How Nature and Nurture Both Contribute To Your Success

By Catherine Plano | Published November 4, 2021 | 6 min read

Here’s a fun tidbit about the old phrase “nature and nurture” and why they’re connected:

Did you know that when you achieve something or are successful in an outcome, it increases the dopamine receptors in your brain, which makes you smarter and more courageous?

This is because the brain releases large amounts of testosterone and dopamine when we get highly excited about something.

I want to tell you about the very first presentation I ever did.

The first time I stood in front of a group of people and delivered a presentation.

I was shaking in my boots.

My hands were sweaty, my voice quivering.

I just wanted to curl into the fetal position.

The entire time, I was thinking, ‘Gosh, what must they think of me?’

or ‘Can they see my leg trembling with fear?’

Oh… did I mention that public speaking was my number one fear?

Yes, that’s right.

The number one fear, up there with death.

After that mortifying experience, I had a choice.

I could choose to run away or face my fear head-on.

I invested time overseas and nurtured my presentation and public speaking skills to be the person I aspired to be.

My teacher once said, ‘ the only way to cure insecurity is to do more of it until you become an expert.’

This was not quite what I wanted to hear at the time.

However, they turned out to be very wise words.

As with anything… when you nurture something—investing your time and energy—you feed it, develop it, and cultivate the very thing you want to create.

It’s the same with any form of new learning.

Over time, learning changes our brain’s structure and its chemical makeup: making us smarter, more confident, and able to take on larger challenges than before.

Honing my speaking skills, getting feedback, and practicing with or without an audience added to time in the saddle.

I got better and better and more comfortable.

Several years later, it feels perfectly natural for me to present to large groups.

I don’t sweat it anymore!

Therefore, personal development is such an important part of shifting your mindset—to create a new brain, a new you.

True fulfillment never comes from chasing other people’s dreams.

It comes from designing your life based on who you are and what you aspire to be.

When you are doing things for yourself and driving your own goals, there is more energy and drive for personal growth, which is a human need.

The day we stop learning is the day we die.

How can understanding this help you be successful?

Success: How Nature and Nurture Can Help

Information Without Action Is Useless

How often have you completed a course or program and walked out of there feeling pumped, like:

This is it!

This is going to change my life?

Then what did you do with that information?

Well… we fall back into our old routines, programs, and ways of doing what we have always done.

If we do NOT apply the lessons, it becomes a waste of our time, energy, and money.

Training is only 10 percent of the learning.

This is about how much new information we can absorb from a classroom environment.

After that, 70 percent is how we apply the learning.

How do we experience what we have learned and incorporate it into our daily tasks?

To let nature and nurture support our success, we must make our learnings come to life.

Repetition Is the Mother of All Learning

Our brain has a short attention span and needs repetition with emotional connection before something new becomes second nature to us.

One of the key factors in the human brain’s ability to change via neuroplasticity is–neurons that fire together and wire together.

Neuroscience research shows us that the brain may need to sit in front of information up to seven times before it creates a new habit.

In other cases, it may require up to 21 days of focus.

Therefore, knowledge is of NO value if you don’t put it into practice.

Imagine someone giving you the ingredients for a perfect recipe.

If you don’t act on it, you will never make it.

Put time, energy, and effort into the recipe to make it come to life.

Take action one step at a time and plan for it to prevent cognitive overload.

This will allow you to master the skills you truly need, as well as improve your focus and effectiveness.

Knowing what you want to achieve makes it easier to see the benefits of taking action.

Even when the task is not enjoyable, you are more motivated to take the necessary action if you can see an obvious benefit.

This is nature and nurture in action.

Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way

If there is a will, there is a way in everything we do.

If we believe there is a chance that we can do something—anything—then we are on our way to making that happen.

Our thoughts have the power to determine our reality.

We are programmed to think a certain way and to behave a certain way.

95 percent of our life is controlled by the unconscious mind, which means our will is only five percent of the time.

Our will or our conscious mind is where our desires and aspirations live.

Your conscious mind can do one special thing, and that is thinking.

It can be present, paying attention to what’s happening around you.

However, if your conscious mind is thinking or daydreaming, it stops paying attention to what’s happening around you.

It’s when your unconscious mind takes over.

In the absence of your conscious mind, your old programs start coming back.

So if you nurture your aspirations and desires to manifest in your unconscious mind, that is, nature (your brain), it will create greater resilience to the old you.

In time, even when things get tough, you will have the skill and attributes to cope with problems.