Doc Meek

Posts Tagged ‘fear of failure’

This is the first (1st) in a series of seven (7) articles on having fun learning how to manage our very own brain. – Doc Meek

Image above from Luciano Passuello: http://litemind.com/fear-failure/

If you missed the introduction to this series of seven (7) articles, just click on the title below:

(Intro) Learning to run our brain: 10 minutes daily

What are we talking about here?

In my intro above (posted Friday, June 25, 2010), I outlined seven (7) things we can learn about how to manage our own brain:

1) Fear of failure

2) The vital need for HOPE!

3) Qualifications for our external-to-the-home “brain coach”

4) Easy success with active learning brain training (filing cabinet brain) and remembering names

5) The eyes don’t see–the brain sees

6) Tasks of the “back 90%” of our brain, and the “front 10%”

7) Where do Moms come in?

How do I get started overcoming fear of failure?

Strangely (to some), the place to get started is to take a look at our fear of failure. Whether we are a student, a parent, or a teacher, the fear of failure can stop us before we even get started.

If we want to learn to run our own brain better, we need to take time to look at, and feel, our fears about undertaking such a project. Some say that looking at our fears first and feeling them only strengthens them. We will find it to be the opposite of that, I think. If we avoid looking at our fears, they will trip us up later and we will then indeed fail–the very thing we were trying to avoid, right?

Fears are actually our friends, if we choose to feel/see them that way.

Fears are my friends!?

Yes.

They alert us, in advance, what to watch out for as we go along, a kind of distant early warning signal that prepares us for “the worst” as we forge ahead, hoping for the best.

Isn’t that contradictory?

Seems that way, doesn’t it?

In reality, direct awareness of our very real fears allows us to plan ahead more carefully and to ride out our relapses and our failures with a degree of equanimity and resilience not otherwise available to us.

Isn’t that what our friends are for? 😮

To our friends!

Doc Meek, Sat, June 26, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA (updated Oct 20, 2012)

P.S. Some extra reading–and some viewing–on how to overcome fear of failure:

(1) Article (Comprehensive):

If you want to read a comprehensive article on how to “Overcome Fear of Failure,” by Luciano Passuello, a Brazilian who lives in Curitiba, Brazil, and whose passion is the mind, just click on the title below:

Overcome Fear of Failure, Part I — Building the Right Mindset

Hi, I’m Luciano Passuello. I am a 35-year-old Brazilian, currently living in Curitiba.

It was not long ago when I realized that my deep fascination for the mind is my greatest underlying passion which, in many ways, intersects with several other interests of mine.

This website is my journey exploring that underlying passion.

To get in touch with me, please use this contact page.

Image/text above from: http://litemind.com/fear-failure/

(2) Video (2 minutes):

If you want to watch a short video on overcoming failure by Brian Tracy, a Canadian who lives in San Diego, California, USA, click on the Brian Tracy photo below.

brian tracy fear of failure
2 min – 1 Oct 2006
Uploaded by funny1968
www.youtube.com

—

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC. 

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, ensure your heart health:  

This is the introduction to a series of seven (7) articles on how to have fun learning to run (manage) our very own brain, more easily. This is a good idea, right? 😮

Photo from: www.workshopway.org

The “10 minutes a day” model

Just 10 minutes each day can produce miracles.

An hour or two on the weekend will NOT get the job done. 😮

Especially for kids.

Especially for kids with a short attention span (that’s all kids). 😮

And all adults too, in our “sound bite” over-scheduled culture, eh? 😮

Here are the topics I hope to start exploring in these upcoming seven (7) articles:

(1) Let’s look first at fear of failure

(2) Now let’s look at the vital need for hope

(3) What are the qualifications for your “brain coach?”

(4) Simple easy examples of how to proceed

(Hint: When teaching a child how to spell, use words like “smart” and “quick,” not words like “stupid” and “slow.”)

(5) “The eyes don’t see–the brain sees; the ears don’t hear–the brain hears.” – Doc Meek

(6) The role of the “back 90″and the “front 10”

(7) Where do the mothers come in?

Let’s hear it for the mothers!

Without them, the whole world of humankind would quickly fall apart.

Let’s face it, without them, there wouldn’t be any world of humankind. 😮

Doc Meek, Friday, June 25, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, ensure your heart health:

The best tribute to pay Dad on Father’s Day

The best gift to Dad is to remind him of his power to guarantee the learning success of his children, no matter what the task.

