Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

Yesterday Ed Brenegar’s post on cynicism caught my eye over at Leading Questions for a couple of reasons.

First I was reminded of a person I’d been with recently whose cynicism created a  downward spiral that led her into a lonely and ineffective place at work. People around her simply tired of listening to Margo expect the bad and rant about how things are getting worse.

Second, I thought about how cynicism distracts the brain from solution-building and rewires it to problem-blaming instead. It can also increase hormones that produce dangerous levels of stress. When we understand skepticism and disparagement from a brain based view, we see how cynicism not only separates people from any responsibility to improve our situation, it also rewires the brain for damaging practices such as distruct, doubt and scorn. The parts of the brain that are engaged in cynicism differ from those involved in more positive behaviors such as compassion for others or building meaningful solutions to problems.

Eventually the brain moves cynical behavior from its working memory over into the basal ganglia where your mind stores habitual behaviors. At that point… choices for positive behaviors are harder to make… short of a dangerous jolts from bad experiences that can zap renewed synapses into the brain for a more positive perspective. But who needs a jolt of lightning like one friend who lost her job or another whose family disowned him? What do you think?

Once negative behavior lands in stubborn seats of routine … though… cynicism begins to feels and look normal. At least normal to the cynic. If you’ve heard a cynic brag about his or her put downs or pessimistic views lately… you see what I mean.  Cynical words and actions tend to rub off on others who lack a positive direction for their lives. Have you ever noticed how quickly insecure workers latch onto the  negativity and blame of a cynic? It’s almost as if cynicism seems a safer route than solution-building.

Inside the brain, just as outside in practice … cynicism is the opposite of reflection or of intrapersonal intelligence. Not surprisingly … the longer a person’s cynicism lasts, the more that person will project blame onto others for problems at work. It works for people who lack confidence to solve problems with tangible and immediate results that require intelligence. So, my question is: What's the opposite of cynicism and who do you know who models its opposite? What do you think?

My initial reaction is that the opposite of cynicism is the state of mind that I see illustrated regularly at Ed Brenegar’s site, and it draws from multiple intelligences. It covers people with hope… shapes events with generous sense of responsibility for others, and welcomes excellence. It cares for the world so that people care about one another… more because of wisdom that adds value to any situation it encounters, than because of cynicism that robs a solution.