Minutes of a Monday #12

Brain Food > Shallow to Deep

“A lot of people are challenged into getting into a mode of focus. None of us however should be expected to just sit down and drop directly into a state of focus – I think that’s a completely unfair request of ourselves….you wouldn’t expect yourself to go out on the track or go out for a run and not warm up, you might jog for a few minutes or even walk before you would jog and jog before you would run…and if you’re doing resistance training I doubt you go over and load up the bar or machine with the maximum amount of weight that you can move and just drop right in….you always do a warm-up.

It's very important to understand that mental work, focus and concentration requiring that warm-up. What is that warm-up? That warm-up is the ramping up of epinephrine (adrenalin), acetylcholine and dopamine. The way that neuron chemicals work is we don’t get to flip switches in our brain because we decide to – that’s a fantasy, that’s the Limitless movie or ideas that suddenly you’re gonna flip a switch on your arm and all of a sudden you’re gonna be in a laser focus. That’s not the way that your nervous system works. There is a gradual dropping into any state. You go from shallow sleep to deep sleep, focus too – you go from shallow focus to deep focus.”

Dr. Andrew Huberman talks about getting into a mode of focus and concentration.

Soul Food

"If you want to make change, begin by making culture." Seth Godin

Rare Air

“That’s the whole point…I’m trying to give the audience autonomy, to feel what they want to feel. To say, here’s a possibility, just for a moment, you know? Forget about everything else, forget about your day…and all the problems that life presents you. Just for a moment you get to have solitude and experience something. And whatever it is you want to experience, I’m opening the door for you to feel something.”

Composer Hans Zimmer speaking about the inspiration behind his music for BBC sounds podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon.

Appendix

Jack Nicholson getting into focus for The Shining.

LOL

Ben Stiller channels his inner Tom Cruise.

AOB

Have a great week – Niall