you can see where they have come from, as you listen to their thoughts and ideas on this episode. The topic for today will be “What is the most significant insight from neuroscience that can transform the future of education” so as I read through each speaker's bio, you can think of how their experience can contribute to this topic, with some ideas that we can all take away and think about the action steps that we can bring to our schools or workplaces. I really do believe that these ideas can transform our results, and it just takes you, the listener, to implement one idea at a time, for this change to occur. Here's today's panelists. 1. Horacio Sanchez https://www.resiliencyinc.com/ We have had Horacio on the podcast twice before, so this will be his third episode. What I love about Horacio is that he was mentioned as an expert in educational neuroscience in our first interview with Ron Hall, from Valley Day School, who said what he learned from Horacio changed the trajectory of his career in education. I just remember putting an image of him in Ron Hall's video and thought for someone making such an impact in the field I'm most interested in; I should learn more about his work. And that's where my friendship with Horacio began. You can listen to both his episodes to learn more: EPISODE #74 we covered “How to Use Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate” with a focus on his book The Education Revolution, and on EPISODE #111 we focused on his most recent book “The Poverty Solution.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/resiliency-expert-and-author-horacio-sanchez-on-finding-solutions-to-the-poverty-problem/ https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/leading-brain-science-and-resiliency-expert-horatio-sanchez-on-how-to-apply-brain-science-to-improve-instruction-and-school-climate/ 2. Jon Lieff, MD  https://jonlieffmd.com/ Our next panelist, Dr.Jon Lieff, I was introduced to last summer, with his new book, The Secret Language of Cells that we discussed on EPISODE #143. His topic was fascinating and inspired me to write EPISODE #147 on “Improving Mental Clarity by Understanding our Brian States, Brain Fog, and How It's Created” and gave me a new understanding of how our cells communicate with each other, how T cells send messages to the neuron to stop making so many memory cells when we are stressed, creating brain fog and making me think of new ways to support brain health. I had lots of feedback from Dr. Lieff's interview that showed how it opened up many people's eyes to new ways to approach health and wellness. There was one point that I remember someone emailed me about—it was how they were shocked to learn that “scientists can observe immune cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that bathes and protects the entire brain. This fluid was thought to function only as protection for the brain when jostled. But now it is known to be a river of wireless communication, with signals coursing throughout the brain from all regions and all types of cells. It is now known that at most times there are 500,000 T cells in the CSF along with smaller numbers of other immune cells.” (Secret Language of Cells, Dr. Lieff, Page 35). If you think this might sound a bit advanced, it's really not, when we take the time to understand this. Just this weekend, I was at a wedding, with 2 of our friends who were getting married after meeting a few years back at the library while they were studying to become doctors. When the conversation at the wedding took a turn towards CSF and the brain, I smiled and remembered what I had learned from Dr. Lieff. We can all understand how our brain and body functions, so we can be in charge of our health and future. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jon-lieff-md-on-the-secret-language-of-cells-what-biological-conversations-tell-us-about-the-brain-body-connection/ 3. Howard Rankin, Ph.D. https://hownottothink.com/ Our third panelist, Dr. Rankin, appeared three times on the podcast, first, with his book, How Not to Think, and second when he interviewed me, and thirdly, with Grant Renier on their new book “Intuitive Rationality: predicting Future Events with the New Behavioral Direction of AI.” I immediately connected with Dr. Rankin, as he opened my eyes to cognitive bias, and ways that my thinking was flawed. I'm still not 100% sure how I'm supposed to think, but know that whatever it is I am thinking, it's probably wrong and full of biases, so I will keep learning, and hopefully with time and experience, will be all the more wiser. This will be Dr. Rankin's 4th appearance on this podcast, and I'm looking forward to the insight he will bring to the panel. I know he will share his understanding of how we shouldn't think—with our cognitive biases running our mental programming. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-howard-rankin-and-grant-renier-on-intuitive-rationality-predicting-future-events-with-the-new-behavioral-direction-of-ai/ https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expert-in-psychology-cognitive-neuroscience-and-neurotechnology-howard-rankin-phd-on-how-not-to-think/ 4. Tom Beakbane https://www.beakbane.com/ Tom Beakbane, our 4th panelist, and the one who came up with the idea for this episode, opened me up to the fact that I don't need to know everything and gave me a sense of freedom with these interviews. His book, “How to Understand Everything” stumped me, (and I admitted to not being sure what consilience was) in the first few minutes of our interview. While I think at the end of the interview, I had a new way of looking at the world, through this new lens of Consilience, which reveals how things self-organize from the bottom up, in contrast to how we think and communicate, which is top down. I'm certain that there's much more to learn from Tom and his way of looking at the world. I can't wait to see all four of our guests and see what they will say about how simple neuroscience can transform the future of education. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-and-marketer-tom-beakbane-on-how-to-understand-everything-consilience-a-new-way-to-look-at-the-world/ I want to welcome each of our guests to the podcast today: Horacio Sanchez, Dr. Jon Lieff, MD, Dr. Howard Rankin, Ph.D, and Tom Beakbane. Welcome! It's incredible to see you all again. Thanks for being here. INTRODUCTION: I want to thank all of you for coming back on the podcast, to keep the conversation going with your books, interviews, and the work you have been doing since we spoke last. I really do feel lucky to have this chance to speak with you again. At the end of each of your interviews, I wish I could stay on longer, asking more questions, but know that the learning will continue as we revisit your episodes, and re-read your books. I really do believe in life-long learning and am grateful for this platform to share your expertise with those who tune in, around the world.  So, thank you! Which brings us to the topic of discussion for today's episode that Tom Beakbane's idea. TOPIC: “What's gone wrong with our educational system and what's the most significant insight from neuroscience that can transform the future of education?” If I could begin with Horacio, whose work at www.resiliencyinc.com deals directly with educators and students in today's classrooms, to launch this discussion. Horacio, what do you think? Q1: What's gone wrong with our educational system? Horacio answers— What's gone wrong with our educational system? Dr. Lieff, Dr. Rankin, and Tom I'd love to hear your perspective as well. Q2: What's the most significant insight from neuroscience that can transform the future of education? I would like to begin with Dr. Lieff, because I am curious of his perspective from The Secret Language of Cells, and mental health, that is crucial for today's students AND teachers. Horacio, Dr. Rankin and Tom what's your perspective? I would like to know Horacio's perspective with what he sees working directly with students and teachers with brain science, what he thinks could transform the future of education. Howard and Tom, I would like to know your perspective on how our thinking can be taking us off course, and what can we do to get back on track and make an impact on our future generations. Q3: I'm a big dreamer and really do believe in dreaming big. It's usually what I say when I'm signing one of my books for someone because I believe in the possibilities in the world, and that each person has tremendous power within them to make a lasting impact on this world.  Let's imagine that we were given a grant for $100 million (and I choose that amount because 5 years ago I submitted an idea to the MacArthur Foundation's 100 and Change Grant Contest)[ii] and it involved budgeting $100 million for your idea. It was an incredible experience to even open up your mind to how you would distribute these funds to make a global impact on the future of education. I know where my idea fell short, but what would you say? What would be YOUR plan for $100 million if we were awarded this grant to use neuroscience to change the future of education? I would like to begin with Tom and then Dr. Rankin for their perspective on this. Then Horacio and Dr. Lieff? I want to thank you all for coming on our FIRST panel interview, so we can all continue to learn from you, and keep the conversation going as it relates to neuroscience making a change in our future generations. I hope that those listening can take away some ideas to think about and implement right away to make the changes that I know are possible. FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  REFERENCES: [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #144 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-and-marketer-tom-beakbane-on-how-to-understand-everything-consilience-a-new-way-to-look-at-the-world/ [ii] Andrea's Video Pitch for the MacArthur Foundation's 100 and Change Grant Published on YouTube October 2, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxSezrmHaVE

