5 Ways Biotechnology Can Enhance Executive Performance
Consider - there are at least two things that every highly-successful person has in common. First, they're motivated to succeed. Second, they have the ability to concentrate on the task at hand. Makes sense, right? Without motivation the person would never get started on doing what they want to do, and without the ability to hyper-focus on it they'd never get it done.
This simple fact probably has you asking, "How can I boost my motivation and concentration levels?" Well, we usually think of things like "motivation" or "concentration" as mysterious intangibles, something some people just while others don't. That's wrong. Neither motivation nor concentration are intangibles - they each have a biological basis in the brain in the form of physical, electrical pulses. Additionally, not everyone who is highly motivated and can hyper-focus on projects has always been that way. We know, because we've seen for ourselves the transformation that can take place when someone works on the biological source of these attributes - the brain.
At the Center of it All Lies the Brain
Let's talk about the brain for a second. It doesn't get enough credit! Our society often blames a person for their inability to concentrate, or their lethargy, or their difficulty in moving from one task to the next. These things are talked about like they're some kind of character flaw. Really, though they're all based in the brain. Would you say the way a person's brain behaves is that person's fault? Certainly not. If the brain is the source of these issues, can we somehow change the way the brain works, coaxing it in the desired direction? Thanks to modern imaging technology, the answer is yes.
The Trifecta: Neurofeedback, Biofeedback, and Neurostimulation
Fortunately, your brain can be changed to work for you and not against you using neurofeedback, biofeedback, and neurostimulation. These three techniques work together to provide a mental fine-tuning that'll have you operating the way you formerly only wished you could, making you more productive, happier at the job and in life in general. It sounds too good to be true but, again, remember that everything you bring to your work performance and your life are based on all those "seeming intangibles" we mentioned, those attributes which are not actually intangibles but occur in the brain.
Let's look at some specific ways these methods can help.
#1 Ability to Concentrate
Neurofeedback is a technique that lets you view the ebbing and flowing of your brain waves in real-time by watching a screen in front of you. Harmless electrodes will be connected to your head. As you think or feel a certain way, the images and hues on the screen will change and, as you change that behavior, they'll change back. Say you often feel "spaced out" at work. This is usually a result of dream waves that are affecting your brain's concentration center while you're awake. By viewing the changes caused by these dream waves on the screen, and applying focus techniques to make them go away, you learn just how to do that in a real-life situation where you need to concentrate. You're essentially practicing and, with enough practice - usually 3-6 months' worth of sessions - you learn how to focus on demand.
# 2 Boost Motivation
One recent study allowed participants to access their brain's motivation center - the VTA, or ventral tegmental area, through neurofeedback. These people came up with their own strategies to keep this reward center activated and so keep feelings of motivation "on." They could literally see which one was best for them, as the status of the VTA was shown with a thermometer on the screen. From there, they were able to bring these feelings of motivation to whatever task they were focusing on, even outside of the study.
# 3 Switch Gears
Sometimes it's hard to move out of an intense state of focus. Maybe you need to move between tasks at work, or just want to shut off your "work brain" and activate your "rest and relaxation brain" while you're hanging out with family. Neurofeedback can help you here, too - you switch your mindset and see how your brain focuses or doesn't, then make the necessary changes. Again, by seeing how your brain works, laid out in front of you, you learn how to control it.
# 4 Reduce Stress
Biofeedback is similar to neurofeedback but, instead of learning how to control your brain, you learn how to control your body. For example, through biofeedback you may learn how to slow down your breathing, which gives you a greater sense of focus and calm. You can even learn to slow down your heart rate, which reduces the flow of stress hormones such as cortisol or adrenaline. Most will know that we do our best work when we're calm and collected, not panicking.
# 5 Fix Posture
The importance of posture is underestimated - studies have shown it can have an effect on your performance. Biofeedback can teach you how to not slouch and make sure you are up, aware, and focused whenever you need to be.
Conclusion
It goes without saying that technology has caused many revolutions throughout history. We say it's time for a mind-body revolution. People should be able to be just as productive as they want to be, and not subject to the whims of their brains and bodies. We hope that we've shown that, through neurofeedback, biofeedback, and neurostimulation, it's entirely possible.