Ignite.
(Photo by Elia Mazzaro on Unsplash)
By Neeltje van Horen.
Unlock your brain’s true potential and change your life.
Browsing in Exclusive Books a few months ago, this book’s commanding title and its bright turquoise cover leapt out at me from the cluttered shelf. Having now finished reading this book, I can confirm that the title is a perfect match to the inspiring content. Neeltje’s pragmatic (and passionate) approach to improving the performance of her own brain, and her commitment to sharing these simple strategies, and her understanding of them, with others will compel readers of this book to embark on their own cognitive journey. After only a few days of applying many of her principles, I have a good idea of the very positive difference her approach will make to my memory, learning, focus and brain capacity. As with most meaningful progress, there are no quick fixes – igniting more of your own potential will require planning, commitment and perseverance. Not easy. But totally do-able.
The book is divided into three sections, and each reflects a key stage of Neeltje’s own personal journey.
1. Clarifying your goals and learning to prioritize and manage time more efficiently. (Chapters 1 to 3)
2. Tools and techniques to improve cognitive abilities. (Chapters 4 to 7)
3. The transformative power of mindset and beliefs. (Chapters 8 to 10)
Chapter 1: The Art of Prioritizing what matters
The Power of No: Pause, reflect and consider the opportunity cost (what you are saying No to) when you say Yes. Does the request line up with your goals?
Goalsetting 101: Your goals need to be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, in order to bring clarity and focus to your efforts.
The Priority Compass:
Imagine a bank account that deposits $1440 each morning, and clears it at the end of each day. That is how many minutes we are given each day. How can we use them best?
The Eisenhower matrix divides tasks into important and urgent (Quadrant 1), important and not urgent (Quadrant 2), not important and urgent (Quadrant 3), and not important and not urgent (Quadrant 4). We cover the most ground when we allocate time towards Quadrant 2 tasks, and we do this by breaking tasks into smaller, manageable pieces and blocking out focused work time.
It’s important to review our commitments regularly, and prioritize 2 to 3 tasks for the week. Be aware of the planning fallacy, where we underestimate how long a task may take to complete (multiply the minutes that you think it will take by between 3 and 5 to reach a more accurate number).
Maximizing impact:
80% of our results come from 20% efforts; so it’s just a few key tasks that drive our results. These are often the Quadrant 2 tasks.
Analyze your past performance to help you identify which tasks to focus on.
It’s okay to walk away or scratch the commitments that are not working.
Easy wins: Automate repetitive decisions to save time and mental energy. Consistent habits help to free us by removing deliberation. It is easier to resist temptation and stay disciplined if something is incorporated into your daily routine.
“Anything Goes” Days: Incorporate periods of unstructured idleness into your weeks. Schedule intentional breaks that provide a mental reset, allowing you to return to tasks with renewed energy and focus.
Chapter 2: From Distracted to Disciplined
The law of diminishing marginal returns: as you increase the amount of input and effort, the additional benefits you receive will gradually diminish.
Our brain has limited capacity for paying attention, accessing memory and processing information.
It is not designed to be ‘on’ all the time, and it thrives when allowed to concentrate on one task at a time. Delve deep, and immerse fully – and then take a break and relax.
A good strategy against mental fatigue is to switch to a different task, and let our brains rest.
Multitasking is a myth – we’re just quickly switching our attention from one thing to another, resulting in task switch costs, as our brain tries to re-organize itself.
Attention residue is when your brain remains stuck on the previous task/s your started.
Task switching costs us up to 40% of our productive time – approaching work like this consumes time and compromises the quality of our work, and also affects our ability to retain information, disrupts focus and opens us to distractions.
Every time we allow ourselves to get distracted by the arrival of a new email or message we reinforce our automatic desire to react to new stimuli, and become caught in an addictive cycle of multitasking.
There is huge value in being able to concentrate without distraction.
We feel drained and unfulfilled when spending a day doing trivial, attention-grabbing tasks.