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for Brain Fact Friday and EPISODE #176 on “The Neuroscience of Communication: Why Our Brain Doesn't Like the Word No!” I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of you listening, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies that we can use to improve our own productivity in our schools, our sports, and workplace environments. We can achieve outstanding and predictable outcomes with whatever it is we are working towards, when we act intentionally, with our brain in mind. This week's Brain Fact Friday hit me this weekend when I was handed a book and asked what I thought of it. It was Jack Carew's You'll Never Get No for an Answer[i] with a copyright date of 1987! I looked at the cover of the book, and it was clearly written in the 1980s. The author was on the cover, dressed in a suit and pointing at you, the reader with the intention of making a connection. My gut reaction was far from what the author intended. I thought, “oh no, I can't see how there's anything relevant in this book, for today's workplace” feeling that sense of neural dissonance or conflict at the brain level, but if this book wasn't exceptional, I don't think large sales organizations would still be using it, around the world, over 3 decades after it was written. I usually read books through Kindle on my iPhone, so when I have a physical copy, I love to flip through and see what I notice from the pages. We all have our styles of what we are looking for, and I noticed the interior looked “old” and I thought old-school, when I saw that the print wasn't crisp or modern looking. And there weren't many testimonials, just a couple, but the one on the front cover stood out. It was by Og Mandino, American author of the best-selling book, The Greatest Salesman in the World.[ii] Og is the most widely read inspirational and self-help author in the world. He was the former president of Success Unlimited magazine, the first recipient of the Napoleon Hill Gold Medal for literary achievement, a member of the International Speakers Hall of Fame and honored with the Masters of Influence by the National Speakers Association. Og Mandino sadly passed away in 1996 but his books continue to inspire thousands of people all over the world. So if a pro like Og Mandino said this book was “one of the most powerful and helpful books on salesmanship” that he had ever read, my brain went directly to Confirmation Bias, and I thought I had better not judge a book by its cover, and read it right away! I was shocked to see how Jack's 10 strategies, written over 34 years ago, were timeless and relevant for anyone who wants to get their point across to someone else, not just those who are in sales. We all need to be able to persuade others whether it's coming to a consensus in your personal life, or in the workplace, there is a power behind being able to naturally influence someone, without the use of force, which we all know negates. As I was reading his book, I wondered how his strategies could be connected to simple neuroscience, just like The Neuroscience of Personal Change, EPISODE #68[iii] where we took Stephen Covey's 7 Habits book and connected each habit to brain science. I thought about the 10 unique strategies that Jack used to show us how to position ourselves to never receive that dreaded “no, I'm not interested” in whatever it is you are selling, or whatever idea you are trying to convey, and this thought inspired this week's brain fact Friday on “The Neuroscience of Communication: Why Our Brain Doesn't Like the Word No!” and with this I mean not just with the word no,  but looking at how the words you choose, and how exactly you say them can influence someone, or not.  I know Chris Gargano mentioned this in episode #166 when he was taking about leadership in the workplace. In a world where time is money, and most of us never have enough time, what we say really matters. In personal relationships, poor listening and speaking skills are major causes of disagreements and in the business world, can ruin an entire corporation. So for this week's Brain Fact Friday, we will look at Jack Carew's book through a neuroscientific lens, and I hope to prove that he was years ahead of his time with this book, that was written 24 years BEFORE the first fMRI scan machine was introduced, changing the world forever as we began to learn the power held within our brain[iv] with the words we say, and with how we say them. For this week's Brain Fact Friday: DID YOU KNOW: that “Words can heal, or hurt—if you were in an fMRI scanner (that can take a video of the neural changes happening in your brain) (and you were told a firm NO! for something) we could record, in less than a second, a substantial increase of activity in your amygdala and the release of dozens of stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters…that immediately interrupt the normal functioning of your brain, especially those that are involved with logic, reason, language processing, and communication. And the more you stay focused on negative words and thoughts, the more you can damage key structures that regulate your memory, feelings, and emotions. You may disrupt your sleep, your appetite, and the way your brain regulates happiness, longevity and health.”[v] If I were leading a sales training, using Jack Carew's book in 2021, I would open up the session with a section that shows how important it is that we understand how our words impact our brain—for our health, well-being and productivity as well as the importance of keeping communication quick and to the point for the sake of workplace effectiveness.  Twitter really does have it right when it has you limit your characters (spaces included) to 280 characters or less. If you have something to say, see if you can say it, in 10 words or less. This is an interesting activity to try, especially if you are the type that thinks you have to explain your point (like I've been guilty of).  Before saying anything, use your fingers and count out 10 words, and then stop. Can you convey your ideas in 10 words or less? It takes practice, but is a good practice to learn, when communicating with the brain in mind. “Extreme brevity keeps the emotional centers of the brain from sabotaging a conversation. Anger is averted before it begins…Neuroscience supports this premise…the moment a person expresses even the slightest degree of negativity, it increases negativity in both the speaker's and listener's brains. Instead of getting rid of the anger, we increase it, and this can, over time, cause irreparable damage, not only to the relationship, but to the brain as well…so any strategy that can teach a person to speak with clarity, brevity, calmness, kindness and sincerity will increase interpersonal stability in the workplace and at home.”[vi] I'm sure you are well aware that negative words can hurt our effectiveness and health as well as the flipside where positive words and images can “decrease depression and anxiety” (Words Can Change Your Brain, page 391) but I'm not suggesting to avoid difficult situations, or shrink during adversity, as they can build mental strength, and resilience, but they can also stop you in your tracks. Do you know how your brain responds to the word “no”, or anything negative at all? When difficult situations come up, do you lean towards them, looking for a solution, or back away? Or do you just completely zone out? Try this experiential activity to find out. You'll  actually have to do this activity to see what you notice, and each person, with a brain that's wired differently, will have a completely different experience. I remember doing this activity a few years ago, but it was one of those things you'll never forget. If you do try it, please do let me know the results of what was learned. Experiential Activity: Testing Your Mental Toughness You can try this with your class, or sales team, or in your workplace, but split everyone up into groups of 3. One person is the participant and the other 2 are either the negative chatter that surrounds them daily or the positive feedback. INSTRUCTIONS: Participant: listens and notices what they hear, while the negative person shouts out negative comments into their ear,(on one side)  and the positive person's job is to combat the negative feedback with positive feedback (in the other ear). Once everyone understands their role, you say go…and the positive and negative feedback people need to go right next to the participants ear and speak loudly with either negative things like “you're worthless, a total failure, you're not good at anything” over and over again, while the other person combats these phrases in the other ear with positives like “you're a Rockstar, everything you do turns to gold” something like that…and keep going giving enough time for the participant to notice what they hear.  Let this activity run for a good 2-3 minutes and then debrief. DEBRIEF THE ACTIVITY: ASK THE PARTICIPANT: What was more noticeable (louder, or easier to hear)—the positive or negative feedback? Could the participant get to the point where they didn't hear the negativity at all, showing their ability to block out the noise? Could they remember the negative phrases? Could they remember the positive phrases? What did the participant notice the most? Psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson, Ph.D. reminds us of the Negativity Bias where “the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones”[vii] so it will take practice to build our brain to be wired to hear the positives, and block out the negatives, improving our mental toughness. Each person is different and will have a different experience with this activity because our brains are all wired differently but the purpose is to see how our brain deals with negativity. Can we see past it, overcome it, or does it shut you down?  This is a really good experiential activity for self-awareness. It was at least 20 years ago when I did this for the first time, but I'll never forget my experience. In the beginning, I could hear the negative comments, and wasn't aware of the positives at all, until I shifted, and thought of what I was working on, and something in my brain blocked out all the negative comments, and although they were shouting in my ear, I could only hear the positive person, shouting encouragement for what I was working on. It's a good lesson for the mental strength needed to rewire our brain to pay attention to whatever it is we are working on and ignore everything else that doesn't support this goal. This understanding can take our focus to a new level. REVIEW and CONCLUSION: To close out this week's Brain Fact Friday, on “The Neuroscience of Communication” we are reminded of the importance of speaking with brevity, calmness and kindness, being mindful with the words we choose, and staying focused on our goals, by blocking out all the negative chatter and noise around us. Before writing this conclusion, I took a quick break on Instagram and saw a post from Assistant Professor at Butler University, Dr. Lori Desautels[viii], from EPISODE #16[ix] and EPISODE #56[x] and she had posted the image of her book How May I Serve You [xi] that was published 10 years ago. The cover caught my attention, as I was thinking of how our words impact our brain and what could I possibly say that would be impactful and memorable for us all to think about at the end of this episode. When I saw the image of  her book cover, I thought, this is it! A picture says a million words. I had no idea that her book cover, and original image, was created by Lena Reifinger at Indiana University and 10 years later, we are still looking and thinking about solutions to better serve our students or those we work for by improving our communication skills and being mindful that words really can change our brain. Leading me back to Jack Carew's 10 unique strategies that Og Mandino encouraged us all to read to improve our communication and influence with others. I've picked the first five, with some thoughts that tie back to past episodes on the podcast, and I'm sure you will agree with me, just how important these strategies are for us to think about whether we are in the classroom, or workplace. Og Mandino was right. These principles are timeless and relevant, 34 years later. Strategy 1: Take the Lead  It's your job to please those you serve and how you see yourself is critical. You decide how successful you will be. If you think self-defeating thoughts about yourself, your product/what you are selling, or how you are trying to influence others, it will come through. We covered Self-Awareness[xii] in one of our very first episodes, and it's important enough to have made it to one of Jack's TOP STRATEGIES. REMEMBER: With self-image (what you think about yourself and what you are selling) can be felt. When we connect with someone, it's called neural resonance in the brain, and when something conflicts, it's called cognitive dissonance. Take the lead with confidence and it will be noticed. Everyone loves a confident leader. Strategy 2: Stop Looking Out for Number One  Of course, it's natural for us to be self-interested, but to experience long term success, we must put others ahead of our own wants and needs.   