by Karen Carnahan & Marsia Gunter

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”

            --Henry Ford

What doors would be open to you if you believed more things were possible?

It's an interesting question because it implies that personal belief has an actual impact on real-world events. In our line of work as applied futurists, we find this to be absolutely true.

There are several reasons for this. For one, if you are likely to believe something isn’t possible, then you are unlikely to try in the first place. Persuasive thoughts like “I could never run a marathon” or “my company will never break a million in sales in one month” might prevent you for training or preparing for that possibility. You cut off the future before it even has a chance to live in the present.

Or, you might be persuaded that “yes, it’s possible, but it will never happen.” In this case, you may actually train for that marathon or put in place a plan to make a million in sales in one month. And then, because you’re convinced it was never going to work in the first place, you might go about sabotaging that possibility. We like to be right about these kinds of things.

There’s another compelling reason that can be measured scientifically. And that is, from a neuroscience perspective, your brain is rigged for your success—if you believe it.

Yes, really.

To dig deeper into that, we have to look at how the brain learns, and where it prioritizes growth and development. Much of what we know about this area we can attribute to the deep work of our colleague, Dr. Charlotte A. Tomaino, PhD, a neuropsychologist and author of Awakening the Brain: The Neuropsychology of Grace.

The Physiology of Possibility

“I think of neuropsychology as a key that unlocks the promise held in a belief. That is because neuropsychology gives you knowledge about the mechanisms within your brain, the options available to you, and the choices you can make that will manifest your belief.” 

--Dr. Charlotte A. Tomaino, PhD, Awakening the Brain: The Neuropsychology of Grace

Neuropsychology is a multidisciplinary science that examines the structure and processes of the brain and its effect on human behavior and the body. Much of neuropsychology is concerned with how the brain learns, how our body informs the brain and vice-versa, and how this impacts our cognition and overall behavior.

The “how it learns” part is important, because learning is the function we need when we take on a challenging task and try to do something new. It all starts with neurons in our brain, which function individually and as a massive network connected with billions of other neurons.

New Neural Networks Create New Possibilities

Dr. Tomaino describes it this way: “Neural networks are an important concept to grasp if you want to get a glimpse of your complexity. The billions of neurons in your brain talk to each other, and the more they talk, the more likely they will be to talk again. This is referred to as neuroplasticity. When we take the time to reflect on our experience and see beyond the surface events and the old automatic reactions that have driven us, we are literally connecting new dots in our brain.”

This is important. Because what the science is showing us is that if we do not believe in a new concept or challenge, or don't believe that it is possible, then the neuron connections won’t even form to support new learning in this area. Those parts of the brain won’t even talk to each other. Worse, if we resort to old ways of thinking, then all we are doing is reinforcing old networks in our brain – some of which are not helpful.

As Dr. Tomaino notes, “Each choice we make creates a focus for the brain and guides neurons to talk to each other, creating new connections or reinforcing old ones.” 

Coupled With Belief, Your Brain Can Adapt With the Challenges

“As long as children have the innate potential, a reasonably accurate method, and a stable belief that they will achieve mastery of the skill, which enables them to persist, the desired outcome will manifest.”

--Dr. Charlotte A. Tomaino, Awakening the Brain: The Neuropsychology of Grace

No doubt, we all go through challenges that we are uncertain how to tackle. However, we can all think of something that seemed impossible at first that we have learned to do well. Learning to walk is a perfect example. Though we don’t remember it, we never gave up learning how to walk when we were young. No matter how many times we fell, hurt ourselves, were wobbly, or couldn’t do it…we didn’t quit. We saw adults doing it, so we knew it was possible.

A similar phenomenon happens with children that are dyslexic yet learn how to read. Dyslexic children that were informed their parent had trouble learning to read yet overcame it have the luxury of the belief that it is possible. Those children learn faster and have less anxiety than other dyslexic children that don't have the same role models to demonstrate that it's possible.

Knowing It’s Possible Paves the Way for Success

In the world of adults, this visual confirmation that healing is possible is often how group therapy be so powerful. Addicts learn how to be sober from other former addicts that learned how to be sober. Knowing that it’s possible sets the table for success.

The great thing is, the more we practice a new way of thinking, or new behavior, or a new skill, the greater that neural network becomes strengthened.

Dr. Tomaino has treated people with significant brain injuries that start with a learning deficit in comparison to people with healthy, functioning brains. With the right treatment, the brain can recover. It has an incredible ability to adapt, heal, and reorganize itself, provided the right neural networks are being strengthened through practice.

Imagine what people that don’t have any impediment are capable of! If former addicts, patients with brain injury and children with learning disabilities can adapt and thrive, so can all of us!

Visualizing What’s Possible

As applied futurists, we believe that the future is present now through actions we take today. This doesn’t mean, however, that on some days it’s hard to see the future, or hard to see how to get unstuck from a situation that seems impossible.

We often say to view the situation as if you are an airplane from 14,000 feet up. Sometimes reframing a situation as if it far away allows you to conceptualize the problem differently and see all the pieces that are involved.

Dr. Tomaino has a similar exercise she practices with her clients. If confronted with a particularly sticky problem and the client needs perspective, she will take the client to one of the biggest stadiums in town and has them sit in the upper bleachers far away from the field. Then she asks them to imagine all the pieces of their life and the problem way down there. She asks them to include the past, the present, and the future. 

Getting Perspective to See Your Whole Life at Once

When people take a step away and visualize their lives encompassed in a small area, it brings needed perspective to an issue. Suddenly people begin to see a hopeful future and a way through. Problems look incredibly different when seen from a distance.

