Did I get your attention with that title? To be more correct, the technical term is DOSE dealer; and you are one as well! Once you become aware of how you deal-out your drugs, it will change how you lead not only your team, even how you think about your life, forever. Someone once said, “If you knew how powerful your thoughts were, you would never think another negative thought again”. So, let me tell you how powerful your thoughts are.
There are four major chemicals produced in your brain that creates a state of being: Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, and Endorphins. Every state of being we experience, we could call a drug-like state, because each moment perceptions are being induced, one of these four major chemicals are released.
Much like caffeine, our bodies become conditioned to having these chemicals run through our bodies. To give you an example of what this is like, if you are a person who is accustom to having caffeine by 6:00 AM every morning, by 6:15 AM, you start looking for your coffee fix in a hurry. This is what your neuro-pathways do because habitually they are accustom to having their drugs, much like an addiction. Therefore, subconsciously you will create situations to keep that drug coming or being produced.
When you have a perception, consciously or subconsciously, derived from previous experiences, you create an image in your mind in order to correlate with your present thoughts. This is your body’s way of survival, as well as, its ability to make sense of every moment you are experiencing. Your brain produces the appropriate chemicals needed once it is triggered by images of past events.
The first experience is always the most memorable, which is just one reason your childhood has such a huge impact on you. Many of the feelings you had as a child doesn’t always have logical explanations associated with them; so any uncomfortable emotions that stem from being bullied, abused, fear, or embarrassment, to name a few, is taken in as a threat.
The subconscious uses specific chemicals as a way to survive going forward. In short, how you view your upbringing is based on your subconscious interpretation. That perception, or story, will be drawn to that chemically induced feeling; and as an adult, your subconscious will do everything in its power to create the same result, regardless of it being the best thing for you. Some people feel they are being treated like a child with their manger because, the tone reminds them of their parent. This creates a response or feeling that they disappoint their parent vs. a simple meeting of the minds.
Your Drugstore - A breakdown of these drugs you produce.
Dopamine is known to be the happy drug. However, it is more of an anticipation drug, like a child being told they are going to Disneyland tomorrow. Today, that child is happy, excited, and seems to see life as just a moment until tomorrow. This child will produce a lot of dopamine because of the expectations of tomorrow. This is a great drug to produce when meditating and imagining your goals.
Oxytocin is what makes us social creatures. This drug is what produces the emotion of empathy. If you have a desk job that is mainly behind a computer, or you have an introverted lifestyle, your body will produce less of this chemical to protect you from the feeling of loneliness. If you grew up without a social network, you may even desire jobs where you are not part of a tribe. Oxytocin, when released, is the drug that makes us feel close to others. This chemical does not produce very much in teenagers, and for a good reason. Considering our primal history, thirteen years of age was considered an adult. Survival meant killing for food, protecting your family, fighting for what you want…there was no room for empathy. However, this chemical rushes into a woman when giving birth to her child.
Serotonin is more of a regulator and can be used for the better or the worst of moments. Most of this chemical is govern in our guts and regulates through hunger which is why you may be “hangry” at times.
Endorphin is the chemical that helps you with pain and/or discomfort. It is also known as the trigger response for fight or flight, which helps produce the Cortisol within the blood stream. Cortisol, when produced, redirects the blood flow to your outer extremities. This chemical would be a good thing to have while running from an animal trying to attack you or during a fight. Endorphins are also good for you when you are afraid or nervous because it allows you to perform under stress. They also kick-in when we exercise which helps you push through one more set. Endorphins also kick in when your manager says. "I need to speak with you in my office".
These drugs have a technical term called DOSE. They produce without any predetermine judgment of why, with the exception of your own perception, which produces your thoughts. Your thoughts are the stories that you tell yourself. For example, Endorphins kick in when you are excited to go on a roller-coaster ride, as well as, if you fear the ride. The story (your “why”) is what makes these drugs interact with your mind and produce a good or bad experience and state-of-mind.
With new discoveries in neuroscience, we can now see what happy, love, and anger look like in the brain. What is also being discovered is the power of imagination because imagination can change the chemicals in your brain. Science would hate to admit it, but maybe the hippies of the 60’s where right.
How do I deal my drugs?