You've got to know your customer or who you are serving, what's important to them, and what they want.  In the business world, we create avatars for our customers and it's important that everything we do is for them. It should be in the back of our head all of the time.  REMEMBER: What they (or those we serve) want is more important than anything, so we must align our solutions (or what we offer) to their needs (whatever they might be). Setting our own thoughts aside, we must uncover what it is that  those we serve want and need, and then solve it. Strategy 3: Invest in the Relationship  We covered “Building Relationships” with Greg Wolcott on EPISODE #7[xiii] and again on EPISODE #9[xiv]  and it's important to note that when we have taken the time to invest in relationships with those we serve, we can easily overcome those difficult challenges that will come our way. REMEMBER: Jack wrote “invest” in the relationship, as that investment is what it will take to overcome times of challenge or difficulty. A solid foundation must be built first and then anything is possible. Strategy 4: Bring Your Energy to the Customer  This is my favorite one of Jack's strategies because when you've got this one, anything is possible. I know you've seen it and felt it—that electric energy that shows up when you connect to someone at the brain level.  It's what will make you memorable and why I think you'll never get a no when you've got this level of connection with another person. I covered the valuable lesson I learned from the Legendary Bob Proctor on episode #66[xv] where Bob taught me about the importance of generating energy from within and reminded me to never show, or say that I'm tired, even when I was. This lesson stuck with me to this day and it's impossible to miss when you see it. REMEMBER: This strategy takes some work on your part. Through diet, exercise, and plenty of sleep, that we talk about on the Bonus Episode “A Deep Dive into the Top 5 Health Staples”[xvi] we will be able to operate at a higher level to make this connection with those we serve. When it's there, you'll notice a magic that makes work more enjoyable, less stressful and fun. Strategy 5: Get Organized  Organization shows up, whether it's in your home, how you keep your car, to your desk, and computer. It's something that can be noticed right away. I love Q4 or year end, as I have always joined my good friend Jim Bunch on his yearly calls where he walks us through a way to clean up our year and prepare to move into the next year. Listen to episode #103[xvii] for some ideas to close out this year, prepare for a new year, and get organized, with your brain in mind. REMEMBER: Getting organized sets you ahead of the game and creates order and space for the New Year for whatever it is that you want to create. Getting organized translates to getting ahead, and can transform your workplace, with significant advantages in sales, like knowing and planning where your sales will come from, having a solid pipeline, and setting the tone for the rest of the year, much like the sports team who gets that first point early in the game, there's a competitive advantage to this sense of organization that builds momentum. I'll let you read Jack's book for the other 5 strategies, but sure you can see how an understanding of our brain can improve our communication and influence, taking our results to greater heights. This closes out this week's Brain Fact Friday! Will see you next week with our first Panel Interview with Dr. Howard Rankin, Dr. Jon Lieff, Horacio Sanchez and Tom Beakbane  as well as with Dr. Brian Stenzler on the importance of mental health for our next generation. We also have a fascinating interview coming up with the CEO of Rewire, a human performance company that provides evidence-based solutions for tracking athlete readiness, building mental resilience, and improving mind/body recovery.  Wishing you a productive weekend, and see you next week. FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  REFERENCES: [i] You'll Never Get No for an Answer by Jack Carew Published in 1987 https://www.amazon.com/Youll-Never-Get-No-Answer/dp/0671736493 [ii] The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino Published  https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Salesman-World-Og-Mandino-ebook/dp/B004G8PIQ8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2J4RPTOZXEU0I&dchild=1&keywords=the+greatest+salesman+in+the+world+og+mandino&qid=1635795564&s=books&sprefix=the+greatest+sal%2Cstripbooks%2C137&sr=1-1 [iii]  Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #68 “The Neuroscience of Personal Change with Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-personal-change/ [iv] A History of fMRI https://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/history-fMRI [v] Words Can Change Your Brain by Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman, Published July 30, 2013 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=words+can+change+your+brain&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthCiCJCWZ-n3nMbmllmxcYj7pY9p3EGBjIT1liFGTzVVBlYWdxCBg6hoC3DMQAvD_BwE&hvadid=241598338504&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2910883915011355196&hvtargid=kwd-36327312367&hydadcr=15527_10340956&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_2ixec66yv3_e [vi] Words Can Change Your Brain by Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman, Published July 30, 2013 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=words+can+change+your+brain&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthCiCJCWZ-n3nMbmllmxcYj7pY9p3EGBjIT1liFGTzVVBlYWdxCBg6hoC3DMQAvD_BwE&hvadid=241598338504&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2910883915011355196&hvtargid=kwd-36327312367&hydadcr=15527_10340956&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_2ixec66yv3_e [vii] Take in the Good by Dr. Rick Hanson https://www.rickhanson.net/take-in-the-good/ [viii] www.Revelationsineducation.com   [ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #16 with Dr. Lori Desautels and Michael McKnight on “The Future of Educational Neuroscience in Our Schools”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/lori-desautels-and-michael-mcknight-on-the-future-of-educational-neuroscience-in-our-schools-and-communities/ [x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #56 with Dr. Lori Desautels on “Connections Over Compliance” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/educational-neuroscience-pioneer-dr-lori-desautels-on-her-new-book-about-connections-over-compliance-rewiring-our-perceptions-of-discipline/ [xi] How May I Serve You by Dr. Lori Desautels Published Feb. 7, 2012  https://www.amazon.com/How-May-Serve-Revelations-Education/dp/146995818X [xii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #2 on “Self-Awareness: Know Thyself” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/self-awareness-know-thyself/ [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #7 “Building Relationships in Today's Classrooms” with Greg Wolcott  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/greg-wolcott-on-building-relationships-in-todays-classrooms/ [xiv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #9 “Using Your Brain to Build and Sustain Effective Relationships” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-to-build-and-sustain-effective-relationships/ [xv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #66 “The Legendary Bob Proctor” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/   [xvi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE on “ A Deep Dive into the Top 5 Health Staples” and Review of Seasons 1-4  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/ Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #103 on “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain for Your Best Year Ever.[xvii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-leadership-3-ways-to-reset-recharge-and-refuel-your-brain-for-your-best-year-ever/

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for Brain Fact Friday and EPISODE #175 that was inspired by our recent interview with Dr. Francis Lee Stevens whose book that was just released this week on Amazon, Affective Neuroscience in Psychotherapy[i] that reminded us that we can accelerate our results, experience less stress and psychopathology (like depression and anxiety) when we can understand the emotional science (affect is the scientific word for emotion) that can be mapped and understood within the depths of the human brain.   To access the images in the show notes, click here.  There were many AHA Moments during our interview with psychologist Dr. Stevens this week, but with mental health at the forefront of this podcast, and the fact that we are now into the last quarter of 2021, I wanted to provide something that we could all use to give us clarity and focus to finish this year on a strong, high note.  When I thought about what Dr. Stevens taught us, and why an application of affective neuroscience could help patients with psychological disorders, I thought about that for a while and wondered how this week's Brain Fact Friday could bring us to a heightened sense of clarity, focus and direction that would give us a razor's edge advantage in our life, with whatever it is we are working on or moving towards, and set us up with the right footing for a solid Q1 in 2022. In Today's Brain Fact Friday, You Will Learn: ✔︎ Why a calm brain is important to achieve ANY level of success. ✔︎ Strategies to calm our brain/regulate ourselves before we can access the thinking/decision-making parts of our brain. ✔Why a calm, regulated brain, precedes mental clarity, needed for high performance. ✔︎ How to calm or regulate ourselves before we can access knowledge, well-being and high-performance. From Focus to Calmness Dr. Stevens taught us some great strategies that can help us to understand our emotions, and even reconsolidate past traumatic memories, but there was something I knew I was missing that comes before we can access those higher, thinking parts of the brain that we need when thinking or making decisions. Today's topic is not just about how we can use the understanding of our brain to focus, so we can accomplish more, Friederike Fabritius dove deep into the neuroscience behind the focused brain on episode #27.