When you zoom out and can see the whole of something, you can reason beyond the train of thought you have when you look at the part instead of the whole. Having a larger understanding of the whole picture gives your brain access to a more effective reasoning capacity. It allows you the mental ability to create from the bigger picture, rather than just to react and get “captured” by your knee-jerk emotions of the moment.

Taking a pause, a breath, or a moment allows you to guide your actions and create what you want to do and where you want to go next.

There’s a phrase “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” You will actually see things you didn’t see and the separate dynamics you haven’t related to yet. When you see the whole of something, you see a whole different set of relationships and possibilities.

Bringing it back to our neural networks – it's vital that we practice visualizing and contextualizing the situations of our life from a “zoomed out” perspective. We must see our futures as BIG, expansive, hopeful and possible to reinforce the neural network in our brains that will help make it possible.

On the subject of expansiveness and the brain, Dr. Tomaino often refers to the concept of neurochoice. In layman’s term, a neurochoice is a conscious decision to expand the capacity of our brains. They are deliberate choices that grow our brain’s skill and insight. Once we are aware we are making a strong neurochoice, like seeing things from a zoomed out perspective, we strengthen the neural networks to make more.

Growth begets growth!

Using Questions to Get Unstuck

Negative self-talk sometimes still persists when you’re attempting to breakthrough. We find that big questions are great for helping you get unstuck.

When we say “big questions” we mean questions from this stadium perspective or 14,000 feet up perspective. Another way we like to say it is “zoomed out” questions, as if you are zooming out on a camera lens.

For example, if you think to yourself, “I’ll never get to a million in sales in one month” then a zoomed out question might be “what belief would have me think that?”

What Are Our Limiting Beliefs?

Now you’re getting somewhere. You may have beliefs like “my team isn’t up to the job” or “I don’t deserve to earn that much money” or “I have no idea how to market this.” These are just beliefs. Some of them may be true beliefs, some of them may be made up. And now you can start to get to the heart of issues that may be getting in your way.

Asking big questions forms new neural networks. That’s good, because when you’re stuck, you can’t solve the problem by utilizing the same set of neural connections that got you there. Asking “zoomed out” questions can definitely jar something loose.

Sometimes we say that all of life is an inside job – meaning, we must go inward to solve our problems and start with our own beliefs and practices. Once we change ourselves, the whole world starts to shift for us.

When You Think Big Enough, Anything is Possible

Once you have some degree of perspective and control over your own beliefs about what is possible, you might encounter a new challenge: persuading others of the same.

Patience is important when enrolling others into your vision. Sometimes people have a "zoomed-in" view of a problem, focusing on details that are obstacles or having a myopic perspective that doesn't allow for growth. There's nothing wrong with this – that viewpoint is sometimes needed from an operational point of view.

Enrolling Others to Include a Bigger Future

You can ask them the same kind of “zoomed out” questions you ask yourself when you encounter resistance. You might ask:

·      What belief what have you think that?

·      If it were possible, what might it look like?

·      Stepping into the future, how do you think we might have accomplished this?

·      What is the future you want to create?

·      If you did know how to do it, what would you think it might be?

Sometimes the brain needs a big enough question stray from an old neural network and begin building a new one. Big, open questions are an amazing tool to get this going.

It's important to note here that everyone in the room has a vital contribution to the overall future or vision you are trying to achieve. If you come at it from that point of view, then objections to the vision will seem less like annoyances and more like just another way of seeing the issue.

Applied Futurism: Findings Supported by Science

Karen and I have been using applied future-based practices in our coaching for over 30 years. The results with our clients have been incredibly effective, so we have absolute faith that it works. We’ve seen them create their own powerful futures and bring them into the present through action, time and time again.

What is exciting now is that after all these years, we are receiving confirmation that applied future-based thinking is aligned with how the brain learns and forms new connections. Believing in the future you design for yourself sets in motion the neurons in the brain to make new connections, form new pathways, and ultimately create a new network to support that future.

The daily actions clients take to bring that future into the present strengthen the new pathways, and over time, makes their designed future a reality.

This is why a clear vision of your desired future is so important.

So What Future Do You Want?

What vision do you have for yourself and your organization? How do you want to lead this vision? As a leader, how do you want to model the vision in your everyday actions, your communication, and your attitude?

Practicing open possibilities (like your vision) in your thinking actively helps develop your brain into the tool that can help get you there. Like anything, it takes practice. By yourself, you become a powerful force. Even better, when you lead to enroll people in the same vision and possibility, your group becomes practically unstoppable.

As Dr. Tomaino says, “Waking up to what is possible means cultivating an awareness of how to manage your brain, emotions, and choices for creating the life you seek. Siddhartha reinvented himself, as have others in history. Some have become spiritually enlightened, found great compassion for others, or developed passions that led to contributions that have changed this world. What is inspiring is that you can invent or reinvent yourself by learning about how your brain works, discovering what you have to work with in your cognitive style, and making your own neurochoice, holding a vision in your mind’s eye while living what you know is possible.”

And ANYTHING is possible.

Are you further interested in being in the mastery of growth and embracing the future for yourself, your company or your organization? Contact us to explore the future you want to create through ongoing coaching to develop business growth strategies, professional leadership development and business ownership, and transitioning your business for the next generation. We believe in the future you envision and stand with you to help achieve it.

Dr. Charolotte A Tomaino, PhD, has been quoted in this article with her permission.  You can find out more about her ongoing practice and her observations on brain development on her website and in her book Awakening the Brain: the Neuropsychology of Grace.