Your brain loves it when you point it in a direction and focus it accordingly. Asking your brain to continuously switch directions confuses the cranium. Lets say you are working on building up your book of business at work as a for instance. You can focus on making sure you get credit for all the value you deliver to your fellow producers, prospects, and people you serve. You can focus on claiming value.
Or you can tell your brain to focus on contributing value. You can invest your cranium in building expertise, solving problems, and serving up solutions in the best interest of other people. You can study, learn, and apply your learning toward mastering your craft with a focus on contributing something of value. You can focus on contributing value.
Most humans focus on meeting somewhere in the middle and matching. In other words, they try to give and take in a reciprocal kinda way and be fair about it. This causes the brain to think way too much about keeping score. And, as we already know, the brain tends to over estimate how much it’s owner is giving vs. taking, so some kinda justice thread tweakage is on it’s way. The match maker, if you will, burns out trying to get it right and feeling wronged. His/her performance is mired in confusion and the mediocre middle is their lot. The one focused on claiming credit is the classic taker. They win in the short term. Over time, however, they too end up in the mediocre middle. Yes they get really good at taking as much credit as they can, and eventually the world takes notice. The world of producers, prospects, and other people starts to take back. This brain burns out fighting the inevitable unproductive fights of their own making.
Study any endeavor and any long term, high performance system. Study any relationship you like. You will notice that happy, high performers focus on contributing value. High performers focus on giving more than they take. High performers understand this is the way they’ve been designed by a creative, generous, and ALL giving God. So, they get busy focusing their brain in the one direction it can deliver the most good. Good.
Giver, taker, matcher. Which one are you telling your brain to become? You choose. Your choices have consequences. Thanks, Sister Sue for the new book, Give and Take, by Adam Grant. And, thanks Rich Nathan for recommending. God, help me pass a little along…
BUILT TO LEAD 