How Your Brain Reacts To Challenges

In your brain, there's something called the 'A-C-C'. This region activates when you face an error and gives you some negative emotions.

In the mindset experiment, they found that people with a fixed mindset had a bigger a-c-c activation. So they got triggered and felt bad after making mistakes. But the people with a growth mindset got a milder activation. When they faced an error, they activated regions of the brain that control cognition and problem-solving.

So first of all, this is fascinating!!! The way you think changes your brain's functionality. Here's a graph to see how it looks. It's complicated. You can just look at the green head and redhead to get the gist. There’s a red head, not a redhead 👩‍🦰🙃 .

So, the fixed-mindset people felt like wrong answers are an attack on their identity. They felt hurt. Just like we mentioned yesterday.

But the ones with a growth mindset didn't mind errors. In fact, they enjoyed them. They became curious. They weren't offended. Instead, they started to think of more ways to solve the problem.

Action for the day

During your day, you will face roadblocks. Feelings of fear, imposter syndrome, jealousy, and not being good enough. And that’s okay.

Before, I used to get mad at myself for making mistakes. As if I'm ​the mistake​. And I'll wallow in self-pity. But now I think: "Okay, beating myself up won't help. What can I tweak so that I'm better at solving this problem next time?"

This makes it work like a game. If you look at Mr beast, for example, he hacked youtube/life by seeing like a puzzle. He’s slowly putting the pieces together. So it’s fun. He looks forward to problem-solving. And always activates his redhead.

So, , for today, when you feel threatened or overwhelmed, don't beat yourself up. It doesn't serve you. Instead, pause, put on your Sherlock Homes hat, and solve the puzzle.

It makes everything more fun. And you’ll be way more productive. Enjoy it !

See every roadblock like a game you’re trying to solve.