[ii] She reminded us of the recipe needed for achieving peak performance as a mix of fun, and fear along with focus”[iii]  but that's not where I wanted to go with this episode. Then I saw it and it was as clear as ice as I thought about some of our past speakers. I mentioned to Dr. Stevens that in order to apply any of the lessons he uses with his patients for accelerated results, and improved well-being, we had to get to a place of calmness, where we could step back from the busyness of our world and allow our thinking brain (or our Central Executive Network) to come back online. We have to be able to switch from our Thinking (Central Executive) Network to our Imagination (Default Mode Network) for this calmness to occur. I did talk about the importance of switching between our brain networks to allow for these flashes of creativity and insight to flow in episode #48 which is a good episode to review.[iv] For this week's brain fact Friday, I want to add a sense of calmness behind our clarity to push us forward. I remember my mentor Bob Proctor always saying to accelerate your results you need to “Speed Up and Calm Down” and he would give us examples of how he stayed focused by saying no to what's unimportant and direct 100% of his energy and focus to what is. If you want to accelerate your results, it begins with a calm brain, that's focused and ready for speed.   From Calmness to Clarity Then we can take this calmness and laser focus to clarity. Clarity is one of the six habits that Brendon Burchard found that research shows pointed the needle towards high-performance vs those who underperform in his book, High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way[v]  and it's something I think about every morning before I begin my day. Then I thought of you, the listener, wherever you might be in the world. Maybe you are like Bryon Carpenter[vi] from the Fresh Air at Five Podcast[vii] who listens to our episodes in the dark, in the fresh air, while exercising on his morning walks in beautiful Abbotsford, British Columbia and then posts what he learns from the episode on Twitter, along with Josh Tovar[viii], from El Paso, Texas, who does the same.  Or Leadership Coach Tivo Rojas-Cheatham[ix] who listens to the episodes and sends me his thoughts, ideas, and encouragement through LinkedIn. I can't forget about Chris Gargano, from the New York Jets Organization, who listens to the podcast for ideas for his Leadership Class at NYU. Wherever you are listening from, my hopes are that this episode opens you up to all of the possibilities that come from a calm mind, providing clarity, an improved sense of self, maybe ideas for where else you can improve, with a longer-term vision of whatever it is that you are working on, or the legacy that you want to leave in this world. It all begins at the brain level. So, for this week's Brain Fact Friday: I want to remind us of the importance of a calm brain. Dr. Perry's NeuroSequential Theory is centered around the fact that we must learn to regulate ourselves first, before we can regulate others. There is power in calmness as you can see with Dr. Perry's image that shows how “A regulated, calm adult can regulate a dysregulated, anxious child.” Think back to Dr. Perry's upside-down triangle of the brain, where we had to learn to regulate (or calm ourselves down) first, before we could access our thinking or reasoning brain, and remember that in order to regulate our brain, we must go from the reptilian brain, though the limbic or emotional brain, to get to the thinking/decision-making brain with the image of The Three Brains I've put in the show notes. I saw a book written called Calm Clarity: How to Use Science to Rewire Your Brain for Greater Wisdom, Fulfillment and Joy[x] where the author explains her journey through each of these parts of the brain, calling them Brain 1.0 (Brainstem) to Brain 2.0 (Limbic Emotional Brain) to Brain 3.0 (Thinking/Reasoning Brain).   She created the Calm Clarity Program[xi]  where she teaches participants how to reach the wisdom within Brain 3.0 with what she calls a “Mind-Hacker” toolkit to help people in a way that “physiologically supports greater physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being, alignment and integration.” (Preface, Calm Clarity-Due Quach) Only then can we take what we learned from Dr. Stevens about the importance of understanding our emotions to reduce those things in our life that cause us increased stress and anxiety and access the clarity we will need to end our year as a high performer. As we are closing out 2021, why not kick things up a notch and see how we can increase our calmness, focus and clarity, to end the year on a high note. It will make life easier when 2022 rolls around as you will have a head start. Two Thoughts for Improving Focus and Clarity Improving Focus and Clarity Through Our Physical Well-Being What areas can you work on to increase your physical well-being that will in turn give you more focus, clarity and energy? We have covered the top 5 health staples[xii] and talk often of the importance of clean eating, exercise, nutrition and sleep, and will continue to research new areas that tip the needle forward for high performance, but it seems to always come back to these basic staples as well as continuing to find ways to improve our mental health. Improving Focus and Clarity Through Our Mental Well-Being  If I was to ask you the following questions, could you give me a quick and accurate answer? Do you know what you want, and where you are going? Do you know your daily direction? Do you integrate your wins every week? Do you face things that you are afraid of or do something that makes you uncomfortable daily? Do you feel your emotions instead of shutting them off? I know there's a lot involved with these two questions, but if we could look at what we can do every day to improve these two areas so that we are better than we were yesterday, we will be well on our way to heightened levels of focus and clarity to end our year intentionally and on a high note. But remember, it begins when we step back, take some deep breaths from our work, and access whatever it is for us that brings us a sense of peace and calmness in our thinking brain. I hope you have found this week's Brain Fact Friday as helpful as I have—and that we can all take some time to live and experience this sense of calmness that must come before we can break through to new levels of achievement. I'll see you next week, and the following week, I'm beyond excited for our FIRST Panel Interview and welcoming back Dr. Howard Rankin, Dr. Jon Lieff, Horacio Sanchez and Tom Beakbane who will discuss how new advancements in neuroscience can help and advance our educational system. We will also be speaking with my good friend Brian Stenzler[xiii], with his NEW book that helps parents address mental health with their children as we continue to search for new ideas and strategies to keep our next generation stay physically and mentally well. Final Thoughts:  Before I close out this episode, I wanted to mention it's hard to not notice the feedback from those listening around the world and the fact that our downloads have reached an all-time high, surpassing where we were last month, with over 11,000 downloads monthly. I want to thank all of you who tune in, and download an episode, share what you are learning on social media and send me messages.   As new listeners come on board, I wanted to let you know that we do have a community that you can join and gain access to others around the world who are also listening, learning, and applying what they are learning. To join us, click on the link in the show notes, so that we can all stay connected in the Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group and continue to learn from each other in between episodes. I do look forward to seeing you there. Have an incredible weekend. Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group  FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  REFERENCES: [i] https://www.drfrancisstevens.com/book [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #27 with Friederike Fabritius on “The Recipe for Achieving Peak Performace”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneer-in-the-field-of-neuroleadership-friederike-fabritius-on-the-recipe-for-achieving-peak-performance/ [iii] Friederike Fabritius: "Fun, Fear, and Focus: The Neurochemical Recipe for Achieving Peak Performance" | Talks at Google Published Jan.15, 2019  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWi-oCySuFA [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #48 “Brain Network Theory” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-network-theory-using-neuroscience-to-stay-productive-during-times-of-change-and-chaos/ [v] https://brendon.com/blog/high-performancehabits/ [vi] www.BryonCarpenter.com    [vii] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fresh-air-at-five/id1547552441 [viii] https://twitter.com/MPA_GOJAGUARS [ix] https://www.linkedin.com/in/tivorc/ [x] Calm Clarity: How to Use Science to Rewire Your Brain by Due Quach Published May 15, 2018 https://www.amazon.com/Calm-Clarity-Science-Greater-Fulfillment-ebook/dp/B074YLY11S/ref=sr_1_1?crid=353KXYF7OXIIB&dchild=1&keywords=calm+clarity&qid=1635443224&s=digital-text&sprefix=calm+clar%2Cdigital-text%2C138&sr=1-1 [xi] https://www.calmclarity.org/ [xii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE “Top 5 Health Staples” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/ [xiii] Brian Stenzler on San Diego's Morning Extra News https://www.cbs8.com/video/news/local/morning-extra/new-book-aims-to-help-parents-with-teens-address-their-kids-mental-health/509-00b0fbc9-a0fb-491f-97e7-34405db70377?jwsource=cl&fbclid=IwAR1hEoasamvrDVPixPzdLbFyggPpwfRX4kh19odkvuSr88YyIIVYt_RqDbs

