I studied neuroscience for several years which unknowingly prepared me for my career as an entrepreneur. What I learned was that there were two main functions in the brain that caused people to do what they do.
The first is the neocortex. This is the outer surface of the brain and here, all of your memories and past experiences are stored. Just like a filing cabinet. Your brain keeps them there as a point of reference so it can be prepared for similar events in the future.
The second is a process called allostasis. I call this predictive physiology. This is where your body predicts what it will need in the next moment and prepares for it.
A great example of allostasis would be when you see a pizza commercial on TV and your mouth starts to water. Your brain is receiving and input (seeing the cheesy pizza) and based on experience, it believes it’s about to eat some, so it produces a reaction to prepare for the incoming slice. Don’t think for a minute, the Pizza Hut guys don’t know this!
In business, let’s say you have to do some cold calling. Your brain begins to search the filing cabinets to see what info it has on cold calling. It finds the folder and it reads, “I hate this; It’s awkward; They will get mad at me.” Then the brain will do what the brain does and prepare for that awful experience.
