Encouragement
Margaret Hayes 
*Understanding the Power of Positive Interaction, Celebrating Small Wins, and Why Encouragement is So Important.*
When someone believes in us, we feel seen, valued, and connected as a person, a brand, or a company. When we are connected, we can make a difference. The same way neurons work in our brain when they are connected, all 86 billion or so of them.
However, the brain can be very attentive in keeping us safe at all costs and talking about costs the brain is very economical in using energy. Learning something new takes lots of energy so we are mostly creatures of habit.
The brain will often avoid learning something new if it’s not vital for our survival. This is where we hear “That’s not you” “What if you get it wrong?” “We don’t have the mental energy for that”” what if you make a mistake?” “What if you fail”
By understanding our brain, we can challenge the thoughts that get in the way of us moving forward. Alfred Adler talked about the importance of encouragement, and it being a core feature of human development. When a child starts to walk, someone holds their hands, walks behind them, encourages them to get up and try again. They also celebrate small wins, reaching all those small goals.
Who encouraged us throughout our lives and what impact did that have? When we encourage, we engage courage, we instill confidence and hope. Then new possibilities emerge, and new learnings take place.
When we have clear expectations with goals and challenges with little encouragement it is easier to take whatever step we are ready to take. Not forgetting to celebrate the small wins, this helps create new pathways in the brain.
Check out our other posts for more observations and insights from applied neuroscience practitioners.
Categories: Business, Encouragement, learning, neuroplasticity, positive interactions, workplace