EP010: Applying Neuroscience to Choosing Winning Mindsets
Release Date: 10/21/2020
EP017: Everything We Were Told About Food is Wrong, Part 2
The Tony Wong Podcast
Don’t miss Part 2 of this episode where we touch on how diets can lead to almost religious dogma, how lifestyle and diets affect relationships, as well as genetics as it relates to food.
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EP016: Everything We Were Told About Food is Wrong, Part 1
The Tony Wong Podcast
Why do we need to know so much to even begin to scratch the surface of how to eat properly? How did we lose our bearings when it comes to the one aspect of our lives that is the highest predictor of our overall health?
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EP015: Have you Been Meditating Right? A Zen Master Weighs in
The Tony Wong Podcast
Today’s show is a guided exercise in mindfulness by Zen Master Genpo Roshi; tune in to hear how you may have been poorly instructed, if at all, on how to meditate as well as what the long-term benefits of the practice are.
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EP014: Finding Flow with Big Mind (Genpo Roshi)
The Tony Wong Podcast
We all live with the struggle of internal opposites: knowing you should do something (exercise? eat healthily? meditate?) but still procrastinating, knowing you’re performing well enough but still being stressed, needing to make a big decision but still being fearful… Big Mind is a profoundly interesting tool that enables individuals to identify aspects of themselves and work through the relationships they entertain with them.
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EP013: Pandemic Opportunities, Using Zen to Puzzle your Purpose — and Maybe Even The Meaning of Life
The Tony Wong Podcast
We are fortunate to ring in the new year with a discussion with Genpo Roshi, one of my Zen Masters and the creator of Big Mind. Today’s episode is a dive into deeper ideas ranging from human purpose to the meaning of life — no less!
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EP012: Body Shop with Meki Blackwell
The Tony Wong Podcast
I recently did my first (8-hour!) myofascial release session with my guest Meki Blackwell and it revealed a deeper perspective on how the body’s connective tissues work — I mean beyond what we all understand as “rolling out.” Are we taught how to move? Are we taught how to stand? We all know the answer to that, and it all leads to pain and premature aging.
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EP011: Changing Mindsets with Big Mind
The Tony Wong Podcast
Last week, Andrea joined the show for an experiment on mindset and performance. The results were clear: if you’re looking to create a frame of mind that makes hard activities seem enjoyable, this is the key!
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EP010: Applying Neuroscience to Choosing Winning Mindsets
The Tony Wong Podcast
Do you really have to crush, grind, and power through to perform? Does it have to be that difficult? Today’s episode is a practical experiment on the neuroscience principles that underpin neuroplasticity and the way humans learn in general.
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EP009: Pandemic Dating, Chasing Unicorns And Brutal Honesty
The Tony Wong Podcast
While a car metaphor may be a bit dated, it does seem to hit the nail on the head… Usually, we’re attracted to the shiny exterior, but when we look under the hood, the excitement may fall away. Would the reverse be possible then? Look under the hood, get excited, and then get attracted to the exterior? Are men and women different on that front?
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EP008: Pandemic Dating, Masculinity and Changing Expectations — A Fireside Chat With Andrea, Jenna, Kanani and Tony
The Tony Wong Podcast
The trend of looking for real meaningful experiences has been around for a while now, but COVID changed the game: the immediate starkness of lockdown made us miss the simple things in life, real human connection.
info_outlineDo you really have to crush, grind, and power through to perform? Does it have to be that difficult? Today’s episode is a practical experiment on the neuroscience principles that underpin neuroplasticity and the way humans learn in general.
If you want Tony to coach you, follow the link and fill out the form here.
Dr. Andrew Huberman has been making the podcast rounds lately, talking about the fine balance that needs to be struck between agitation and relaxed focus — sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous systems — to create the brain environment required to better integrate information, neuroplasticity.
To figure out if there are practical ways individuals can achieve this easily, return guest Andrea Hollenback agreed to play along in a three-part test where we:
1. Pushed her limits, in the form of a workout.
2. Helped her relax and coached her in Big Mind.
3. Pushed her limits again to see if they had moved at all.
The first part of this video podcast is the training and coaching session and the second part is where we pull apart the experience and establish if we were successful, listen in for an enlightening episode!
Key Takeaways
Experiment
Set 1 — Why did I sign up for this?! [7:24] Andrea — out of breath — shares her impressions on the first workout set and talks about the negative self-talk she had to battle to manage to get through it.
Coaching — Big Mind and Body scan [10:50] To help Andrea recover from her first set, Tony talks her through a body scan, and in order to get her primed and in the right mindset for her second set, does a Big Mind exercise with her.
The Big Mind process was created by Tony’s Zen master Genpo Roshi.
Set 2 – Better faster stronger [12:00] Andrea shares her thoughts on the second workout set which comparatively felt like an enjoyable experience.
She and Tony posit that this positive feeling carried through a difficult or challenging experience will lead to repeat performance which is ultimately key to any long-term success.
Discussion
The empowered, relaxed Andrea [14:45] Andrea shares her surprise at the results of the Big Mind exercises she went through with Tony and how it was the key to getting her into the right mindset quickly.
Putting your energy to better use [18:52] Despite having done an entire first — and exhausting — set, it would stand to reason that the set following the coaching would have been harder, but the opposite occurred!
The seemingly paradoxical neuroscience [19:51] Being able to focus through agitation is the neuroscience principle that underpins neuroplasticity and finding that delicate balance between agitation and relaxed focus. It’s finding the interplay between your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
Wider applicability [24:27] Tony and Andrea discuss how these principles can be applied to our work and private lives insofar as we manage to gain control of the mindset balance required to be in that hyper-aware state.
The aftermath [26:59] Beyond just the event itself — in this case, a workout — Tony wonders at the importance of the general feeling that follows and its purpose in your general disposition towards maintaining this behavior in the future. When the parasympathetic system takes over, you are in a position to learn.
Andrea’s epiphany [31:36] So you can retrain your autonomic nervous system, and it doesn’t even feel difficult! Tony and Andrea discuss the crush and grind of their careers.
On Tony [35:09] From panic attacks to adrenal fatigue and complete exhaustion, Tony shares what striving for this kind of balance has meant for him. Andrea shares her battles as well.
The grind as a hero narrative [35:49] Tony and Andrea discuss the twisted narrative that you have to sacrifice everything — including your sense of morality — at the altar of success. Both of them offer that finding the sympathetic/parasympathetic balance would enable success without as much sacrifice.
[40:13] Tony draws some conclusions from the episode and opens up the discussion to listener comments.
Thanks for tuning in.
More about your hosts
Podcast: tonywongpodcast.com
Agile Coaching: Agiletony.com
Executive Coaching: Agiletony.com/mental-and-emotional-agility
Twitter: Twitter.com/agile_tony
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/tonywongdigitalonion
Youtube: Youtube.com/channel/UCJyT0C_nrzAZ9GhmOXaSRRw
More about our guests
Andrea Hollenback on Instagram @andreajileen and LinkedIn
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