Mirror Neurones
What you will get: Reflections in the importance of Mirror Neurones
“Who are you mirroring?”
And what’s more…
How is it making you feel?
So there I was, watching Finding Neverland (Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the life of creator of Peter Pan, J.M Barrie), and it gets to the scene where the young boy loses his mother (sorry if I just spoiled the film if you haven’t seen it).
And guess what?
I start crying.
And then there’s the other time I’m watching another movie and suddenly I am crying again – this time from the pure joy of laughter!
Ever happen to you?
You’re watching something that isn’t real, yet you find yourself suddenly experiencing the same emotions as the actors on the screen.
Ever wonder why?
Welcome to the wonderful world of Mirror Neurones.
We all have them, hidden away deep in our subconscious brain.
A set of nerve cells whose apparent function is to literally “mirror” the emotional states of other people.
And it happens real quick!
In fact it takes less than 30 milliseconds for your mirror neurons to activate based on someone else’s emotion you have observed and create a similar emotional state within you.
(If you don’t know how long that is, try and pinch yourself now and count how long it takes to feel the pain. Not possible is it? That pain response happened in milliseconds, way faster than the rational brain can count!)
So why do we have them?
EMPATHY!
You see…
We humans have the amazing ability to empathise with other humans and literally feel the same emotional states that they are feeling.
And that feeling…
Connects you to others.
Brings you closer.
Makes you human.
So mirror neurones serve a very important function.
They help you to empathise and get closer to people.
And that’s one of the reasons emotions are contagious.
They spread.
Faster than a turbo charged cheetah.
Quicker than a lottery winner can get to the bank.
So ask yourself this…
What is your emotional environment triggering in your mirror neurons?
You see…
If you surround yourself with angry, negative people, guess what?
You will feel anger and negativity too!
So personally I choose to hang out with generally positive, energizing and giving people. People who literally spread the cheer of positive emotions around them.
And what’s more…
I strive to do the same.
That’s not to say I can’t have negative emotions – we all do from time to time.
But focusing on what is right about the world and others and sharing this positivity triggers a whole bunch of mirror neurons of those I connect with.
And I feel better too.
I’m off to feed of the good emotions of positive people and share those emotions with those around me.
Are you going to mirror me?
To your success
Steve Neale
“Europe’s Leading Expert on Personal and Professional Growth”
Psychologist, Executive Coach, EI Practitioner, Award Winning Trainer, International Author, Psychodynamic Therapist, Hypnotherapist, Mindfulness Instructor, International Speaker, Creator of the LPS, Creator of the Accredited Masters in High-Performance Leadership
