Neuroscience of Thriving in Uncertainty

Choice Magazine Feature Article

by Julia Bunyatov

November 2024

Choice-online.com

Thriving in Uncertainty: Neuroscience and applications for coaches and leaders

The decision to thrive gives us the energy boost required to solve complex problems and rearrange what we know in order to recognize new opportunities and create extraordinary outcomes.

In this post-pandemic era, we continue encountering unprecedented levels of uncertainty in the corporate and overall societal landscape. Rapid changes in the geopolitical world and technological advancements demand that leaders embrace strategies beyond survival and

focus on thriving.

The continued need for adaptation has proven that sustaining change is difficult, draining, and, at times, may seem unbearable. Continued stress becomes chronic,

and our ability to react to events diminishes our performance and satisfaction with life. Over the past four years, we’ve observed more and more people continue their search for meaning, purpose, fulfillment and satisfaction.

How do we align this backdrop with what science teaches us today about how the brain operates and reacts to uncertainty? In times of profound change, do we have a choice of how we proceed and lead? And what can we do to shift into thriving?

Thirteen years ago, in the face of un- imaginable adversity, I made the conscious decision to thrive. From that very pivotal moment, a new chapter began in my life, and it made me wonder: How would I be able to do it? To answer that question, I embarked on my journey to attain expertise in the field of neuroscience and brain-body connection. I was certified as an advanced neuroscience coach and discovered that there were certain scientific conditions that led me to choose to thrive.

Mindset researcher and educator Ash Buchanan offered the most compelling definition of thriving. He connects the meaning of thriving to the evolutionary sciences of adaptation, with three stages across survival, parsing what’s no longer needed to adapt (resilience), and creating new tools and conditions to advance.

Buchanan’s definition highlights that we thrive during uncertain times when we choose to thrive. It’s an active decision to overcome fear, question underlying beliefs, adapt and bounce forward in the face of challenges. This choice emerges from an aha moment – an epiphany in which new possibilities and insights become clear, helping us bounce forward,

grow and transform.

In the coaching relationship, our work with clients facilitates these aha moments of insight and clarity. Research by Richard Boyatzis shows that coaching creates what he calls a Positive Emotional Attractor (PEA), “which causes positive emotion and arouses systems that stimulate better cognitive function and increased perceptual accuracy and openness in the (other) person…” This enables the client to see opportunities and possibilities (aha moments). Similar to leaders, coaches need to engage and inspire clients “to do their best, innovate and adapt” (Boyatzis, 2015).

My experience, training, research and work with C-suite executives have led me to connect the following four components to one’s ability to thrive:

1. Being in a state where energy is abundant and nothing seems impossible.

2. Having full awareness of the situation and choosing an action that feels “right” (congruent with values).

3. Having a strong sense of belonging and bonding – the all-important social (safety) component to resilience.

4. Being able to solve complex problems and create innovative and simple solutions that can be implemented quickly (often in a team setting).

The latest neuroscience research shows that our brains are sophisticated organs that continuously predict what will happen and manage the energy distribution throughout the brain-body system. This challenges the belief that the brain mainly reacts to events, instead demonstrating that the brain proactively works to keep us alive, survive and thrive.

The brain runs this prediction process most efficiently when it can accurately predict the energy required, given our past experiences. When the outcomes become less known or certain, the brain runs a prediction error – the difference in energy forecast given the brain’s past experiences and the anticipated energy of the unknown.

When the brain is running a prediction error, we may experience anxiety – which contributes to our stress and emotional angst and, if prolonged, can lead to chronic stress. The research shows that the prediction error is eliminated by action; in my case, that action was my decision to choose to thrive.

What conditions allow us to see the path to thriving when the brain runs a high prediction error? Neurozone conceptualized a comprehensive model for brain performance, delivering evidence-based interventions to build resilience and counter burnout to unlock human capacity for high performance (Neurozone, 2017).

Central to this model, and the key condition for thriving, is a Relaxed Physiological State (RPS) – “a state of silent alertness in which the brain is ready to respond to threats and opportunities.” RPS is achieved by adequate self-care or wellness behaviors (sleep, exercise, meditation, nutrition), emotional states (gratitude, empathy, optimism, destructive habits avoidance) and cognitive states that lead to innovation (learning, abstraction, curiosity). All capacities are interdependent.

Similarly to Richard Boyatzis’s research around PEA, RPS optimizes brain-body energy for the goal-directed activity that is required for learning and innovation.

During uncertainty, mindfulness, optimism and curiosity are three practices that place us in an optimal state to recognize opportunities, decide to thrive, and act confidently to create extraordinary outcomes.

Mindfulness is the ability to control attention in a desired way; it involves non-judgmental, moment-to-moment awareness of one’s present experience. When we practice consistently, mindfulness reduces anxiety, connects us with our inner self, creates a clear awareness, and supports the decision-making process aligned with long-term goals and values. Outstanding leadership is rooted in the habit of making good choices and decisions, especially during uncertain times (Schwartz et al.).