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #172 with a veteran principal from New Jersey, USA, who has actively been writing about highly relevant solutions to problems in educational leadership since 2018, Michael Gaskell.  Michael's second book, Leading Schools Through Trauma[i], was just published this September, and his first book, Microstrategy Magic[ii], last fall. Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/V7sJTeFi-1c Learn more about Dr. Gaskell here https://www.facebook.com/Mikesmicrominute/  See past Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Episodes here https://www.achieveit360.com/episodes/  On Today's Episode You Will Learn: ✔︎  Why we must NEVER give up on a struggling student. ✔︎  What we should ALL know about being trauma-informed in today's schools. ✔︎ What Dr. Gaskell's 3-STEP Process says about the importance of educator well-being. ✔︎ How to recognize trauma, and next steps for working with our students in the classroom. ✔︎ The Pygmalion Effect and why our belief in our students matters. ✔︎ What Dr. Gaskell would say to a new, first year teacher, who is struggling in the classroom. ✔︎ Putting Together a Trauma-Informed Plan in your school. ✔︎ The importance of surveys for Teacher Training and Implementation. ✔︎ Actionable Ideas That You Can Implement Immediately. I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of our listeners, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies that we can use to improve our own productivity in our schools, our sports, and workplace environments. My vision is to bring the experts to you, share their books, resources, and ideas to help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom or online, a student, or in the corporate environment. When I first began presenting on the topic of stress, learning and the brain in 2016, in those early days of learning about how the brain works and responds to stress, I started to receive messages from teachers around the country (and the world) with questions about how to handle students suffering from the damaging effects of trauma. Educators would attend the webinar presentations I was offering, and their emails requesting help at the end of these presentations were urgent. Since starting this work, I have always replied personally to every single email that comes in, but the ones about trauma I know I didn't have the best answers for, and I remember not knowing exactly how to answer these questions. I only knew from my viewpoint or experience working with behavioral students in my first-year teaching what worked for me back then, but I definitely lacked the strategies that are needed more than ever in our schools today, and understand now why being trauma-informed is so important. I'm grateful that this podcast has not only given us a platform to what's new and relevant, timely and important as it relates to educational neuroscience and leadership, but where else would we all gain access to the leaders around the world, working directly with the most innovative ideas in educational reform, productivity, and results. I want to thank you again, for all who tune in, and offer interview ideas and suggestions. The reach goes beyond those early days when we would host those webinars, now into over 154 countries, and we remain in the TOP 100 charts for iTunes in the category of education/how-to) in many of these countries around the world. This is only the beginning of our vision for this work so we can answer the questions that I know we all have, with the leading experts in this field. Which brings us to our next guest, Michael Gaskell, who has a unique story, because he's not only writing from his experience working in schools, and offering trauma-informed solutions from what he has seen working in his day to day world,  but Michael takes it a step deeper, BEING a former student who was labelled himself as “anxious, low-performing, hostile and other terms that pointed to the characteristics of trauma.” (xi, Leading Schools Through Trauma). We spoke in episode #170 with John Harmon[iii] just how important belief was for students learning their academics, (like math) and for someone who failed math not once, but twice in high school, this belief was not there. Something helped Michael to overcome his early academic challenges,  helping him to reach levels that most educators envision in their mind, but few attain—when he was presented with his dissertation for his educational doctorate. Let's meet Dr. Michael Gaskell and learn from his vast experience about how to be trauma-informed in today's schools. Welcome Dr. Gaskell, I really enjoyed getting to know you through email before this interview and know that we are all just one person away from knowing someone in this small world with you being from the town where my husband grew up in New Jersey. So good to meet you in this very small world. INTRO Q: Dr. Gaskell, the story you tell at the beginning of your most recent book about your personal experience of struggle that many children are dealing with today, especially the past few years. What was it, do you think, that made a difference for you? Was there something that sticks out in your mind as a turning point where you did something, anything different, putting you on a new trajectory? You mention maybe accidental fortune, but was there anything that you think helped you to make a shift? The shift we know our students are capable of, but they just don't know how? INTRODUCTION TO TRAUMA: Q1: Since many of us who were trained to work in today's classroom were not trained in the importance of understanding simple neuroscience, many of us also don't have a background in abnormal psychology, yet alone trauma. I like how you have taken the important research, and tied it into your book, right from the beginning with the study from Werner and Smith (2001) where they tracked individuals from childhood to middle age demonstrating how they responded to trauma in their life, and the finding that stuck out to be important was that among the high risk group (who we would expect to have challenges later in life) about “1/3 of the high-risk individuals displayed resilience and beat the odds.” (Page 2) We talked in depth with Horacio Sanchez about protective factors in episode #74[iv] but what do you think would be something we should all know about, if we have a student who appears to be going nowhere, what would you tell the teachers you are working with about the importance of understanding these protective factors to make an impact that we might not see right away? 1B) What change can really be expected in a year? Q2: What is different with your 3-step approach than some of the earlier books written to help save our students, like Ross Green's Lost at School[v] where they look they say that “kids with social, emotional, and behavior challenges lack important thinking skills” (Page 329 Lost at School) or Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilar[vi] that I think builds the character of an educator from the inside out, beginning with “self-awareness, knowing your emotions, social identities, core values and personality” ((page 816) to help you to see your purpose in life, or why you get out of bed every day. What comes first, the student's well-being, or the educators' well-being? RECOGNIZING TRAUMA: Q3: In the training I'm receiving now, we just covered some sessions to help us to understand how trauma impacts people in different ways and that strategies that might help one student, might push another's buttons and set them off. Where do we even begin to be “trauma-informed” in today's classrooms? Q3B) How do you assess a student's progress? Q4: I know how important our mindset is, or what we believe about those we are teaching, or coaching, but you have a study that backs this up with science. Can you explain the Pygmalion effect, and why what we think about our students matters so much? TREATING THE TRAUMA: RESOURCES/TOOLS/TEACHER SENSITIVITY: Q4B) I think back to my first year of teaching, with an assignment of 30 behavioral students, and not know how to control them (without any training in behavior management, and Dr. Bruce Perry hadn't released his Tree of Regulation where we learn that we need to be regulated ourselves, before we can regulate our students, but if I came to you after school and told you that my class was “out of control” what kind of plan would you put in place to  help me as a new or experienced teacher to recognize what's behind the behavior and help me to better connect with these students? Q5) What should we keep in mind when teaching children who've been exposed to trauma? Q6) Can you tell me about the “I Am More Than That Program?” I have seen similar programs within education, but reading it in the book, was different, especially when it comes from a student, uncovering their identity, increasing their self-awareness. Can you explain this progam, and why it's important for all of us to know who we are, to our very core? Q7) How can curiosity be used as a success tool in a school? IMPLEMENTATION and TRAINING: Q8) In a world that's forever changing, it's crucial to not overlook trauma like you identify at the macro level (everything we all went through during the Pandemic) to micro (like the unexpected death of a family member). How do you use surveys to identify your faculties concerns, while also giving them a voice for what training they will be receiving? Q9) How are you using EdCamps for your faculty meetings? ACTIONABLE IDEAS TO IMPLEMENT RIGHT NOW! Q10) What are some important takeaways that we can use right away? John Gottman's research/other ideas? Michael, I want to thank you very much for taking this deep dive with me into your most recent book, Leading Schools Through Trauma. For those who want to get a copy to further explore the tools, resources and ideas that we haven't had time to discuss, I will put a link in the show notes. Are there any other places people can follow you? FOLLOW MICHAEL GASKELL, EdD Neuroscience and the Brain Conference coming this NOVEMBER https://www.learningandthebrain.com/education-speakers/Michael-Gaskell https://twitter.com/GaskellMgaskell https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gaskell-922711100/ https://www.facebook.com/Mikesmicrominute/ www.mikesmicrominute.com FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  RESOURCES: Anxiety vs Relaxation: Relabeling Anxiety as Excitement by Svetlana Whitener April 7, 2021 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2021/04/07/anxiety-vs-relaxationrelabeling-anxiety-as-excitement/?sh=4cd2f56d7afd https://educationpost.org/network/michael-gaskell/  REFERENCES: [i] Leading Schools Through Trauma, by Michael Gaskell, Published September 15, 2021 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0367755629/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_glt_fabc_F6D3RBYCYKP8F9QW5JPW_nodl#immersive-view_1628594830538 [ii] Microstrategy Magic by Dr. Michael Gaskell Sept.23, 2020 https://www.amazon.com/Microstrategy-Magic-Confronting-Classroom-Challenges/dp/1475855311 [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #170 with John Harmon on “Our Brain and Mind Under Pressure” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/cognitive-neuroscience-researcher-john-harmon-on-our-brain-and-mind-under-pressure/ [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #74 with Horacio Sanchez on “How to Apply Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/leading-brain-science-and-resiliency-expert-horatio-sanchez-on-how-to-apply-brain-science-to-improve-instruction-and-school-climate/ [v] Lost at School by Ross W Greene, Ph.D. Published October 14, 2008  https://www.amazon.com/Lost-School-Behavioral-Challenges-Falling-ebook/dp/B001FA0IN8 [vi]Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilar Published May 8, 2018  https://www.amazon.com/Onward-Cultivating-Emotional-Resilience-Educators/dp/1119364892

Dr. Horacio Sanchez brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to this deep dive into the effects of poverty on learning. Covering language development, empathy, behavior, and bias, this wide-ranging episode will center on what school leaders need to know to support students from impoverished situations.Dr. Sanchez is the author of The Poverty Problem: How Education Can Promote Resilience and Counter Poverty's Impact on Brain Development and Functioning.

