Want to be a Peak Performer? Think like Leonardo Da Vinci

When we look for examples of how we can live Peak Lives there is one individual who has set the standard throughout history – Leonardo Da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci was the ultimate Renaissance man: an accomplished scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and writer. He along with contemporaries Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei and Nicolaus Copernicus were considered Polymaths.

The concept of Polymath embodied a basic tenet of Renaissance humanism that humans are empowered and limitless in their capacity for development, and it led to the notion that people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. In other words these individuals were consummate generalists.

In our rapidly changing world the importance of adaptability is paramount and we can learn some important lessons from our Renaissance ancestors. Despite the corporate world’s insistence on specialization, the workers most likely to come out on top are generalists – but not just because of their innate ability to adapt to new workplaces, job descriptions or cultural shifts. Instead, according to writer Carter Phipps, author of Evolutionaries, generalists will thrive in a culture where it’s becoming increasingly valuable to know a little bit about a lot. Meaning that where you fall on the spectrum of specialist to generalist could be one of the most important aspects of your personality – and your survival in an ever changing world. Developing your generalist capabilities will give you context. Only by understanding the work within fields to the right and left of your own can you understand the bigger picture, whether you are talking about a corporation (i.e. - Sales analyst understanding the supply chain as well as internal operations) or the world as a whole.

A great example of generalism or the ability to weave ideas into the broader fabric of life is the 2011 TedTalk of historian David Christian which presented a “Big History” of the entire universe from the Big Bang to present in 18 minutes, using principles of physics, chemistry, biology, information architecture and human psychology. Generalism at work.

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7 Habits of the Renaissance Mind

Human beings are gifted with an almost unlimited potential for learning and creativity. You can uncover your own hidden abilities, sharpen your senses, and liberate your unique intelligence by following the example of the greatest genius of all time, Leonardo da Vinci.

1.       Develop Curiosity

Curiosity is an "insatiably curious approach to life and unrelenting quest for continuous learning". Great minds have one characteristic in common: they continuously ask questions throughout their lives. Leonardo's endless quest for truth and beauty clearly demonstrates this. What makes great minds different is the quality of their questions. You can increase your ability to solve problems by increasing your ability to ask good questions. Like da Vinci, you should cultivate an open mind that allows you to broaden your universe and increase your ability to explore it. Here are some ways to apply Curiosity.

Keep a journal. Bring a journal wherever you go and use it often. Write your ideas and thoughts there. Try to write several statements a day that start with "I wonder why/how..."

Observe according to a theme. Choose a theme and observe things according to the theme for a day. For example, let's say you choose "communication". For the entire day, observe every type and instance of communication you come across. You can then record your observations in your journal.

Stream of consciousness exercise -  Pick a question and write the thoughts and associations that occur to you as they are. Don't edit them. The important thing is to keep writing. This is also referred to as freewriting.

2.       Apply the Principle of Demonstration

Demonstration is "a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistake". Wisdom comes from experience and the principle of Demonstration helps you get the most out of your experience. Here are some ways to apply Demonstration:

Check your beliefs. Do you hold any beliefs that you haven't verified through experience?

Three points of view - First, make a strong argument against your belief. Next, take a distant view of your belief (for example, as if you live in a different culture) and review it. Finally, find friends who can give you different perspectives.

Analyze the advertisements that affect you. Look at the advertisements in your favorite magazine and analyze the strategy and tactics they use. Find the advertisements that affect you most and find out why.

Find “anti-role models” to learn from. List the names of some people whose mistakes you want to avoid. Learn from them so that you won't encounter the same pitfalls.

3.       Use Your Senses

Work on the continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience. One of Leonardo's mottoes is saper vedere (knowing how to see) upon which he built his work in arts and science. Here are some ways to apply your senses.

Write detailed description of an experience. For instance, describe your experience of watching a sunrise in your journal.

Learn how to describe a smell.

Learn to draw.

Listen to different sounds around you. Learn to listen to different intensity of sounds from the softest (e.g. your breathing) to the loudest (e.g. traffic).

Live in the moment. Practice mindfulness.

4.       Embrace Ambiguity, Paradox and Uncertainty

An essential characteristic of da Vinci's genius is his ability to handle a sense of mystery. Here are two ways to apply Cryptic:

Befriend ambiguity. Not knowing something does not make it ambiguous! It is when you DO know something but its meaning is indeterminate.

Ask yourself questions that relate two opposites. For example, ask yourself how your happiest and saddest moments are related.

Practice the Socratic Method. The goal with the Socratic Method is to examine possibilities, and that is done by asking questions, not by giving answers. Socrates was known (and criticized) for asking questions to which he didn't have answers.[2] The key to using the Socratic method is to be humble. Don't assume that you or anyone knows anything for sure. Question every premise.

