Your brain runs the show
Every minute of every day, your brain is being bombarded with billions and billions of stimuli. These are tiny pieces of information your brain receives through your five senses. They are the things you see, hear, smell, taste and feel on your skin. 100% of how you respond to these stimuli… what you think, feel, say and do… is underwritten by the processes constantly taking place in your brain. Your brain runs the show, but deliberately focusing on every single thing you see, hear, taste, smell and feel during every waking and sleeping moment of your life, would be exhausting. That’s why the vast majority of the processes taking place in your brain literally happen without you ever realizing what’s going on.
The human brain is like an iceberg
We call the part of an iceberg we see floating above the surface of the water the tip of the iceberg because the majority of it – more than 90% to be exact – lies beneath the surface. Your brain operates in much the same way. Like an iceberg, only a tiny fraction of the processes happening in your brain take place above the surface (conscious brain function). The rest of how your brain interprets and processes what’s going on in the world around you, happens on auto-pilot (subconscious brain function).
The Line of Consciousness
Just like the surface of the water, which separates the visible from the hidden parts of an iceberg, the Line of Consciousness separates the conscious and subconscious parts of the brain. Research in neuroscience indicates about 3% to 5% of mental functioning takes place in the conscious part of the brain. The remaining 95%-97% take place subconsciously, hidden from the conscious part of the brain.
Conscious vs. Subconscious
Conscious brain processes can be described as whatever you are currently aware of. In other words what you are feeling, doing, seeing, touching, experiencing in the here and now. Conscious brain processes include willful operations like choosing, planning, contemplating, creating and active listening.
The Subconscious brain is constantly working in the background, but you may not necessarily be aware of it. It collects and permanently stores information related to everything you have ever seen, done, thought or experienced in your entire life and uses it to make split-second decisions aimed at avoiding pain and danger, and conserving energy. The subconscious brain also uses this stored information to determine what you believe about yourself (self-concept). Whether what you believe is actually true or not, these beliefs greatly influence your mindset.
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
The type and quality of mindset you possess influences your behavior and has the power to impact your performance in positive and negative ways. Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, has identified two types of mindsets: fixed and growth. People with fixed mindsets tend to be negative or pessimistic and in extreme cases, even hopeless. They believe their talents and abilities are fixed traits that cap their potential for success. People with growth mindsets tend to be positive, optimistic and hopeful. They believe they can improve their existing skills and talents and even develop new ones with persistent, hard work. The bottom line is without a growth mindset, even the most talented person may never realize his or her full potential.
The Mind-Body Connection
Research in neurophysiology supports the notion of the mind-body connection. Simply put, thoughts impact emotions, which impact the chemicals secreted in the brain, which impact physiological responses. Have you ever been so nervous before a game that your palms sweat or your stomach tightens? This is the mind-body connection in action and it’s why cultivating the proper mindset is so important to your performance. Many athletes focus almost exclusively on physical training, but the mind-body connection is proof that mental and physical performance are intimately intertwined. No amount of physical training will ever make up for poor mindset. Remember… it’s never too early to hit the mental weight room.
Bio: Antoinette Datoc is a certified Mental Performance Coach who specializes in helping athletes, their parents and coaches cultivate growth mindsets and mental strength. She is a competitive ballroom dancer and together with her partner (who happens also to be her husband) has accumulated more than a dozen national championship titles and represented Team USA in three world championship events.
