Your Brain at Work

We're all trying to do more and more in less and less time. It's no wonder we can sometimes feel frazzled or simply wiped out after a long day. I'm halfway through the book Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long by David Rock and have learned how much we tax our brain and how it's not exactly setup for all the multitasking we consistently ask it to do.

In addition to developing strategies for maintaining focus and keeping a clear mind, I've learned how to rid myself of that nagging feeling I can get when something doesn't go exactly the way I had planned. I generally have to find a way to settle it in my mind to be able to let it go and move on. Sometimes this is easier said than done. This book has taught me the four main types of reappraisal (consciously choosing to see a situation differently) that will help in those situations.

1. Reinterpreting (in the words of David Rock):

I am reminded of Philippe Petit, the tightrope walker who walked between the World Trade Center's twin towers in the 1970s, He worked out a way to manage his fear of the height by hiring a helicopter and spending time sitting in its open doorway high above the towers, getting comfortable with being even higher than he was planning to walk. Making his brain decide that it wasn't dangerous a thousand feet above the towers made it possible to feel "safe" on the wire below a few days later. The wire no longer felt so high! Think of this type of reappraisal as changing your raw emotional response to an event.

2. Normalizing - allowing yourself to feel the feelings and knowing that it's normal can increase your perception of control.

3. Reordering - changing the hierarchy within your brain which leads to a big release of energy.

4. Repositioning - looking at the situation from another's point of view.

I highly recommend this book for more detail on these strategies as well as other amazing information about the brain.