My previous article, showing how Dad guaranteed success for his little son who was learning to bowl, was posted April 14, 2010. If you wish to see that, click on the URL immediately below:

Guarantee Learning Success for Everybody

Learning fears and humiliating failures can haunt learning for life

When youngsters are first learning a sport, they often have great fear of failure. They fear that they will prove incompetent, that they will fumble and look stupid and be embarrassed and on and on.

Often these initial fears, if not “cushioned” in some way, are fully realized as the child attempts a totally new set of tasks, and then the stark memory of learning failure may haunt him or her throughout life.

“Cushioning” these learning fears in some way can mean the difference between ongoing success in school and life, and ongoing failure in school and life.

Sports leaders can guarantee learning success

My brother attended a baseball game in which his young son was playing, and was impressed to see that the team leaders had provided many ways to guarantee learning success, by “chunking everything down,” as they say, breaking the multiple learning tasks into more easily-learnable segments.

Dad was delighted. His young son was delighted too. He could “smell success,” almost before he got started.

The sports leaders were affable and kind, radiating a generosity of spirit (as opposed to aggressive competitiveness and outbursts of anger).

First, even though this was a baseball game, the leaders were using a softball, bigger than a regulation baseball, so that the youngsters would find it easier to hit.

Second, the leaders mounted the ball on a short stand at home base, at just the right height for hitting, thus providing a “batting tee” for the aspiring baseball players. This “batting tee” is analogous to a “golfing tee,” except of course that it holds the ball much higher off the ground.

Regular baseball rules were modified

If the batter swung and missed the ball right in front of him, a “strike” was called of course. If the batter knocked the ball off the tee and the ball rolled into “foul” territory, a strike was called. No “balls” were called. The young players either “struck out” or ran. No “walking.”

If the batter knocked the ball off the tee and it rolled into “fair” territory, the batter ran.

If the batter hit the ball any distance, he ran of course.

Most plays were won on errors 😮

The young boys had a ball (no pun intended)! 😮

The leaders had a ball. The parents had a ball. Other spectators and bystanders had a ball. 😮

And the young players more easily mastered essential baseball skills, guaranteeing learning success. 😮

No child cried (except perhaps when they fell down swinging or running) and no child stayed home the next time a game was scheduled. 😮

All the players were successful in learning how to play baseball. More importantly, all the boys felt good about learning and playing, and having fun in the process. 😮

These “learning success” feelings often last a lifetime, helping the child experience learning success in school and work. 😮

Parents and teachers follow the same principles for learning success

Parents at home and teachers in the classroom follow the same principles to guarantee learning success in all endeavors. This is not easy to do. It is, however, do-able:

(1) Make the starting point easy and enjoyable, perhaps even fun.

(2) Chunk down the learning tasks into smaller, more easily-learnable segments.

(3) Modify the rules when necessary; create a community of learners.

(4) Leave aggression and competitiveness aside initially, and perhaps always. It can help us be better citizens. It can help us achieve a more cooperative and successful society.

(5) Smile. 😮

(6) Smile. 😮

(7) Smile. 😮

We can all even use these learning success principles with ourselves!

If we all laugh more, and take ourselves less seriously more, almost any learning task can be done successfully.

With good memories that last a lifetime.

To lifelong learning enjoyment!

Doc Meek, Sunday, June 20, 2010 (Father’s Day)

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

It’s OK to make mistakes; that’s how we learn

When this “truth sign” was first posted in a teacher’s classroom, some people complained that the teacher was condoning, and even encouraging, bad behavior on the part of students. “Not so, ” say Dr. Merrill Harmin and his predecessor in classroom effectiveness, Grace Pilon.

When students lose fear of failure as they are encouraged to risk giving wrong answers, they become more involved in their own learning, and they not only learn more, they enjoy learning more.

Likewise, teachers enjoy the daily teaching-learning activities more.

Dr. Harmin, in his book entitled Strategies to Inspire Active Learning: Complete Handbook (1995-2002), for teachers and students, acknowledged his deep indebtedness to Grace Pilon’s pioneer work in increasing student achievement. Using active learning strategies means that not only are students getting higher marks, both teachers and students are enjoying the daily learning processes more.

Dr. Harmin repeated this acknowledgment of Grace Pilon’s leading-edge work in his expanded 2nd edition, entitled Inspiring Active Learning: A Complete Handbook for Today’s Teachers (2006).