Optimism, defined as “a general tendency to expect positive outcomes,” is associated with many benefits, mainly greater resilience in the face of adversity. Optimists can better assess the pros and cons of different options (Fox, 2022); they believe in their capacity to take on new challenges and risks and feel confident in creating great outcomes (Carver, 2010).

Curiosity contributes to a significant improvement in brain prediction power (Li et al., 2019); fosters a Relaxed Physiological State and resilience, is a precursor to creativity and innovation, and is essential for learning and development. Curiosity, mindfulness, and optimism position the brain-body system into an optimal state for making value-aligned decisions and achieving long-term goals (Neurozone).

Thriving can be contagious, and according to Neurozone, bonding and belonging (social safety) are essential components of resilience. Daniel Siegel’s model of Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) states that the brain is a social organ; “it integrates input from other people with the process of regulating the body, balancing emotional states, and creating self-awareness” (Siegel, 2006).

Mirror neurons drive imitation and mimicry (Cattaneo & Rizolatti, 2009); hence, resilience is a function of social connection. Furthermore, our state as coaches can be contagious – a thriving coach can support a client in doing the same. We all face uncertainty throughout our

lives, and how we choose to act ultimately begins with the decision to thrive. This decision can only be made when our brain-body energy is optimized by wellness behaviors and emotional states, moving us into a Relaxed Physiological State that supports our ability to have insight and clarity (aha moments).

Our capacity to be resilient is a function of strong social connections, but even more profound is the knowledge that prolonged indecision contributes to greater anxiety. The decision to thrive gives us the energy boost required to solve complex problems and rearrange what we know in order to recognize new opportunities and create extraordinary outcomes.

Brains adapt and can bounce forward to thrive, just as exemplary leaders adapt in times of uncertainty, choose opportunity over fear, learn, innovate, evolve, and feature ultimately, thrive. These leaders have integrated, optimized brain-body systems that can connect with their vision and make decisions congruent with values; they do not prolong inaction – they choose thriving over fear, connect with aha moments, and create extraordinary outcomes.

Just as leaders can choose to adapt and thrive, coaches can do the same. And visionary coaches lead visionary clients.

If this topic resonates with you, let’s continue the discussion on LinkedIn! Comment and share your thoughts on my original post here.

REFERENCES

A. Buchanan, “Thriving, resilience, and surviving,” Medium (2017). medium.com/benefit-mindset/thriving-resilience-and-surviving-1b6cac1a87e0

R. E. Boyatzis, K. Rochford & S. Taylor, “The role of the positive emotional attractor in vision and shared vision: toward effective leadership, relationships, and engagement,” Frontiers in Psychology (2015).

L. F. Barrett, L. F., How Emotions are Made. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2017). "Validation of the Neurozone Brain Performance Diagnostic," Neurozone White Paper (2017). fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/9441450/Neurozone_White_Paper_Validation_of_BPD2_Aug2017.pdf

"Theoretical Construction – Model of Brain Performance," Neurozone White Paper (2017). fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/9441450/Neurozone_White_Paper_Theoretical_Construction_Aug2017.pdf "Effectiveness of Neurozone," Neurozone White Paper (2017). fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/9441450/Neurozone_White_Paper_Effectiveness_of_Neurozone_Aug2017.pdf "Linking Neuro-Psycho-Metrics with Cortisol," Neurozone White Paper (2017). fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/9441450/Neurozone_White_Paper_Linking%20Neuro- PsychoMetrics%20with%20Cortisol.pdf

H. A. Schwartz, B. A. Mellers & A. Cooke, “Outstanding leadership is rooted in the habit of making good choices and decisions, especially during uncertain times,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2019).

E. Fox, “The neuroscience of optimism,” Nature ReviewsNeuroscience (2022).

B. L. Fredrickson & C. Branigan, “Positive emotions broaden and build, American Psychologist (2005).

C. S. Carver, M. F. Scheier & S. C. Segerstrom,“Optimism,” Clinical Psychology Review (2010). doiorg/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.01.006

K. Buhr & M. J. Dugas, “Aversive Indecisiveness Predicts Risks for and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Over Avoidant Indecisiveness,” Journal of Rational-Emotive & CognitiveBehavior Therapy , M. J. (2023).doi.org/10.1007/s10942-023-00455-7

Y. Li, T. Huo, K. Zhuang, et al., “Functional connectivity mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and curiosity,” ScienceDirect Neuroscience Letters (2019).

D. J. Siegel, “An interpersonal neurobiology approach to psychotherapy: Awareness, mirror neurons, and neural plasticity in the development of well-being,” Psychiatric Annals (2006).

L. Cattaneo & G. Rizzolatti, “The mirror neuron system,” Arch Neurol (2009).

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