When we focus properly, we enter a flow state where we lose track of time and our efforts become effortless. ‘Flow’ relies on the right balance between our skill level and the complexity of the task at hand. Practices to achieve flow more often:
Set clear goals (know what satisfying task you would like to accomplish next)
Focus on the process, not the end goal.
Avoid distractions and multitasking – it can take up to 20 minutes to enter a flow state.
Engage a mental queue or trigger i.e. music, a candle, a specific beverage.
Schedule demanding tasks for when your concentration is at its peak.
To remain focused: the Pomodoro technique, and adjust the time to suit your needs and task.
our brain will often hold on to a thought until you do something about it. If something distracts you, quickly jot it down.
Create a trusted system (an external brain) for all your tasks and review them regularly. Decide what you need to do, what you need to delegate, what you need to defer and what you need to drop.
‘Busyness’ has become a badge of honour, but it does not equal productivity. We feel compelled to fill our schedules.
Prioritize activities that align with your goals (remember 80/20) and say No to more things.
Chapter 3: Igniting your Inner Drive
Two forces of motivation:
Intrinsic motivation: the task itself brings satisfaction and pleasure; we do it because we want to and this boosts our performance and persistence.
Extrinsic motivation: seeking rewards or recognition, or avoiding punishment – external driving forces.
Self-determination theory (developed by Deci and Ryan): Three needs fuel intrinsic motivation:
Autonomy (they need to feel in control)
Competence (they need to feel effective and capable)
Relatedness (feeling connected to others and belonging)
Be clear on your “why” to help set your direction. Shift your viewpoint of work to something that supports the life you truly love (i.e. supporting dreams, funding adventures and providing for life future cherish)
How to find your Why?
What are my values and beliefs?
What issues and causes are close to my heart?
How can my talents or skills make a positive impact on the world?
The dopamine effect: By responding dynamically to different outcomes (positive and negative) dopamine helps us learn and adapt, steering our actions to what we perceive as the most rewarding. By setting SMART goals we can harness dopamine power. Each milestone creates a sense of expectation and an anticipation of the reward tied to it, which keeps us going, making the process of working towards something just as motivating as the final result.
Lifestyle practices that support a healthy baseline of dopamine production: Sunlight exposure; Cold exposure; Tyrosine rich food (i.e. nuts); Caffeine; Adequate sleep; Stress management; Regular exercise.
The motivation equation: We choose a quick reward over a long-term gain, or we wait for an elusive ‘right moment’. When we value a task and believe in the outcome we feel motivated to complete it. What negatively affects this motivation is impulsiveness to distraction and short-term gratification, as well as the time it takes to accomplish a task. SMART goals helped enhance the value and expectation, whilst learning impulsiveness and delay. Swap ‘I have to’ with ‘I get to’ for a perspective shift.
Juggling multiple goals:
Make choices about how to allocate your time and energy to achieve the best overall benefit.
Prioritization of Quadrant 2 activities to cover real ground.
Habit stacking (linking positive new habits to existing ones)
Dealing with failure and setbacks:
Shifting perspective to see challenges as steppingstones to success.
Failure can be an opportunity to gain new insights, fine-tune strategies and emerge stronger and more resolved.
Learn the lessons by making time to reflect on them.
Remember to acknowledge progress rather than chasing perfection, and to practice some self-compassion.
Attitude: ‘I can’t do this yet.’
Staying the course
Implement strategies that help us resist temptation when it arises.
If-then planning (anticipating triggers and defining our actions in advance) helps to manage impulsive behaviour.
Habits and routines reduce the need to exert self-control, as established habits do not require as much willpower.
Engage in small, deliberate acts of willpower to strengthen self-regulation.
Chapter 4: Memory Magic
Sharpening our brain opens the door to long term learning and creativity. Regularly challenging our cognitive abilities to store and retrieve information keeps our brain sharp and agile.
The compounding value of memory:
Jim Kwik’s ‘body method’ of memorizing uses different parts of the body to store and memorize lists and information.
Every time we learn something new our brain links the knowledge to what we already know = a web of connections. As this network expands, so does the ability to learn and retain new information.
A well-trained memory allows us to cut through noise and access what we need.
