An Adjustment of Vision

Sep 28, 2018

Researchers from Duke University have identified how our vision helps us get through the darkness. When there’s less light available, a “weak” signal from neurons and other directional cells prompt the brain to sense movement in the darkness. The study is published in the online journal Neuron.

The team of researchers explains that the highly sophisticated software between our ears adjusts our vision and our brain to see what’s lurking in the dark. In pop culture, darkness is the poetic metaphor for sadness, fear, and anxiety. Like our neurons and cells, we have an inherent ability to adjust our vision and sense movement in the darkness. Darkness can be a good place if we trust that we’re built to thrive through it.

For the last few months we’ve explored the idea of being comfortable with those dark moments—your negative thoughts, your failed fight of fear with rituals; instead, we challenged you to embrace radical change and reminded you to find your bearings when you’re overwhelmed.

Times of hardship (or darkness) are simply moments to engage with your vision and allow yourself to sense what’s lurking around you. But you have to know where your life is relative to your vision and some of you may have resigned from your vision.

If we ask how you’re doing will you give us a “could be worse”, “not bad”, “ok” or a trite “good” response? Some of you feel powerless over life. You accept that where you are, is as good as it gets. “Could be worse,” you say. Our trainers know this mentality is complacent thinking that leads to mediocre results.

Deep down you know that being “ok” is not ok with you. Consider where your life is relative to your vision. Are you proud of how life looks? If the answer is anything but an enthusiastic, unwavering “yes!” you have work to do.

If you’re not tapped into your vision and moving toward it with awareness, you don’t see the bad choices that keep you in a rut. You get fired, your spouse asks for a divorce, you lose your home, a loved one dies or some catastrophe shakes you from the stupor. And even then, will you finally tap into your vision?

Whether your vision is to run your own company, create a family or become rich, a vision begets a plan and sticking to it requires emotional intelligence. Many people don’t follow through their vision because deep down they resist the idea that they, themselves, can be extraordinary.

That resistance comes from believing you’re not good enough to carve out magnificent outcomes in your career, personal life and relationships with friends or family. Plus, it’s too painful to touch emotional wounds so you stagnate self-love, your individuality, and you sabotage relationships by not healing them. Imagine turning off your neurons, cells, and brain and being stuck in darkness.

Either you’re in resistance mode by seeing the possibility for yourself and denying it. Or, in resignation mode where you think your current state is all you’re worthy of in life. If you have a strong vision but strong resistance you are driving with the brake and the gas pedal engaged at the same time. But if you consciously disrupt your resistance and resignation you begin summoning your vision forward.

Hardships happen. Our thoughts function like our neurons and directional cells, they’re adaptable and we can re-shape problems into opportunities. If we tap into our emotional intelligence, we develop personal growth, we use conscious disruption to turn darkness into a place of positivity that finesses our vision.

We at Productive Learning have worked with thousands of people to break through their resignation and resistance. We’ve also seen those who got to the emotionally stimulating parts of the journey and in the face of the challenge they backed down. However, it’s only backing down if you never get back to it. For the latter group, are you ready to get back to it? We want you to come back! We encourage you to get back to you and what you want most. What you deserve: your greatest dream and nothing less.

Our trainers train you to accept what you’re able to change. We work with you to get your creativity flowing to help you keep going when you want to give up because your heart’s message is that you don’t accept anything less than extraordinary.

We support you to re-program your software by managing your doubts and limitations. You can defeat resignation and feelings of unworthiness. But unless you get to this point first it won’t matter how compelling your vision is.

And…don’t make the mistake of convincing yourself that if you can have certain conditions met—more money, a better workplace, a relationship—you can make your vision happen. It all begins with re-programming your mind.

So when we ask you where your life is relative to your vision, we mean to say, have you created a mindset to allow yourself to live it?

Each of our lives is an example to others. Don’t make a difference in life, BE the difference in your life. The journey toward your vision entails consciously disrupting beliefs that don’t serve your highest vision and re-training your circuitry that works toward a vision.

The Duke study reminds us that our eyes and our brain alter their computation to help our vision through the darkness. We remind you that how you see your vision is also adaptable and your vision has to happen because the vision of many becomes the healing for all.



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