I work on changing the brain and in-so doing, I help you change your mind. Here is how it is done.
The brain is the physical structure, like a building. The mind is the personality, logic, and the emotions of the individual structure, like the people who work in the building. The goal is to change the buildings architecture or design and you will draw new types of companies/people to your building.
Your left prefrontal cortex is where most of the negative emotions fire off. If you can redirect that area, meaning when you have a negative thought, you redirect it right away after acknowledging you feel it by changing the story.
Using the analogy of the building and the workers inside, this redesigns that office space within the building, changing the couch, the wall color and painting on the walls, etc. By changing the view, it becomes a different motif. If you notice, I did not say ignore the negative, but change your paradigm to that negative to a purpose, reason, or benefit. This is changing you from victim to victor.
How I also apply neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is by taking an association of positive and then creating a physical context around it, like a hand slap or a squeeze of a finger. I then have you imagine that negative thought while squeezing the finger to bring back the positive association with that area of the brain.
This ties into our concept of stress. Any stress, even driving through traffic, your job stresses, and money concerns creates Cortisol. It has been documented what Cortisol does to the body and linked to weight gain, heart attacks, and depression.
Cortisol is not always bad for the body, It is a great chemical to have because it increases muscle strength. I recall in the 1980’s a story in the newspaper where a woman lifted her rolled over car off the ground just enough to remove her child from underneath it. Cortisol directs the blood to move to the muscles away from the heart so you have more strength. If you have ever had someone yell at you, and your heart started to pound, that’s the heart saying, “Hey, where’s my blood?” The answer is…it is flowing to your muscles preparing for confrontation.
Cortisol also shuts down the neuro-cortex ability to fire off so that the logical area of the brain is not considering what may normally be considered impossible, like lifting a car or how stupid you look driving 70 miles an hour on the car bumper in front of you while yelling because they cut you off. The concept of that moment being a life and death situation slips your mind.
Do you now see how you are your own dope dealer? Only people on drugs would do something like that, right? As I said before, these chemicals do not have a story, so any story you give yourself, the chemicals in your brain will react to it. If you do not like the way a person is talking to you or a glare from a stranger, or negative lyrics of a song or listening to the atrocities of the world news, then you know that those feelings impact the subconscious. They cause a release of chemicals telling you how you are unhappy, angry, depressed, ill, unworthy. I personally have stopped looking at infomercials about any illness that sounds too familiar to any symptoms I may have, because they all play a part on perception and create stress.
Did you know that Cortisol has been shown to destroys about 25% of the hippocampus? The hippocampus in that part within the brain where visual and facial memory is held, along with context, settings, and new memories. This is why stress has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The American Medical Association has stated that over 80% of all illness begins with stress.
Thoughts are physical if you imagine
Getting new neuro transmitters is a physical act. You have to decide to rewrite your story. Instead of judging yourself for past failures, comparing yourself to others, and using your past to define your future, the goal is to imagine without reservation and focus forward on who you want to be. Imagine without previous opinions of yourself. Positive affirmations are good, but it can’t stop there. You have to imagine in as much detail as possible. This is how you change emotions and produce more Dopamine. Dopamine improves concentration, imagination, and helps synchronize the heart and mind rhythm.
The next thing to do is act on the right behaviors even when it’s uncomfortable. Mel Robbins speaks about the 5-second rule; and she is correct. Action creates energy, so action is key to any true change.
I have a client who hated working out but his health was fading and he was advised to start moving. My focus was not to get him to workout initially, due to his dislike to it. Instead, I had him get up early five days in a row and not go to the gym to develop a habit. Eventually, he got up on his own and started dressing for the gym; then he started driving to the gym; and eventually he went inside and spent ten minutes on the treadmill. Now, he is there for an hour and can’t live without working out each morning.
The next thing is to consider cutting out particular people in your life. Many people around you may judge your desire to change. Connect with people who desire the same things as you, or have the same habits as you do. Even family may be distractors for you. I don’t consider my blood family, “family”. I refer to them as relatives. True family are those people who accept you and vice versa, while you both enjoy each other’s company.
Conclusion:
Rewiring the brain is one of the most powerful things to do. Over time, you create a new road to the building and a new group of personalities within your building called you.
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