What's the urgent and yet preventable crisis in America? It's poverty! The discussion about the maturation of the prefrontal cortex, down-regulation of amygdala as well as the flourishing of Executive Function skills throughout childhood is incomplete when according to the Children's Defense Fund one in six children in United States live in poverty. The impact of poverty is deep and wide taking not only a biological, psychological, and social toll on children but also on the nation's GDP in lost productivity, diminished health outcomes, and even elevated crime rates. On this episode, the nation's leading authority on resiliency and applied brain science,  educational consultant, and author of many books including The Poverty Problem, Horacio Sanchez discusses how building resiliency in children must include assisting them to form meaningful connections and build close relationships. By supporting kids during  critical times, we can activate the protective factors and strengthen their Executive Function in spite of the vast array of negative experiences of economic and other hardships.About Horacio SanchezHoracio Sanchez is a highly sought-after speaker and educational consultant, helping schools learn to apply neuroscience to improve educational outcomes.  He presents on diverse topics such as overcoming the impact of poverty, improving school climate, engaging in brain-based instruction, and addressing issues related to implicit bias. He is recognized as one of the nation's leading authorities on resiliency and applied brain science.Horacio has been a teacher, administrator, clinician, mental health director, and consultant to school districts across the United States. Horacio sits on the True Health Initiative Council of Directors, a coalition of more than 250 world-renowned health experts, committed to educating on proven principles of lifestyle as medicine. He is the author of the best-selling book, The Education Revolution, which applies brain science to improve instruction, behaviors, and school climate.  His new book, The Poverty Problem, explains how education can promote resilience and counter poverty's impact on brain development and functioning.Website:https://www.resiliencyinc.comBooks: The Poverty ProblemThe Education RevolutionHelpful Articles:Poverty's Impact on Reading https://corwin-connect.com/2021/01/povertys-impact-on-reading/Do Students Really Learn From Failure https://corwin-connect.com/2017/09/students-really-learn-failures/About Host, Sucheta KamathSucheta Kamath, is an award-winning speech-language pathologist, a TEDx speaker, a celebrated community leader, and the founder and CEO of ExQ®. As an EdTech entrepreneur, Sucheta has designed ExQ's personalized digital learning curriculum/tool that empowers middle and high school students to develop self-awareness and strategic thinking skills through the mastery of Executive Function and social-emotional competence.Support the show (https://mailchi.mp/7c848462e96f/full-prefrontal-sign-up)

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for episode #155 with Adam Tyner from the Thomas Fordham Institute[i] (an organization that promotes educational excellence for every child in America via quality research, analysis, and commentary) on his newly released report How to Sell SEL: Parents and the Politics of Social and Emotional Learning. Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/BWe04ByXOpk Access the Online Report here https://sel.fordhaminstitute.org/ Access past episodes here https://www.achieveit360.com/episodes/  On this episode, you will learn: The TOP 5 Findings from Adam Tyner's NEW REPORT "Parents and the Politics of Social-Emotional Learning"   I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of our listeners, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies in our schools, sports, and workplace environments with ideas that we can all use, understand and implement immediately. We do this by covering the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace). Our podcast provides tools, resources and ideas for parents, teachers, and employees to improve well-being, achievement and productivity using simple neuroscience as it relates to our cognitive (the skills our brain uses to think, read, remember, pay attention), social and interpersonal relationships (with ourselves and others) and emotional learning (where we recognize and manage our emotions, demonstrate empathy and cope with frustration and stress). This past week, as I was researching and learning new ideas for upcoming episodes, I saw a notification come through my phone from Twitter that caught my attention. It was from Victoria McDougald, from the Fordham Institute in Washington DC and she let me know that they were about to release a new report that explores how parents view SEL and how they want it taught in schools. We have all seen how the mental-health challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have made it more urgent to better support students' social and emotional learning needs while also advancing their academic learning, so I put down what I was doing and wrote her back immediately. This topic is urgent, timely and important. Every day I see emails about trainings in our schools to support our students SEL needs and the challenges we have all faced are not going away, they are changing and persisting in a way I don't think any of us imagined. The challenge that I have seen from the very beginning of watching SEL being implemented in schools across the US (starting in 2014 with just 8 States to our present day where all 50 States have some sort of SEL implementation plan) is that educators saw the importance of SEL, but didn't know where to begin, they weren't sure which program to use, how to integrate the SEL competencies into the curriculum. Following many of the early SEL webinars, I noticed this was a common theme. This is why we launched The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast in June 2019 to gather ideas, strategies and best practices for those interested in learning more about this topic, with easy-to-understand implementation strategies and ideas for our schools and workplaces. The topics we cover on this podcast were going to be an Introduction to SEL Course with a well-known educational publisher, but when this direction changed, I decided to put this content out into the world, for free, to help support educators and those in the workplace. I had no idea that this podcast would gain a global following, going into 153 countries and approaching 100,000 downloads (over 8K downloads/month) as we noticed that educators and those in the workplace were looking for new ways to sharpen their saw—with these skills that are not new, but are newly important. If this is how educators were feeling as these skills were being implemented into our schools, or employees in their workplaces, I wondered what parents would be thinking and feeling? Does the everyday modern parent know what social and emotional skills are? Since launching the podcast, I have had constant feedback from people around the world how these topics are helping people, whether it's from Superintendents in our schools running their District, Principals running their school sites, teachers running their classrooms, or parents looking to find new ideas to inspire themselves at work, or with their own children. As you can see from the topics we cover, these skills (that we have tied the most current brain research) are not just about teaching our next generation to be responsible citizens, or to be respectful. There are 6 competencies that we focus on, based on the research from Casel.org[ii] and implementing these competencies is an important task not only for our students, but also for our teachers. I saw this emerge as a clear hot topic with my interview with Chey and Pav on their Staffroom Podcast[iii] (they are 2 phenomenal educators from Toronto who cover educational topics to improve our next generation of teachers/students) and it became clear that teachers can see the importance of modeling these skills in our classrooms of the future, integrating them into core subject areas, but what do parents think? That's what we will explore on today's episode. I looked closer at Victoria's message to me on Twitter, and she reminded me that “as we enter another pandemic year, the results of this first-of-its kind survey will help educators, policymakers and philanthropists gain stronger parental support and better help students navigate this exceptionally challenging time” and my response to her was “how soon can we speak?” The report, written Adam Tyner, and the Foreword and Executive Summary by Amber Northern and Michael J. Petrill shows 5 key findings that we will dive deep into with our questions starting with the premise that “America's hard nosed focus on academic achievement in recent decades has not improved schools nearly enough” (page 1 How to Sell SEL” and that the Common Core wars taught us that “mishandling communication about education reforms can derail good intentions.” (page 1 How to Sell SEL) so the Fordham Institute partnered with YouGov, a global public-opinion firm to develop a nationally representative survey of 2,000 parents “to gain greater clarity on what parents of K-12 students think about SEL, how they understand it, whether they see it as more help or hindrance, and whether they have concerns about its implementation.” (page 1, How to Sell SEL) **** Since there is a political angle to the report, I wanted to mention that I am a new US Citizen (September 2018) and have only voted once (born in Great Britain, grew up in Toronto, Canada, and moved to  AZ, USA a few months before 9/11/01—with a vision to make an impact with education after the Columbine Tragedy—with SEL skills as my motivator). I'm really interested to dive deep with the report author, data analyst and project manager, Adam Tyner, on the results and findings, to see if we can bring more clarity for educators and parents on the future of SEL in our schools, and demystify these “social and emotional skills” that I have dedicated my life's work towards, with the hopes that some change occurs in our schools, and communities of the future. Welcome Adam Tyner, thank you for meeting with me so quickly after the release of this report. I'm sure you can see that I recognize how timely and important this topic is. Before we get to the questions, and the top findings of your report, I have to ask you “How was your honeymoon?” as I know you've just returned!  Congratulations on this new milestone in your life. Life isn't all about work, or we would all burn out fast, so I think it's important to recognize and celebrate this time. Adam, let's dive into your “How to Sell SEL” Report. I wanted to go through each of the 5 key findings of the report and discuss each one to perhaps bring more clarity around each of the areas you have uncovered as important for parents of K-12 students. How does that sound? Q1: For Finding #1: There is broad support among parents teaching SEL-related skills in schools, although the term “social and emotional learning” is relatively unpopular. (Page 1) I looked at figure-1 and see the SEL skills that were measured in the survey, and my first thought was. Are parents clear what social and emotional skills REALLY mean? I looked at the survey questions and the term social and emotional learning was defined as “The process of developing self-awareness, self-control, interpersonal skills, responsible or ethical decision-making and civic awareness.” (page 34) I mentioned in the backstory that SEL is not just about teaching our next generation how to hold open doors for each other, or to be responsible citizens. These are character traits that I agree need to be taught (and I saw one character trait being measured)—prepare students to be an active and informed citizen. When conducting this survey, I think there were still some grey areas that could use some clarity for parents to grasp the importance of these skills, that Casel.org has proven with their research[iv] to provide an 11-percentile point gain for students who learn and implement these SEL skills.  With this first finding, I wanted to break down the skills that you measured so that parents, educators, and policymakers can see which skills are social and interpersonal, which ones are emotional and the skills that are cognitive. This way, it takes the emphasis off the term “social and emotional skills” that people might have their own cognitive bias with--and look at these skills broken down into these 3 categories, so that we can then see which categories parents place more value on.   