Sometimes I wish I'd become a neuroscientist

If I had discovered my interest in the brain and how it works when I was young (and if I had developed the strength of character to do the work required), I may have become a neuroscientist.

Nonetheless, I am a huge fan of Oliver Sacks and Jonah Lehrer (whose "Frontal Cortex" blog (I wish I had time to read more regularly) and I am consistently fascinated by almost any brain research I read about, especially when it relates to work.

So you can imagine my delight when I came across "In Hard Times, Fear Can Imperil Decision-Making" by neuroeconomist (that's what I could have been!), Gary Berns, in yesterday's NY Times.

It's basically about how to keep fear from short-circuiting exploration of the new and sound decision-making. Here's the crux of it:

The most concrete thing that neuroscience tells us is that when the fear system of the brain is active, exploratory activity and risk-taking are turned off. The first order of business, then, is to neutralize that system.

This means not being a fearmonger. It means avoiding people who are overly pessimistic about the economy. It means tuning out media that fan emotional flames. Unless you are a day-trader, it means closing the Web page with the market ticker. It does mean being prepared, but not being a hypervigilant, everyone-in-the-bunker type.

I don't care what your business is, but if you think it will eventually come back to what it was — your brain is in the grips of the fear-based endowment effect. What I am doing is looking for new opportunities....This strategy keeps the exploratory system of my brain active. And right now there are incredible opportunities to do something differently. Yes, they’re risky, and some will fail. But while others wait for the storm to pass, I’m busy expanding into new areas.If I wait for money to start flowing again, the opportunities will have passed.

Comments

[Sharon Bending]

I love it, Ilise! It's all about having a positive attitude and taking the future into your own hands vs. lying in the fetal position and being a victim. Love it. Thanks for continuing to spread the positivity in such a "gloom-and-doom" time.

[Lauri Baram]

Ilise,
Didn't know you were a fan of Jonah Lehrer. He spoke at AIGA Gain in October and was fascinating. I just finished his book "Proust was a Neuroscientist" and highly recommend it. He shows how artists (of all disciplines) made discoveries about the brain decades before science caught up. An interesting perspectve especially for all your creative clients.

[TurtleBlueBird]

I second Sharon -- "Thanks for continuing to spread the positivity in such a "gloom-and-doom" time.