Photo of Expanded 2nd Edition below is from Amazon.com

To enlarge photograph of electrical substation, click on it: A 115 kV to 41.6/12.47 kV 5 MVA 60 Hz substation with circuit switcher, regulators, reclosers and control building at Warren, Minnesota in the US. From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_substation

To enlarge photograph of electrical substation, click on it: A distribution substation in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada disguised as a house, complete with a driveway, front walk and a mowed lawn and shrubs in the front yard. A warning notice can be clearly seen on the “front door.” Photographs from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_substation …………………………………………………………………………………………….

They called him “Mr. Integrity”

My Dad, James Collins Meek II, worked for West Kootenay Power & Light Company (WKP&L) in British Columbia (BC), CANADA, for 42 years. Ultimately he became the supervisor for WKP&L in the Kelowna District. The company men in Kelowna dubbed him “Mr. Integrity.” They had many reasons for doing this.

One of the reasons they called him “Mr. Integrity” was that he always made sure that he spent company money as if it were his own money. And he was very responsible with his own money. One of the results was that the “integrity disease” became contagious and the men who worked for him caught the “disease” as well. This made for an honest and frugal operation, which the company greatly appreciated of course.

Dad also made sure that he gave value for his own personal labor dollar. It was important to him not to “waste time” on the job. Over time, his men followed suit. It became part of the culture of the company group.

What’s this got to do with learning?

Even respect and integrity can be learned.

The Retirement Celebration Joke

Karl Wolfe worked for my Dad in the Kelowna office of WKP&L, right up until the time my Dad retired. Karl had built a miniature electrical substation switchboard to be used to play a retirement celebration joke on my Dad.

The plan was to have Dad try to figure out how to make the correct critical sequence of electrical switching moves for several hypothetical high-voltage lines. This switching job was supposed to get the electrical power back on to an area whose high-line power source was down and out.

Then, because it was a very complex sequence of switching moves, the  joke idea was to have him surely fail, sounding a big alarm buzzer. Whereupon one of “the boys” was going to pull the main switch for power to the hall we were in for the retirement party, plunge everything into darkness, and blame my Dad for the ensuing chaos.

“You’ve made a big mistake in the power switching!” they were going to yell. “You’ve made the power fail–all the way back to the hydroelectric dam power source!”

“Region-wide failure!”

All in “good fun” of course.

So the trap was set

Here’s where the integrity comes in. In multiple forms. Watch.

My Dad got up to face the challenge of this miniature switching panel. He could see this was a complex matter. He felt it would be a personal embarrassment if he failed in both his electrical knowledge and in his duty to protect the power delivery, even in this purely hypothetical case.

He knew nothing about the planned joke of course. He figured his men were simply giving him his “final test” in the power industry, prior to his retirement.

[Aside to the reader: power industry people see themselves as having an almost sacred duty to keep the power flowing, no matter what.]

My Dad looked at the complex switching task facing him, and knowing Karl Wolfe was a man of integrity, silently reasoned, “Karl built this switchboard, so I know he would not design it so as to guarantee failure and embarrassment. There is a way through, complex though it may be.”

To enlarge photograph of electrical substation, click on it: A 50 Hz electrical substation in Melbourne, Australia. This is showing 3 of the 5 220 kV/66 kV transformers each with a capacity of 185 MVA. From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_substation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Failure is not an option

My Dad just could not bring himself to fail in the power industry, even in this hypothetical case.

So he put his knowledge and experience to the test, worked methodically through the complex switching sequences, and wow! He got through it successfully without creating any massive power failures. Or little ones either. Bingo! The switchboard gave the “power restored” signal and Dad sat down satisfied.

All the men sat around dumbstruck.

The guy had succeeded, against all odds! They couldn’t play out the joke because he hadn’t failed!

[Personally, I would have just sounded the buzzer anyway, pulled the switch on the hall power, plunged the place into darkness, and played out the big “power failure” joke on my Dad anyway! :o]

The men had too much integrity for that. They had too much respect for my Dad.

The joke was based on Dad’s failing and he did not fail.

They honored his success.

To integrity!