To break these skills into 3 clear categories, I've used a report developed by Hank Resnik for The Aspen Institute called Integrating Social, Emotional and Academic Development: [v] where he  brings clarity to the term “social and emotional learning.” From looking at the 3 categories in Hank Resnik's report, it looks like parents in your survey Valued Setting Goals and Working Towards Achieving Them (93%) which is listed as a Cognitive Skill Approaching Challenges in a Positive Way (91%) which I think would fall under Social and Interpersonal Skills. Parents next valued students Believe in Themselves and Their Abilities (91%) which I would put under the Emotional category. Navigate Social Situations (Social-Awareness-Social and Interpersonal) Respond Ethically (Social-Awareness-Social and Interpersonal) Prepare to be an Active, Informed Citizen (Social-Awareness-Social and Interpersonal) Understand, Express and Control Their Emotions (Self-Management-Emotional) Empathize with the Feelings of Others (Social-Awareness-Social and Interpersonal). Question 1: To me, when we break down the competencies into these 3 sections (cognitive, social and interpersonal and emotional) it seems like parents put the most value on setting goals and working towards them, which is a cognitive skill, Social and Interpersonal Skills (Mindset, Social Awareness) next, and emotional skills last (empathize with others/stand up for people of different backgrounds). What do you think about these findings? When we put the competencies into clear categories, what do you think about the fact that parents value setting and achieving goals over standing up for people with different backgrounds and empathizing with the feelings of others? If page 11 of the report noted a quote about the importance of our citizens to empathize with others, why did empathy show up last in the first findings, do you think? Horacio Sanchez, the author of the Poverty Problem--Empathy plays a critical role in reading comprehension. Low empathy, low comprehension. COGNITIVE SKILLS FIRST  Setting/Achieving Goals (93%) SOCIAL AND INTERPERSONAL MINDSET SOCIAL-AWARENESS CHARACTER TRAIT of CITIZENSHIP SELF-MANAGEMENT-Understand and Manage Emotions (82%) SOCIAL-AWARENESS-Empathize with the Feelings of Others (81%) Figure 2: Integrating Social, Emotional and Academic Development (page 3) Social and Interpersonal Skills like: How to navigate social situations Resolving conflicts Showing respect towards others Emotional Skills like: Recognizing and managing one's emotions Empathy: the ability to understand the emotions and perspectives of others The ability to cope with frustration, disappointments and stress Finally, there's Academic or Cognitive Skills, the core skills our brain uses to think, read, remember, reason and pay attention. Skills like: Focus Setting goals Planning and organizing Perseverance Problem solving I have followed Stephanie Jones from Harvard[vi] over the years and her work on SEL Frameworks defines the domains with the three we mentioned (cognitive, social and emotional) in addition to values, perspectives and identity which I think are important to note as well.   Do you think that values that include character skills, virtues and habits were clear where they fit into the realm of social and emotional learning instruction for parents? I think Values and Character are separate from SEL skills, and Identity/Mindset/Self-efficacy is important, just like your survey shows with the next findings. Q2: For findings #2: Democratic parents favor schools allocating additional resources to SEL more than Republican parents do.  Students should be given honest feedback for them to learn from mistakes/grown (which both parties agree on). When I see the discrepancy with students' SEL needs must be met for them to reach their academic potential (89% for D and 75% for R) it makes me think that R are unclear of what exactly these SEL skills are. If they knew about how CASEL's research shows that students who studied these SEL competencies show an 11-percentile academic gain, wouldn't they all agree that students' SEL needs must be met for them to reach their full potential? Q3: Across the political spectrum, parents regard families as the most important entities for cultivating SEL yet there are partisan differences regarding how and where to emphasize SEL instruction. Q3: I wasn't surprised that the term “Social and Emotional Learning” is less popular than life skills, because going back to our question #1, I don't think there is clarity around what these skills are.  Every single SEL webinar I attended began with someone giving a framework or clear definition of these skills so that educators began to see them in terms of SEL competencies. Stephanie Jones from Harvard's Easel Lab[vii] and her work on SEL Frameworks clearly defines the domains with the three we mentioned (cognitive, social and emotional) in addition to values, perspectives and identity which I think are important to note as well.   For those who answered the survey and have their own assumption of what these skills are, will choose a term that fits what they think they are, and the problem I see, is that the survey leaves out the research behind these important skills. If we go back to Hank Resnik's report from the Aspen Institute, life skills correlate closer to cognitive skills, but they leave out the skills that I've uncovered in this podcast that 58% of Employers Say Students Aren't Learning in College.[viii] with communication being one of them, which is a social and interpersonal skill. Adam, do you think that if Social and Emotional Learning was better defined with your survey, that all 2,000 respondents saw them divided how Hank divided them, with the research attached, and the survey that follows the importance of these skills in the workplace, that the label or term “Social and Emotional Learning” would have a wider acceptance? Q4: Republicans are somewhat more wary than Democrats that SEL might divert schools away from academics or conflict with their own values.  This has been something I have heard for years, from students, teachers, parents, and from our publishers who wonder how important these SEL competencies are. Do these skills really make an impact on our next generation of students?  Casel.org's research says it does. I dive deep into the 5 SEL Competencies and why they are so important on a recent podcast episode #152[ix] with an expert in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, Dr. Howard Rankin, since the research is clear and shows us that students with strong SEL health “demonstrate self-control, communicate well, problem solve, are empathetic, respectful, grateful, gritty and optimistic.”[x] “Success in life, and in college and career specifically, relies on student's cognitive, social, and emotional development. (Integrating Social, Emotional and Academic Development: An Action Guide for School Leadership Teams[xi]) page 4 “Research shows that teaching these skills result in immediate and long-term improvement in academic achievements and are a better predictor of success than academic ability alone.” (Perspectives of Youth on High School and SEL Webinar, Dec. 11/18).[xii] Were the parents surveyed aware of the research behind SEL impacting academic achievement? What do think of these findings? Saying they are important and instilling them in your own children are 2 completely different things. Have they ever tried teaching these skills to their own children? I ask this because I've been aware of these skills since I saw them impacting a group of teens in the late 1990s, so of course, when my kids were old enough, I had them setting goals until they hit a certain age, and they started rolling their eyes at me when I would say “ok, what do you want to accomplish this year?” The yellow chart paper that used to hang up on their bedroom walls have been replaced with gymnastics trophies, and my girls don't listen to me anymore…but they listen to their coaches at the gym. I saw that these skills were taught more effectively outside of the home. I can only reinforce these skills, like I do with healthy eating, but they stopped goal setting with me, and would prefer to do that with their coach at the gym. Q5: Differences by parents' race, class and religion are rarely as pronounced as differences by political affiliation and parents of different races prefer varying SEL related program names (Developing Grit/Emotional Intelligence/Positive Youth Development/Character Education). For thing angle, I consulted with my good friend Horacio Sanchez, the author of The Poverty Problem, since our conversation on the podcast covered race and religion, and when I don't know something, I like to ask others to gain a different perspective and he said to me “When non-political issues are politicized, it often stems from how its being portrayed and being informed” and asked “do you think the political debate concerning SEL is related to the lack of understanding of what it is?” What do you think? DIVING DEEPER INTO WHAT PARENTS THINK AND FEEL ABOUT SEL: Andrea and Adams discuss these comments about the view of parents/SEL. “Confidence is built by doing”  Andrea discusses with Adam that these skills can translate cross-curricular (math/confidence) blasting through a math problem, building confidence, but have a discussion about it so that it's not missed that it was perseverance and persistence that helped the student to solve the problem. Parents need to teach and reinforce SEL with their kids. Yes, we all must teach and reinforce these skills. Home/schools/sports. There are many skills I cannot teach my children (even though I have tried) but they learn them through their coaches through sport. It's takes a village. We must know how these skills translate back towards our academics, and think deeper about what improves our mathematical skills. (Dr. Ratey's[xiii] work- Naperville's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) where they scored #1 in science and #6 in math, in the world, proving that there was something unique that Naperville had discovered with correlation of exercise and academic achievement). Navigating relationships is important (which is why it's one of Casel's 5 competencies) and being mindful of behavior and consequences (brings us back to neuroscience and the brain with executive functions/thinking). This is why teachers must be trained in trauma-informed practices and understand how the brain works. Horacio Sanchez[xiv] Dr. Bruce Perry (What Happened to You Book) and Dr. Lori Desautels[xv] all teach how the brain impacts learning. Adam, I want to thank you very much for your time today, discussing something that I know we both agree is important to unpack a bit more. What are your final thoughts? For those who want to learn more about the report, what is the best way to access it? https://sel.fordhaminstitute.org/  Thank you!   REFERENCES: [i] https://fordhaminstitute.org/tags/washington-dc [ii] https://casel.org/sel-framework/ [iii] Chey and Pav Speak to Andrea Samadi about Social and Emotional Learning in our Schools https://open.spotify.com/episode/0IaXGeegsY2d3Y23WmCgRa?go=1&utm_source=embed_v3&t=0&nd=1 [iv] https://casel.org/research/ [v]Integrating Social, Emotional and Academic Development: An Action Guide for School Leadership Teams by Hank Resnik March 2019  https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/UPDATED-FINAL-Aspen_Integrating-Report_4_Single.pdf [vi] https://easel.gse.harvard.edu/people/stephanie-m-jones [vii] https://easel.gse.harvard.edu/people/stephanie-m-jones [viii]Employers Say Students Aren't Learning Soft Skills in College by Dana Wilkie October 21, 2019 https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/employers-say-students-arent-learning-soft-skills-in-college.aspx [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #152 with Dr. Howard Rankin and Andrea Samadi  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expert-in-psychology-cognitive-neuroscience-and-neurotechnology-howard-rankin-phdinterviews-andrea-samadi/ [x] SEL: The Why and Hows of Implementation in a School District (Edweb) https://home.edweb.net/webinar/sel20190404/  (April 4, 2019) [xi] Integrating Social, Emotional and Academic Development: An Action Guide for School Leadership Teams by Hank Resnik (March 2019) https://education-first.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/UPDATED-FINAL-Aspen_Integrating-Report_4_Single.pdf [xii] Report By Civic with Hart Research Associates Jennifer L. DePaoli, Matthew N. Atwell, John M. Bridgeland & Timothy P. Shriver Respected: Perspectives of Youth on High School & Social and Emotional Learning  https://casel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Respected.pdf  CASEL WEBINAR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Nsr7ELsNQ [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #116 with Dr. John Ratey  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/ [xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE  #74 with Horacio Sanchez https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/leading-brain-science-and-resiliency-expert-horatio-sanchez-on-how-to-apply-brain-science-to-improve-instruction-and-school-climate/ [xv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #56 with Dr. Lori Desautels  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/educational-neuroscience-pioneer-dr-lori-desautels-on-her-new-book-about-connections-over-compliance-rewiring-our-perceptions-of-discipline/