Tech gives us the raw data, but our memory turns it into meaningful insights. Memory retrieval is far quicker than anything we can look up.
Memory mechanics: The first stage of our memory system = sensory memory (a temporary holding area to prevent overload).
Working memory can hold four pieces of information, but even more when groups or chunked together.
Short term memory (STM) is the conduit to long term memory (LTM). Memories can be encoded by consolidation, repetition and rehearsal, or meaningful connections between new information and existing knowledge.
Sleep is when important memories are transferred to long-term storage in order to clear out and prepare for the next day. Important things we have encoded and repeated during the day are more likely to be transferred to LTM.
REM sleep facilitates the integration of new memories with existing ones, and also aids in processing emotional memories.
Memory retrieval:
Flashbulb memories = vivid, detailed recollections of where we were and what we were doing at specific points. These can become unreliable over time, as our memories are not always perfect recordings.
Our brain remembers essential concepts (i.e. a red traffic light, or the foundation to a standard recipe)
The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve is a theory about how quickly we forget information after we have learned it. After 20 minutes, we will only retain around 60% of learning. After one day we will only remember approximately 30%. After one week, only approximately 20%. The antidote to this is spaced repetition of learning i.e. reviewing after one day, three days, one week and then one month, greatly improves the amount we are able to retain.
Our brains excel at visual and spatial memory. Memory techniques work by converting hard to remember information into forms that our brain can more easily latch onto.
The VAC Memorizing Method:
Visualize: Engage your visual processing centre by making ‘sticky’ mental images – vivid, colourful, energetic or even bizarre. Vividly imagine an image in your mind and it will stick. Challenge yourself to remember something simple without writing it down.
Associate:
Mnemonic devices like acronyms (ROY. GBIV to remember the colours of the rainbow), rhymes (i after e except after c) and acrostics (a sentence where the first letter of each word correspondence to the list you want to remember).
Personal experiences: Connect what you want to remember your own life.
Chunking: Reduces the number of items to remember by increasing the size of each item, and gives the brain a hook by tying it to something meaningful i.e. 149220021989 = 1492, 2002, 1989 (important dates of historical events)
Organize in order to remember:
Placing information into mental folders can greatly improve our memory.
When information is associated with familiar locations or categories it becomes easier to retrieve.
When we need to access the information we can mentally navigate:
Body method: easiest with nouns; practice with your shopping list i.e. eggs cracked on your head, broccoli sticking out your ears, and carrots sticking out of your nose (my weird examples, not Neeltje’s!)
Storytelling: creating a storyline that incorporates the key details you want to remember.
Loci method: pick a space you know well and mentally place the things you want to remember in specific places in each room. Keep a limits of 10 points per room, and 20 to 50 points for one mental place.
Memorizing people’s names:
Concentrate!
Create a mental image using their name.
Connect the image to one of their physical features, or tie the image to something you know about the person.
Repeat their name whilst speaking to them.
Chapter 5: Learning How to Learn
New neural pathways are formed in our brains when we learn something new. The more we repeat the learning, the more ingrained it becomes into our brains wiring.
When we work at acquiring knowledge, our neural networks become more complex and interconnected, and this enhances our existing capabilities.
Consistent practice and repetition strengthens new connections.
We are never too old to learn, and our brains are capable of change through learning.
Self-directed learning is much more effective than coerced education (higher motivation levels).
It’s important to update our memory schemas and incorporate fresh perspectives to guard against confirmation bias.
How you practice something matters more than the number of hours you spend.
Deliberate practice involves actively pushing limits, working on challenging tasks and targeting weak spots; and requires sustained effort over a period of time.
Merely reading a text does not imprint it on our brain, unless we go to the trouble to learn it.
Three main learning habits:
Active recall: Engaging with your memory to remember concepts, facts and ideas. This forces us to actively retrieve and reconstruct information. More effortful than passive reading.
Spaced repetition (remember Ebbinghaus forgetting curve): Revisit the information at strategically placed intervals. First review within one day. Then over days, weeks and months. Revisiting the work fortifies our neural connections.
