Brain Matters: Is Money More Important Than Fairness?

Did you know that social pain and physical pain light up the same regions of the brain on an MRI and that as far as the brain goes, social pain is just as harmful as physical pain?

The brain also finds fairness intrinsically important. When people's brains are being monitored, scientist have concluded that when people judge a situation to be fair, reward centers of the brain light up just like they do when they see a loved one or taste great food.

On the other hand, unfair situations generate significant fear and light up a region of the brain that is stimulated when we feel disgust. In one study they found that fairness was more important to the brain than money.

What a relief! I was beginning to think money was all anyone cared about.

So, how can you apply this information at work or in your personal life?

Healthy work environments and healthy relationships are a result of instilling fairness and setting up rewards that make people feel positive.

Basically, when you embrace social fairness and apply it to every relationship you have, you are essentially dousing everyone with whom you come in contact with serotonin. Serotonin opens the mind and makes people feel great and successful.

In return, you'll be rewarded with individuals who want to be with you more, learn more from you, and do more for you.

On the flip side, if you diminish someone, it's like you're injecting them with high levels of cortisol, which will shut the brain down and close it off to new ideas and a willingness to help you out.

So, in every relationship you have, think about how you can inject a little more "social fairness" into the equation. Are your words, actions, feelings, and energy generating positive thoughts and positive responses? Are you praising your employees or contractors? Are you showing and telling them how grateful you are for them? Are you showing gratitude to those you're in relationships with?

Imagine yourself with a Serotonin Soaker and see how much more satisfying and productive all your interactions can be.

The Brain's Limitations

In a related topic, scientists are investigating the brain's limitations based on genetics. Pierce Howard, Ph.D. and director of research at the Center for Applied Cognitive Studies says "behavior is inherited". He said that for nearly 70 years we have been operating on the fact that anyone can do anything. Meaning, give me a capable student and the right situation, and I can teach him to do anything.

He argues that while that may be partially true, there are certain traits and abilities that, depending on the individual, will make the learning better supported.

So, technically I could teach someone how to become a better copywriter but she may not have an inherent ability to write as a day-to-day work responsibility. It doesn't mean she can't do it, it just means her natural tendency doesn't support it. And, if she does it for a significant part of her work life, it will become a demotivator.

So, the lesson here is that we all have skills and abilities that are inherent to us. If we are going to build the very best and most profitable business we can, we have to do those things that come naturally to us and that we excel at.

The rest, we have to delegate.

As entrepreneurs our time is extremely valuable and we have to capitalize on every minute we have. We simply can't be great and efficient at every task. Some of us get caught in the trap that we have to do everything and not only is that not true but it's not good business.

Think about, the most successful CEOs of Fortune 100 companies are not out booking appointments, arranging their travel, and screening calls. Why? Because they need to be doing the things they are best at in order for the company to thrive. And, they have very capable assistants that can do all of that stuff infinitely better than they can.

So, think about what you can delegate so that you can spend more time doing things that are in line with your natural abilities and let others take care of the rest.

Here's a little fact about the impact stress has on us.

Did you know that long term stress shrinks your brain mass, knocks off about 10 years of your life and lowers your overall immunity? While a bit of arousal from short term deadlines may help you focus, ongoing and high arousal will cause the brain to shut down and work at a mere fraction of its capability.

For some strange reason stress has become a badge of honor in our society. Somehow the more stressed you are, the more important you are or the more productive you are.

It's simply not true.

Life does not have to be so hard, so stressful. You can be wildly successful and have very little if any stress. There's plenty of time in the day to work, play, love, laugh, work out, pamper yourself and even run a few errands! Alleviating stress is all about being in the moment and relishing each every second.