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, for Brain Fact Friday and episode #126 on Building Resilience: A Pathway for Inner Peace, Well-Being and Happiness. If you are listening to this episode on iTunes, click here to see the images in the show notes.  This week’s Brain Fact Friday will take a closer look at resiliency, with some simple strategies that you can implement immediately, for improved results in your personal and professional life by accessing this powerful inner resource that will allow you to walk confidently, especially, on uneven ground. Rick Hanson, Ph.D., a psychologist, senior fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and New York Times best-selling author is so passionate about this topic, that he wrote an entire book on it, called Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness.[i] “If we are going to have lasting well-being in a changing world, we’ve got to be resilient. To be resilient, we’ve got to have inner resources.” (Rick Hanson, Talks at Google)[ii] In Today’s Brain Fact Friday we will cover: What does it mean to be resilient? How can we build it in ourselves and others? And how does it create a sense of well-being, an inner sense of peace and happiness? Welcome back, I'm Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. If you have been listening to our podcast for some time, you will know that we’ve uncovered that if we want to improve our social and emotional skills, and experience success in our work and personal lives, it all begins with an understanding of our brain. We started Brain Fact Fridays last month to dive a bit deeper into some of top brain strategies we uncover in our interviews, or weekly episodes and from the feedback I have heard, these short episodes are helpful for learning about the brain in quick, easy to digest lessons, so we will continue with Brain Fact Fridays and I do appreciate the feedback! Getting back to today’s BRAIN FACT: DID YOU KNOW: That Mindfulness[iii] leaves a lasting impact on our brain (Rick Hanson) and when we practice mindfulness, we become more compassionate, resilient, and more skillful with others. Rick Hanson quotes “If the mind is like a sailboat, growing inner resources is like strengthening and lengthening its keel. Then you can live more boldly.  Trusting you can explore and enjoy the deeper waters of life and handle any storms that come your way.” I first started to take a closer look at resiliency when I interviewed Horacio Sanchez on episode #74[iv] where Horacio, who named his company, Resiliency Inc[v] defined Resiliency as “a collection of protective risk factors that you have in your life.” He explains how there are some factors we are born with, and others come in through childhood, family, school, life events and social experiences. Horacio further explains that “if you have little risk, it takes less to be resilient. But—if you have a lot of risk, it takes a lot more protective factors to offset the scale.”  This is why two people can possibly respond in two completely different ways after a traumatic experience. One person walks away, and recovers quickly, while the other has a completely different outcome, and needs more assistance. With resiliency, we can overcome adversity or difficulty and have good outcomes in our life, but you can see why not everyone is born with exactly the same protective factors needed, so we don’t all have the same levels of resiliency. Horacio mentioned that “25% of the population are naturally resilient” so his work focused on instilling resiliency in those who were not naturally resilient due to the number of risk factors associated to them. This is what I love about this inner resource—that it can be instilled in others, or that we can build our own levels of resiliency, our own psychological strengths, that we can access at any time of the day, when we need it. And when we take the time and effort to do this, we will create lasting changes in our brain over time, as well as others who we instill with this valuable inner resource. How can resiliency be instilled in ourselves and others? We all want resiliency for our own children, or those we work with or for ourselves. Here are some ideas to build this skill in ourselves and others with the idea that whenever we face a threat (whatever it might be that knocks you off course in life—the Pandemic, the loss of a job, worrying about losing your job, an illness) these strategies will help to provide coping mechanisms, and take away the feeling of helplessness that often accompanies a threat. APPLY PROTECTIVE FACTORS LIKE BUILDING AND MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS: Horacio mentioned the work he has done over the years with applying protective factors (like teaching social and emotional skills, or involvement with a caring adult) with those children who had many risk factors, and explained that this took time, with many serious challenges along the way as the students he was working with had to learn the changes that take place over time. If we think about it, lasting change, at the brain level does time and effort, but well worth the results in the long run. He spoke about the fact it was clear that everyone needed help with building relationships, and this was a valuable lesson for everyone involved to build family harmony and stability. It’s a lesson we can all use.   TUNE INTO A MEMORY OF GRIT: Angela Duckworth put this word on the map with her TED TALK[vi] Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance and believes that “Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term-goals” (Duckworth et al., 2007). She believes that although people are born with grit, that it also develops through experience, just like resilience. I saw a powerful example of building resilience in students with Jemi Thompson’s Thriving YOUniversity’s[vii] facebook group. Jemi wrote “never forget that each student walking into our classroom has years of experience we know nothing about.” Students wrote these responses anonymously, and it reminded me of how much we can learn from our students, and children, or even our co-workers when we provide the opportunity to share. (Images from Jemi Thompson Thriving YOUniversity's Facebook Page for SEL Resources). MAINTAIN A MINDFULNESS PROGRAM: We know from our interview with Dr. Daniel Siegel[viii] of the powerful benefits of adding a mindfulness program to your daily practice. He mentions six science-backed benefits that can be seen in the brain: Integration of structure and function of the brain (promotes well-being) Reduction of the stress hormone, cortisol. Enhancement of immune function. Improvement of cardiovascular risk factors. Reduction in inflammation via epigenetic changes. Optimization of telomerase that slows aging. Our brain fact for this week was That Mindfulness[ix] leaves a lasting impact on our brain (Rick Hanson) and when we practice mindfulness, we become more compassionate, resilient, and more skillful with others.  It’s just one of those pieces of research we can only believe as we begin a practice ourselves. There are a few Mindfulness programs I recommend, but the learning only occurs with action. If you want to learn more about the Mindfulness programs I use, I’ll list them in the resource section. When we can take the time to look within for answers, this gives a sense of power or inner confidence, and then add deep breathing to this and we’ll be activating the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system that helps us to feel rested and grounded. It’s much easier to feel optimistic in the face of a threat when you have your body and mind working for you, not against you. I hope you find this Brain Fact Friday useful! Let me know if you use any of these strategies in your schools or workplaces. Have an incredible week, and see you next Friday! RESOURCES: Resilience: How Your Brain Helps You Bounce Back by Stephen Southwick, MD. June 4, 2020  https://brainworldmagazine.com/resilience-brain-helps-bounce-back/2/ Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #60 A Deep Dive into Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-science-behind-a-meditation-practice-with-a-deep-dive-into-dr-dan-siegel-s-wheel-of-awareness/ Daniel Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness https://www.wheelofawareness.com/ Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #98 with Dawson Church on “The Science Behind Using Meditation: Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness: https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-dawson-church-on-the-science-behind-using-meditation-rewiring-your-brain-for-happiness-resilience-and-joy/ REFERENCES: [i] Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness by Rick Hanson, Ph.D. (March 27, 2018). https://www.amazon.com/Resilient-Grow-Unshakable-Strength-Happiness/dp/0451498844 [ii] Resilient| Rick Hanson| Talks at Google Published on YouTube October 17, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nqR9XNU7Wk [iii] IBID [iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #74 with Horacio Sanchez on “How to Apply Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/leading-brain-science-and-resiliency-expert-horatio-sanchez-on-how-to-apply-brain-science-to-improve-instruction-and-school-climate/ [v] https://www.resiliencyinc.com/about-us [vi] Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance  TED TALK April 2013 https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance?language=en [vii] Jemi Thompson’s Thriving YOUniversity’s Private Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thrivingyouniversitybecomingbettereducators/permalink/3315911391986109 [viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #28 with Dr. Daniel Siegel on “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/ [ix] IBID

Dr. Horacio Sanchez is the President and CEO of Resiliency Inc., an agency leader in helping schools improve school climate, instruction, and discipline. Horacio is recognized as one of the nation's prominent experts on promoting student resiliency and applying brain science to improve school outcomes. The Maladaptive Council (Academy of Science) recognizes him as a leading authority on emotional disorders and resiliency. He is a highly sought-after speaker and has keynoted many national conferences. Horacio has been a teacher, administrator, clinician, mental health director, and consultant to the Department of Education in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and other states. His diverse education and background have helped him to merge research, science, and practice. Horacio sits on True Health Initiative Council of Directors, a coalition of more than 250 world-renowned health experts, committed to educating on proven principles of lifestyle as medicine. He has authored several articles and books on the topics of resiliency, closing the achievement gap, and applying neuroscience to improve educational practices and outcomes. He is the author of the best-selling book, The Education Revolution published by Corwin Press, which applies brain science to improve instruction, behaviors, and school climate. You can pick up a copy of Dr. Sanchez's book, The Education Revolution at https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/the-education-revolution/book249726 __ Thank you for watching this video. I hope that you keep up with the videos we post on the channel, subscribe, and share your learnings with those that need to hear it. Your comments are fuel to our fire, so please take a second and say howdy! Life that Counts is a 501(C)(3) Alabama based nonprofit organization committed to helping people make the best possible decisions for achieving the greatest possible outcomes. The truth is, you have influence. Are you intentional with it? We work with schools implementing positive youth development strategies which have demonstrated healthy results in student life on the campus setting. Booking: lifethatcounts.org/bookingrequest Merchandise: http://lifethatcounts.store Online at www.lifethatcounts.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifethatcounts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifethatcounts/ Facebook.com/lifethatcounts Life that Counts on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-that-counts/about/ John on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwilliamsonlinkedin/ For more info, email: info@lifethatcounts.org --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lifethatcountsinc/message

Horacio Sánchez Mariño es el padre del periodista Joaquín Sánchez Mariño. Coronel retirado, egresado en Ciencias Políticas de la UBA, veterano de Malvinas, piloto de helicópteros, participante de misiones de paz internacionales en Haití y la ex Yugoslavia, es uno de los personajes más interesantes que hemos entrevistado.