5.       Learn how to think with the Whole Brain

Thinking with the “whole brain” is the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination". Mind mapping is a powerful method that can help you combine logic and imagination in your work and life. The end result of mapping should be a web-like structure of words and ideas that are somehow related in the writer's mind

6.       Cultivate Grace, Ambidexterity, Fitness, and Poise

Leonardo had amazing physical ability that complemented his genius in science and arts. Here are some ways to develop your mind/body connection:

Develop a program for physical fitness. Your program should include three things: flexibility exercises, strength training, and aerobic conditioning.

Develop body awareness. Study anatomy. Try yoga. Dance. Do some contact juggling. Whatever strengthens the connection between body and mind, go for it.

Cultivate ambidexterity. Leonardo could work with both his right and left hand and regularly switched between them. You can cultivate ambidexterity by using your nondominant hand for relatively simple tasks like brushing your teeth or eating your breakfast. Later you can use your nondominant hand for writing.

7.       Develop a Recognition of and Appreciation for the Interconnectedness of all Things and Phenomena

This, in other words, is systems thinking. One main source of Leonardo's creativity is his ability to form new patterns through connections and combinations of different elements. Here are some examples:

Find ways to link things that seem unrelated. For example, you can try to find connections between a bear and the World Wide Web, or geology and the Mona Lisa.

Imagine dialogues. Imagine talking with a role model to gain new perspective and insight. Or you can imagine how some role models would discuss your problem.

Think about how things originate. Take an object and think about what elements are involved in its creation and how.

References:

How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day Paperback

By Michael J. Gelb

Evolutionaries

By Carter Phipps

Ted: Ideas Worth Spreading - ted.com

Academic Peak Performance - It’s Time for a Revolutionary New Approach to Physical Education by John Saville

Certainly a critically important place to strive for Peak Performance is in our nation’s educational system.  This blog outlines the case for an important new role for the physical educator and makes the case for more physical education and active play in our educational system.

One of the biggest challenges facing the US public school system has been its struggle to prepare students for careers in a new and highly competitive information based economy. Obviously this is a challenging issue and a source of pain for administrators as they bear the brunt of criticism from parents, politicians and the media, who often point out that the US spends more per student than any other country and ask “Why then does the US rank so poorly when compared to other countries (17th in Science and 24th in Math)”?

In addition the great recession led to significantly reduced tax revenues and has put additional pressure on an education system that is asking administrators to do more with less.

Apparently the high per student investment is not a result of teacher’s salaries as the US ranks 27th in that category. However, the unfortunate consequences of this new reality has forced administrators to make tough choices leading to a significant cutback in teachers and programming deemed non-essential to improving academic performance. Quite often physical education has become an easy target in a misplaced effort to improve a school’s academic results. This I believe is a mistake.

If physical education is to survive it must adapt to this new reality and become part of the solution.

Fortunately ongoing brain research has shown the important role of movement in brain development. Dr. Vonda Wright (The Mobility Doctor) states: “Even at a cellular level we are wired for mobility. Intense physical activity increases capillary development in the brain, enabling oxygen, glucose and a spectrum of growth hormones access to the brain. When we get our blood pumping, we release norepinephrine or adrenaline and we stimulate the end cannabinoid system in our brains. Adrenaline acts on our brain to sharpen attention, increase our arousal and motivates us to assimilate new information and learn. At the same time, serotonin is released to calm the brain’s “nerves” so you can think straight. This puts our brains in a prime environment for learning.”

It’s also important to understand that our hunter gatherer ancestors passed on the genetic coding that requires humans to make movement a critical part of their life experience and that movement is essential to brain neuroplasticity (“brain changing” AKA “LEARNING”).

From the beginning of life in the womb, movement is considered an indicator of a healthy fetus. At birth the primitive reflexes of grip, neck movement and the Moro reflex are considered key indicators of a baby’s health and brain development.

In the early years of a child’s development the actions of rolling, crawling, walking, clutching, grabbing, climbing and tactile interaction with their environment are essential foundational skills necessary for proper brain development. It is important to note that the motor control area of the brain is interconnected with the brain’s focus and attention capabilities and is critical to the learning process. It is vital that children grasp these skills to ensure they enter the education system prepared to learn.

An Exciting New Opportunity for the Physical Educator

As children enter the school system we need to make certain that teachers and their students include movement before, during and after school to help ensure students are ready to learn.

This opens up an exciting new opportunity for the physical educator as they can position themselves as the school’s expert on movement and learning and become a key resource in helping administrators and teachers improve academic performance.

Leading physical educators across the nation have worked with their administrations to blue print exciting new programs that have proven the effectiveness of this approach. 