Doc Meek, Sunday, June 6, 2010

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. Contrasting News Item:

The money and valuables found in [this one drug lord’s house] would be enough to pay for health insurance for every man, woman and child in the USA for 12 years! There are believed to be approximately 27 more [drug lord houses in this particular country] not to mention the ones in other countries who are enriching themselves in the drug trade. These people have so much money, they make the Arab oil sheiks look like welfare recipients. Their money can buy the best politicians, the best cops, the best judges, whatever they need they just throw down stacks of cash and it is theirs! This is why the drug problem is so difficult to fight.

“A cold in the head causes less suffering than an idea.” – Jules Renard

Image from URL below:

http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/campaign-materials/print-materials/FactSheet-RunnyNose.html ……………………………………………………………………………………………

Speaking for myself, when I have been involved in an activity, such as teaching or parenting, and I have developed (or learned by default) a set of activities, behaviors, and ideas, I tend to stick with them out of sheer practice. I do what I do. I am used to it, and I may not even question it. Especially I don’t question my own practices if I am so lucky as to feel a modicum of “success” in doing these things.

What a shock then, when unfolding events prove I have “missed the mark,” as it were, and failed to address the right set of parameters.

One example may suffice for now. This topic will require more discussion later I am sure.

Suppose I am teaching someone to read (or any other relatively complex task). I use the conventional methods that I know and perhaps some less-known methods as well, particularly if the student or child appears to be struggling with this new learning.

No matter the amount of effort I make, the learner doesn’t “get it.” I grow frustrated and try harder. Doing about the same things of course.

As Einstein said, “Doing the same things, and expecting a different result is insanity.”

The learner, meanwhile, looks around and sees that others are “getting it,” no problem, and concludes, “What’s the matter with me? I must be dumb.” And later, if the failure keeps up, “I am no good.” This is a killer of future potential, just as surely as a smashing car wreck.

Sometimes, the pupil just quits, “knowing” they are “never” going to “get it,” “never” going to “make it” to success.

Here I thought I was teaching reading (or whatever). I bent every effort in that direction. After all, learning to read is an important skill, right? A very important skill as a matter of fact! So I just keep flailing away . . .  for the sake of the learner, you see?

So here’s the painful new idea:

I am not teaching reading (or whatever the needed skill is). I am teaching the learner how to fail. How to feel badly. Or worse: how to feel worthless. And how to give up hope!

Is this what I intended to teach? Of course not.

Now what?

Now it is me who feels like a failure. I feel badly. I may even want to quit. I may give up hope!

Teaching and parenting is like that. If you let it be.

Time out to seek a new idea, or many new ideas about how to teach learning success, not learning failure.

Yes. For the sake of the pupil. And me too.

Doc Meek, Friday, June 4, 2010

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

Habit helps us.

Habit hurts us.

Bit of a contradiction, eh?

Wikipedia: Bust of Janus, Vatican Museums ……………………………………………………………………………

Our brain wants the best for us

The brain loves us and wants to serve us well. One of the great gifts the brain gives us is to rapidly (or less rapidly) give us what we need:

the capacity to do repetitive tasks easily and well.

“Mindlessly” as my friend says.

(Except of course it does require the mind, and requires its exquisite ability to do numerous valuable things “for us,” without our having to “think about it.” Habit is a great friend. It allows us to almost effortlessly do those things that we need to do, perhaps every day (drive a car, do the routine things needed to teach a class, do the routine things needed to nurture our families, and do the routine things needed in the workplace, etc., etc., etc.). 😮

So how can habit hurt us?

Habit can hurt us in two ways:

(1) Habit can allow our thinking patterns to become less active and dull, to the extent that we not only do the habit mindlessly,we don’t exercise our neuronal cells and brain circuitry (including the “non-electric” glial cells), and our brains become “flabby,” somewhat analogous to muscles that we don’t use actively.

(2) Habit can actually become counter-productive, because our brains love to “hang onto” things that are relatively effortless to do, and so the habit “hangs around” to “serve” us, to the detriment of the purpose it was originally intended to serve, which purpose would have been a good one in the beginning (or else our brain would not have started it up for us, eh?).

So here’s the “tricky” part.

How do you keep the habits that are still serving you well (piece of cake) and how do you let go of the habits that are hurting you (not as easy as you might think!).

Tune in to future posts and maybe we can share some ideas about the process of change.

Blessings and Friendship, Doc Meek, Tuesday, June 1, 2010

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

P.S. The paradox:

Habit helps efficiency. Habit hurts or limits change.

