Neuroeconomist and scholar Gregory Berns has an interesting piece in the New York Times on how In Hard Times Fear Can Impair Decision-Making – http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/jobs/07pre.html – which is worth the read.  I know, you’re thinking this is one of those "well, duh" moments but it has more to say than that.  His comparison of the workplace to a Skinner box is apt and his description of his work as a neuroeconomist – a brain scientist who looks into the neurology of decisions – is fascinating (and a bit creepy, what with the "wait for the pain and see which is worse the pain or the wait" experiments).

Go ahead and read the entire piece for yourself . . . but . . . here’s an interesting snippet:

I DON’T care what your business is, but if you think it will
eventually come back to what it was — your brain is in the grips of the
fear-based endowment effect. What I am doing is looking for new
opportunities. This means applying neuroscience discovery to realms
where it hasn’t been used before.

I have teamed up with
anthropologists to apply brain imaging to understand the biological
roots of political conflict. I am starting another project to use brain
imaging to predict which teenagers are likely to make fatally bad
judgments and, hopefully, train them to make better decisions.

This strategy keeps the exploratory system of my brain active. And
right now there are incredible opportunities to do something
differently. Yes, they’re risky, and some will fail. But while others
wait for the storm to pass, I’m busy expanding into new areas. If I
wait for money to start flowing again, the opportunities will have
passed.

For folks who are feeling overwhelmed with the fear and the uncertainty, there are techniques that help you cope.  Check out my webpages at http://www.briandavidphillips.com for relaxation and stress reduction audio CDs as well as how you can book an in-person session for hypnosis.  Just contact me about booking a session either in Taipei or our Keelung offices (albeit, it’s actually closer to the Shijr train station than Keelung proper).

Seriously, we can help.