Active learning: Rather than just passively reading – take notes, ask questions, participate in discussions. Other examples: self-quizzing, teaching others, concentrating on meaning and understanding, seeking feedback.
Paying attention is critical for effective learning. Focusing in order for the brain to take in information and understand and retain it. Important to minimize distractions.
Create neural hooks as a queue for your brain to switch to focus mode (i.e. music, sense, the candle etc.). We link contexts to the information we learn, which makes it easier to retrieve.
Get to know your learning strengths and weaknesses by experimenting with them. Apply personal strategies, as well as energy and perseverance.
Chapter 6: When Creativity Strikes
Creativity isn’t a stroke of luck, but the result of deliberate mental effort. It is not confined to specific outputs – solving any problem requires creativity.
It’s a balance between focused thought, and mind wandering. Solutions spring from a blend of targeted thinking and relaxation.
Viewing situations from different angles and being open to blending perspectives.
Looking at familiar things through different lenses, to create something original and worthwhile. When you least expect it, magic can happen.
Memory and creativity are linked – enabling us to recognize patterns and remember past solutions.
Being creative stimulates new connections and pathways in our brains.
Creativity rarely happens spontaneously; it requires discipline, persistence and the willingness to refine ideas over time.
Trial and error, pushing boundaries, learning from our mistakes.
The brain has a natural inclination to seek out the familiar which can make it challenging to think differently (functional fixedness).
Divergent thinking is breaking free from your established patterns and looking at a problem from different perspectives. Convergent thinking is narrowing down options to find a single solution to a problem. The ability to switch between the two is important.
Models that are useful for idea generation/evaluation and problem solving:
Brainstorming:
Defer judgement.
Strive for quantity over quality.
Build on the ideas of others.
Random input: pick a random word (an object or image) and try to relate to your problem. Great for generating fresh ideas.
Edward De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats: Valuable in strategic planning, problem-solving and decision-making; use the hats in sequence.
White hat: consider the facts, figures and objective information.
Green hat: be creative, brainstorm solutions, generate new ideas.
Yellow hat: consider the positives; benefits and values of the ideas.
Black hat: consider the negatives; difficult difficulties, weaknesses and problems with ideas.
Red hat: intuition and gut feeling about the ideas generated.
Blue hat: drawing conclusions and setting objectives.
SCAMPER Technique: Valuable in focusing on modifying existing services and products. Guides your brain through structured yet open ended exploration of alternatives.
Substitute: what can we substitute to make an improvement?
Combine: how can we combine to ideas to make something new?
Adapt: what changes can we make to adapt to a different audience?
Modify: what can we modify to improve performance or useability?
Put to another use: can our product serve a different purpose?
Eliminate: what can we eliminate to simplify the process?
Reverse: what if we reverse the order of operations?
Other creative tools: mind mapping, dream journals, collaboration with others.
Chapter 7: The Brain Gym
Neeltje explains her motivation to help unlock and explore new cognitive heights for herself.
She embarked on mental workouts for just half an hour at first. After just one month:
Her mind was sharper
Her memory was stronger
Her thinking was faster
Her focus and problem-solving skills were boosted
Her ability to store and retrieve information improved
Creativity flourished
Changing our behaviour requires us to adapt our current habits. Strong intentions and willpower are not enough to make lasting change.
Habit formation relies on:
Reward: the positive reinforcement required to solidify new habits. The most effective habit building rewards are those embedded within the action itself.
Repetition: if you plan your habits or routine it is easier to stick to. Each repetition reinforces the behaviour. The more we repeat the more robust the habit becomes.
Context: the environment and situational factors that trigger a habit (cues). If we control environment we can create cues that encourage positive habits and discourage negative habits.
Her Cognitive workouts/program: (full and useful information in the book)
Dedicate 30 minutes each day to mental training.
Website to start with: www.humanbenchmark.com
After three months of daily practice, Neeltje Found that she reached a plateau, and moved on to the more challenging www.raiseyouriq.com.
