3-D Behavioral Science - Focus on Drivers

It's amazing to me to observe human behavior on a daily basis. I am intrigued with the psychology and neuroscience behind it so I will dedicate a post every once in a while to it.

I fancy myself an amateur neuroscientist as I think every person who works in the Allied Medical field should be as well. As providers of health care, our understanding of human behavior needs to be more than the average citizen. To understand someone in Mind, Body and Spirit is to understand than as whole being. Afterall, that is who we are.

As a health care provider, I have the opportunity to come into contact with a lot people and one of the Principles of Functional Mind/Body/Spirit Training is that it is DRIVEN. What does this mean? Well, in simple terms, a catalyst of sorts (insert any noun) will cause a reaction in something else that will send it in some direction. For instance, a toddler falls down and bangs his/her knee on the floor, this will send pain signals to the brain which registers an injury, the toddler starts to cry which in turn alerts his mother who hears him and comes running to see what is the matter. Depending on the severity of the injury, the mother has many options to choose from. If its not too severe, she comforts her child, kisses the boo-boo and sends him/her on their way. However, if it's severe, she picks up her child and heads right to the doctor to be checked out.

That example has many drivers such as gravity, mass, momentum, nerve reaction in joints, muscle and soft tissue, neurochemical messengers to and from the brain of mother and child, emotions (fear, anxiety, concern, relief) etc, etc. I could go on but I think you understand.

Drivers are interesting because as we start to investigate, we can find clues as to where they are being driven from. As understanding deepens, our startegies and techniques will seemingly form on their own.

In my life, I am driven to education in its forms of both learning and teaching. I have, consciously or subsciously, decided to study the body for many reasons but the biggest is that I find it exceedingly fascinating and best yet is that we, as student/teachers of the body, know so very little about it. There are disccoveries almost DAILY in relation to the body. What the body can do, cannot do, should do, should not do, etc are what drives me to study as much as I can and through this learning, I can apply it to both myself and my fellow man. In receiving, we are driven to give as well. In a broader sense, applying what I know to my athletes in terms of keeping them as healthy and fit as possible so that can  peform optimally also drives me. Seeing the gamut of emotions that takes place after a successful workout, practice or game drives my happiness as well as the opposite when they do not do as well.

"What can we do as health care practicioners to create an environment of successs?" is also a driver for many of my colleagues. Many of my colleagues with advanced degrees, certifications, and credentials are constantly learning more so that those around them as well as themselves can improve.

The question that I pose to you is:

WHAT DRIVES YOU? WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS IN YOUR LIFE?

As you go through the questions, start to ask yourself where did those drivers come from? Are they are all valid drivers? Are they old belief systems that no longer are applicable to your life? You can divide those drivers into:

• 
  
  MENTAL
  
  
  
• 
  
  PHYSICAL
  
  
  
• 
  
  SPIRITUAL
  
  
  

When I did a 'Driver Inventory', I found drivers that were still relevant to my life but I found MANY that were not relevant. For instance my driver to please everyone. I had to search my mind for where this driver came from and unfortunately, still cannot come up with a good starting point. What conclusion I came to was that I cannot please everyone. A great quote that I found was by journalist and editor Herbert Bayard Swope that reads:

“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure-which is: "Try to please everybody”

I could not agree with this quote more. I have since dropped the Driver of "Pleaser of All People." Interestingly, my life has improved in many areas, in particular the decrease of DRAMA.

How is this relevant to this blog? Well, in a nutshell, we are 3-D beings of Mind/Body/Spirit. When one part of our being is suffering, the other two will be affected. Research on this? There's plenty. There are books upon books written about how stress causes many of the diseases and dysfunctions that plague humanity. That's just one. We see how a healthy body is the perfect environment for a healthy mind and spirit. The Ancient Greeks said it centuries ago as well as many other Eastern Cultures.

If we do not acknowledge and accept the 3-Dness of the being, we are missing out on a lot. However, when you are driven to that seek that knowledge, it will be there.

Drivers....They can be amazing keys that unlock the doors to many mysteries if we are willing use them.

What are the drivers in your life?