We as teachers and parents can often be found exhorting or commanding our students and children to do better in school. We may say such things as:

“Study harder!”

“Work harder!”

“Remember to do your homework every night!”

“Remember to pay attention to the teacher when you are in class!”

We know that these skills and practices  are important for their success in school now, and their subsequent success in life. This is only common sense and besides, we may feel it is our duty as teachers and parents to exhort, command or scold our students and children so that they become better people in school and at home and elsewhere in their daily life. We may fear we are failing in our proper responsibility as teachers and parents if we do not push our students constantly.

We may feel that we need to show proper leadership to our students and children.

Leadership is a skill that not many have mastered well. It is not as easy as we may think. It is more than words I think.

“We must be the change we wish to see . . . ”   – Mahatma Gandhi

Would it come softly to our minds to gently say to our students and children the following kinds of things?

“Let’s find a way together to help you enjoy your studies more.”

“Is there something I can do that will help to make your schooling more meaningful to you?”

“Let’s find a way together to help you find homework more attractive, more desirable.”

“I wonder what I can do to help you want to engage more actively in classes at school?”

Or perhaps even better:

“What can I change that will help you change?”

Because all learning involves change of some kind.

And if we are not willing to change, we are not setting an example our students and children can follow. We are simply saying, “Do as I say, ” not “Do as I do.”

“Do as I say,” works for the moment.

“Do as I do,” works for a lifetime.

A lifetime love of learning.

When you lead, or are led yourself, by doing, by example, by actual behavior, not just words, you develop intrinsic or internal change. Even students and children themselves can learn to lead, if encouraged to become involved with you in active learning, in interactive learning behaviors.

Picture from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Engineering. If you wish to read the whole story, copy and paste the following URL into your computer’s browser line (where you usually place website addresses for websites you are seeking):

<http://www.engineering.unl.edu/publications/ENonline/Fall06/20.shtml> …………………………………………………………………………………………..

Even very young students and children can learn to lead by example, in the classroom and at home. Motivated from within. That’s the goal.

“Do as I say” creates change from the outside in, often based on fear.
“Do as I do” creates change from the inside out, often based on love, honor and respect.

Words can be good, and inspiring even. Examples are even better.

The best? Encouraging words and encouraging examples, together, are the very best you can offer any human being.

Particularly for our students and children who rely on us for leadership.

If we don’t change, our students and children won’t find it easy to change.

If we are not willing to change, our students and children may not be able to find the way to change.

Pushing students and children to change “punches” them to act.

Pulling students and children along with our own enjoyment, laughter, humor and joy even, inspires them mightily.

It is so much easier for us as teachers and parents to just tell our students and children what they should be doing, rather than showing them what to do by having them follow our leadership, our example, our own love of learning, our own love of change (in ourselves, not just them).

It is not just our duty to exhort, command or scold. It is our sacred duty to lead by joyful example, each new day, in every way that we can do.

In every way that we can be, or be in the process of becoming.

Will we be able to do this every day, all the time, consistently, without fail?

Not at first.

Neither will our students and children.

Developing our example behavior, making our own changes, in ourselves, takes time.

Just so with our students and children as well.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

Doc Meek, May 20, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA, right now, visiting with my 91-year-old Mom, teaching school children how to learn more easily now, and looking after other things as well; not with my beloved wife Jeannette in South Jordan, Utah, USA, right now. Hopefully soon. 😮

P.S. “What is my example showing today?” I ask myself. “What is my behavior showing right now?” Oh . . . oh . . . hmmm . . .  😮

“How can I change?” I ask myself.

“How can I make a simple start?”

Today. Right now.

Just one simple step. 😮

In a previous post, I wrote: “Our brain, somewhat analogous to our muscles, needs work to develop and be strong, and needs rest to recuperate and renew.”

There is a difference between what our muscles and our brain need in order to do good work for us.

Let’s say our muscles are working reasonably hard for us. We might be digging up the garden with a shovel in the springtime, or shoveling the snow off the sidewalk in the wintertime. Then someone yells at us: “Hurry up! We have to leave in 10 minutes!”

When someone yells at us when our muscles are working, we can shovel harder and we will get the job done sooner. We may puff and pant a little, and we will still get the job done sooner.

The brain is different in its response to time pressure.