She also practiced Win Wegner’s method of ‘Image Streaming’ as a tool to enhance creativity, problem-solving and cognitive flexibility. You close your eyes for 10 to 20 minutes and recall the previous day. Then you describe in vivid detail one or two scenes from that day. This technique sharpens our visualization skills, improves verbal fluency and heightens our ability to observe.
Neeltje encourages us to embark on a journey and become aware of the power of our brain, and promises real, tangible improvements in everyday life.
Two approaches that made a real difference to her:
Consistent cognitive training (daily)
Applying and practicing learning and memory techniques (i.e. the loci method)
Other beneficial practices for cognitive improvement:
Movement and exercise
Quieting the brain (mindfulness and meditation)
Quality sleep
Healthy food and hydration
Chapter 8: Inner Truths
Why do we cling to harmful beliefs about ourselves? Many of us find a strange sense of comfort in self-doubt.
Our identity includes our personality, beliefs, values, abilities, motivations and the roles we take on; and this influences:
How we perceive ourselves
How we interact with the world
How we react to events
Viewing our brains as predictive machines helps us to understand why we sometimes struggle to reframe our thoughts. Our brain seeks to validate our existing beliefs about ourselves, but we can choose to shift this by becoming aware of these beliefs. By pausing to observe and to question, we can gain a more balanced perspective on our thoughts and behaviours.
We need to take responsibility for our own narratives.
Every choice we make can help to pave the way for more positive experiences and feelings.
Chapter 9: Letting Go
When we let go of limiting beliefs and embrace more empowering ones, our world begins to respond in kind, with the people we meet, the opportunities that come our way and the experiences that we start to have.
Your old established beliefs – be more aware:
Why am I thinking this?
Is it really true?
What evidence supports this thinking?
We have three levels of cognition that shape how we perceive and respond to the world:
Core beliefs (fundamental beliefs)
Dysfunctional assumptions (stem from unhelpful core beliefs)
Automatic negative thoughts (ANTs – spontaneous negative thoughts based on the above)
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps to identify these; but so does serious self-reflection using mindfulness practices, journaling and mood monitoring.
It requires time and patience, but we can transform our inner critic into a compassionate ally.
Our internal dialogue affects how we feel about ourselves in the world around us. Creating some distance by zooming out of our thoughts helps to gain perspective.
Expressive writing can be a valuable tool to confront and process your pain – she explains this really beautifully in the book.
Zero in on what really matters to you, focus on that, and try to let go of the rest.
Accept that the behaviour of others is not within your control. Focus on what you can influence and release the need to control everything else.
A fixed mindset believes that our abilities are static traits that cannot be changed.
A growth mindset believes that abilities can be developed through effort, learning and persistence. Failure is a part of learning, and effort is a path to mastery.
Work on reframing stressful reactions (within reason) as your body gearing up to perform in a challenge, rather than an indication of inadequacy.
Chapter 10: Dance to the Music
We tend to get trapped in a cycle of ‘more’ – material possessions, success, achievements.
Sometimes we already possess but we are searching for, but are too caught up to see this.
People who choose to experience more joy and positivity tend to be more open and approachable, which creates valuable support networks. They have more motivation to engage in activities and in general make healthier choices, as well as have lower stress levels.
True happiness comes from a blend of pleasure (hedonic) and purpose (eudaimonic); and it is important to strike a balance between the two.
Be wary of tying your happiness only to future events or external achievements.
Focus on the process and the journey, rather than just the outcome.
To help you do this, write down:
3 things you are grateful for.
3 practices or activities that bring you joy in daily life.
3 things you have managed to achieve this week.
Setbacks are inevitable but we have a remarkable ability to adapt, if we reframe challenges in a more positive light.
To cultivate resilience:
Refrain from using the ‘bad’ label
Focus on the present
Practice acceptance
This is one of the longer summaries/reviews that I have typed out, but honestly there was just so much in this book that was helpful and inspiring. I finished this read with a solid sense of expecting more from myself and my brain in future. I have started with the 30-minute daily training and have committed to 60 days of practice. Looking forward to seeing what ground I can cover! This book is well worth the read – it is both motivational and actionable, and written in a real and down-to-earth tone.