Here’s a great segment that played on Good Morning America called “Learning on the Move” that showcases and discusses physical activity and learning process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0YvUAcjZ4g#t=19

Another exciting development is the design of training programs and courses that help physical educators gain the knowledge and skills necessary to become their school’s specialist in creating a readiness to learn environment.

One such course was developed by Fizika Group, a Lancaster PA based company that recently partnered with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology to create a self-paced, inter-active, online certificate course to train and prepare what they call Active Learning Specialists for schools. Their target is not just physical educators but all teachers or administrators who may have an interest in Active Learning. A large part of the course focuses on helping the AL specialists learn how to form an interdisciplinary team to address active learning from multiple vantage points

Using evidence-based approaches to design, implement and evaluate active learning interventions, a certified Active Learning Specialists is informed by best practices and the latest research to help educators incorporate physical activity into the learning process — to help improve academic and health outcomes.

http://www.fizikagroup.com/active-learning/online-course.html

Redesigning the Classroom for Peak Performance - Moving Physical Education beyond the Gymnasium: Creating Activity Permissible Classrooms

As school leaders charged with promoting healthy and active lifestyles, physical education professionals who are trained as Active Learning Specialists can extend their expertise to school classrooms by helping to facilitate the creation of more active and engaging teaching and learning areas. These teaching and learning areas include such moving innovations as exercise stability balls as chairs, fixed-height stand-up desks, Steelcase Node chairs, and Steelcase buoy chairs.

Using chairs lined up in rows, the center pieces of most classrooms, creates one of the least effective environments for learning. Sitting increases fatigue and reduces concentration. Ironically, you're more tired from sitting than you would be if you had stood up and moved around. Most children - and adults, for that matter - need to move in order to learn. We wiggle, fidget, tap our toes, drum our fingers and more and it's completely normal to have trouble sitting still in school. Our bodies contain energy that needs to be used up or burned off at regular intervals. And the longer we compel kids to sit at desks and tables, the harder it is for them to learn.

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Using an active learning approach refers to making arrangements for kids to move their bodies during lessons leading to increased information retention as students become comfortable in their learning spaces.

A recent article in The New York Times outlines how small modifications made to classroom furniture can have a conversely enormous impact on learning, and even children's health.

“With multiple classrooms filled with stand-up desks, Marine Elementary (in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota) finds itself at the leading edge of an idea that experts say continues to gain momentum in education: that furniture should be considered as seriously as instruction, particularly given the rise in childhood obesity and the decline in physical education and recess.

Dr. James A. Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, advocates what he calls 'activity-permissive' classrooms, including stand-up desks.

Having many children sit in a classroom isn't the craziest idea, but look at how children have changed,' Dr. Levine said of the sedentary lives of many. 'We also have to change, to meet their needs.

It’s important to note that movement facilitates cognition, that 85% of children are kinesthetic learner’s also known as tactile learners, an educational style in which learning takes place by the student carrying out a physical activity, by touching and doing rather than listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration.

Bring Back Recess! – The Importance of Unstructured Play

The 2009 February issue of the Journal Pediatrics shows that students who received more than 15 minutes of free play a day were better behaved than those who had no recess period. The researchers argue that these findings, along with similar findings from other studies, “support the importance of recess for student attentiveness in the classroom.”

The relationship between academics and play appears to be in constant tension, as though adding to one results in taking away from the other. Nothing could be further from the truth. It would appear that recess contributes to academic success in a variety of ways.

“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do,” writes Mark Twain in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I find myself yearning for the days of Tom Sawyer when leisure antics were the norm for children’s behavior and play was natural, spontaneous, and yes, sometimes mischievous.

Play is the antidote for depression, isolation, and fearfulness. And it is play that holds the key to leading a happy and healthy life whether we are 1 or 100 and everywhere in-between. Recently we, adults and children alike, appear to have lost our motivation to play. With the economy spiraling downward, fear and uncertainty can manifest itself into anger and frustration. Who feels like playing in these uncertain times?

But for children, oblivious to the worlds’ angst and anxieties, let’s not forget as caregivers we can encourage children to go outdoors and play. Physical educators can become advocates of recess time for unstructured play and encourage administrative decision makers to balance the time spent indoors and out. Schools and daycare centers can bring back recess and playtime for children by scheduling a minimum of 30 minute break times in the day for fun and unadulterated play.

Get Involved – Join the PTA and Make your voices heard!

If you are a parent reading this I encourage you to support physical education,  join your local Parent Teachers Association (PTA) and stay connected and aware of what’s happening in your child’s school.

There is no better way to meet other parents and teachers to share ideas, concerns and experiences, build rapport and discuss issues that are on your mind.

Tell your school how you feel about the importance of physical education, recess, good nutrition and an active learning environment. The PTA’s nationwide network provides parents with the forum and tools to collectively influence the decisions that affect children not only at their schools, but also throughout their districts, within their states, and across the nation.