Let’s say our brain is working reasonably hard for us. We might be doing homework, or finishing up our income tax return. Then someone yells at us: “Hurry up! We have to leave in 10 minutes!” To some extent we can “hurry our brain,” and perhaps get the job done a little sooner, especially if we don’t mind making some mistakes.

When we put the brain under pressure–unlike muscles–the brain’s best performance usually deteriorates or slows down.

When someone yells at us when our brain is working reasonably hard, our brain usually ceases to do its best work. Or it may briefly speed up and work harder for a short time, and then go towards less clarity. You might even have a brain crash.

Why does brain performance decline under pressure?

Because the brain works best when it is relaxed and alert, not hurried and harried.

When I teach individual students or train teachers, I tell them:

(1) With respect to muscles, the harder you try, the better they work.

(2) With respect to the brain, the harder you don’t try, the better it works.

“That’s backwards!” they say.

Yes, amazingly, the brain’s performance and power increase when it is not under time pressure, when it is not under worry pressure.

Your brain works best when it is relaxed and alert.

So what do I do when my brain is under pressure?

Get up from your mental task and go get a drink of water. Even a 2% drop in your body/brain hydration will slow down or fog up your cognitive functions. The “get up and get a drink of water” both gives you some physical movement (which the brain loves and thrives upon) and also adds to the water availability in your body/brain system (which the brain loves and thrives upon).

So the “get up and get a drink of water” has a double benefit. Triple action actually. It benefits the body in general, and the brain and muscles in particular.

Another thing you can do to strengthen your brain power and reduce your fear of failure, right there where you are, is to sit back, relax, and take three (3) deep breaths. Breathe in deeply (not so deep it is not comfortable) through your nose, hold your breath briefly, and exhale through your mouth. “Breathe away your troubles,” as they say.

Better still, stand up before you relax and take your three (3) deep breaths. That gives you the added benefit or more physical movement without taking you away to the other room for a drink of water. In this case, you can have your water bottle at hand on your desk beside you. Better still, stand up and walk a little, right there, beside your desk. You might even shake your arms and stretch them towards the ceiling. You could wiggle your fingers and yell “Eh?” before you take your three (3) deep breaths.

If your nose is plugged, simply breathe in and out through your mouth. 😮

If other people are nearby, yell “Eh?” inside your head, silently. No one will hear you. 😮

Be sure your water stays out of the computer keyboard! 😮

Doc Meek, May 3, 2010

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

Today is Sunday and it made me think about reminding all of us to give our brains a period of rest, a sabbath (lower case).

Many religions observe a weekly day of rest, a Sabbath (upper case), a day to turn their work-a-day thinking/feelings in another direction. To look upward and notice loftier things. Or softer and gentler things. Things of the heart, things of the spirit. Many Muslims observe Friday as their Sabbath; many Jews observe Saturday as their Sabbath; and many Christians observe Sunday as their Sabbath.

Many people relate to nature as their sabbath.Walking in nature can sometimes provide an uplift found nowhere else.

Universities may provide a sabbatical year for professors, a year in which they can relax and refresh and renew their research interests.

“Believers” and “Non-believers” Alike

Whether we are “believers” or “non-believers,” our brains still need a “time out,” a sabbath. It improves our ability to learn, to remember, to be sharp. Sharp and awake. Mentally, physically, socially, emotionally, spiritually.

As Stephen R. Covey (1989, 2004) reminded us in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, if we just keep on sawing with the same old saw, over and over again, it will get dull.

He told us that it is essential to stop, to “sharpen the saw.” If we just keep sawing on, hoping to finish the pile of lumber today, we just become less and less efficient. Finally, we are still working very hard indeed and not much lumber is getting cut. The saw is simply too dull to do its work properly.

Stop. “Sharpen the saw.”

How Often Do Our Brains Need R and R?

How often should we stop to sharpen the saw, to give our brain a time of rest and renewal?

Every 7 years?

Annually?

Monthly?

Weekly?

Daily?

Hourly?

Every 10-20 minutes?

All of the above? Yes, and I’ll tell you why.

Our brain, somewhat analogous to our muscles, needs work to develop and be strong, and needs rest to recuperate and renew. Such renewal periods, whether taken after 20 minutes of homework, or a hard week’s work at the office or factory, improve memory, focus, attention, interest, and all manner of cognitive abilities that delight and bless us.

Now . . . today . . . and on to infinity.

Doc Meek, May 2, 2010

Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA