Achieving Mastery

by Tim Brunson, PhD

Over the past several decades I have studied numerous people who have achieved mastery in one or more physical or mental skills. Among them were athletes, musicians, scholars, scientists, and even spiritual adepts. I even included in this austere group those who have overcome terminal illnesses miraculously by changing their thought processes. While some of them have translated misfortune or even physical deformities into opportunities to develop specific habits, many were average people for whom circumstances led them to focus on allowing greatness to occur.

During my research into the origins of masterful performance, much was learned when looking at extreme cases. This included individuals who were introduced to particular endeavors very early in life, as well as those that pursued specific interests later in life and were able to focus during thousands of hours of practice. However, some of the most interesting case studies involved the amazing abilities of prodigious savants such as Kim Peek (mnemonist, speed reader, and calculator), Daniel Tammet (mathematical synesthesia, language absorption, and memory), and Alonzo Clemmons (clay sculptor). Another phenomena that I became interested in were innovations in neuroplasticity, which shows the brain's ability to reorganize, and the seemingly related concept regarding innovations in stroke recovery – especially the work of Edward Taub, PhD, at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

One of my early conclusions involved the necessity of nurturing a skill. Of course, 10,000 hours of practice – especially beginning at an early age when the brain is still rapidly developing and organizing – can make someone a master at just about anything. Nevertheless, I found that nurturing a skill plays a much more complex role. The wonderful, superhuman abilities of prodigious savants will not emerge unless they are nurtured. Indeed, anyone that has a particular predilection toward a specific task will require support and sustained interest if a high level of competence is to evolve. (Obviously, the opposite is also true. If a mastered skill is not continually nurtured, it eventually will wane. This has been recognized with prodigious savants who slowly lost their abilities.)

There is a commonality between those whose achievement of mastery was preceded by excessive practice or occurred due to genetics or even possibly an accident. Various parts of their brain or extraordinarily developed. An accomplished musician, scholar, scientist, or athlete tends to have brains that are bereft of neurological maladies such as those caused by excessive thought-switching – including the evils of multi-tasking – and have more developed neural networks. This later fact seems to be specifically pronounced in the parietal lobes, such as was the situation with Albert Einstein's brain. Other parts of the brain may also be highly developed. This includes the right orbitofrontal cortex, the reticular activating system in the brain stem, and the hippocampi, which all tend to be thicker in long-term meditators.

This leads me to the very elementary observation that mastery is correlated with the hyper-development of specific areas of the brain. As intimated previously, the mapping and encoding experience within certain areas of the parietal lobes is a common characteristic. However, based upon the nature of the mastered skill, other areas will also be enhanced. Due to the fact that all substrates have what Dr. Taub calls spare tires, when they are challenged by a non-dysfunctional demand, the brain's adaptive capability tends to promote the development of additional neural networks – thereby establishing higher levels of competence. This leads to a better memory, more musical talent, an improved golf swing, etc.

This is not as easily achieved as one might think. In fact, our mind and body have a natural resistance to change. This is why I have often stated that in many ways we are doomed to mediocrity. Regardless, the second essential nature of our human condition is our ability to adapt. I have found that hypnosis is an excellent tool both to overcome resistance to change and create a situation that will inspire the brain to adapt. As shown in the Enhancing Performance a person can promote accelerated development through specific hypnotic exercises. Therefore, the achievement of mastery does not necessarily require an excessive amount of practice beginning in one's youth.

The key to this happening I have found to be what many neurologists call bimodal neurons, which are brain cells that tend to process somatosensory and visual input simultaneously. Professor Giacomo Rizzoloti, a neuroscientist in the University of Parma in Italy, uses these unique neurons to partially explain the functioning of what he calls mirror neurons, which he claims are located throughout our brains. The activation of bimodal neurons is a key step in the process that starts with the use of vivid imagery to promote the emergence of increasingly competent parts of the brain.

My journey into the area of mastery has taken me from the recognition that it exists within the brains of special people to the realization that each and everyone of us possesses the potential to reach levels that we previously only dreamed about. By learning how to overcome resistance to change, and through the use of hypnotic exercises that activate bimodal neurons and challenge our current brain-based capabilities, increased levels of performance can be achieved starting at any age.