So, last week we looked at the brain's so-called "happy brain chemicals" and how they impact how we feel:
- Dopamine - The reward chemical
- Serotonin - The social dominance chemical
- Endorphin - The euphoria chemical
- Oxytocin - The "safe and sound" chemical
Now, let's look at the negative chemicals so we can see how they fit into our experiences and emotions, and determine how this can impact our ability to keep students coming to class.
ADRENALINE
Have you ever heard of an "adrenaline junkie"? I'm sure you have. These are the kinds of people who become addicted to the feeling they get from engaging in high-risk activities.
The reason for their addiction is because the body releases adrenaline when the brain anticipates pain or injury. This is the exact same reason why your body releases adrenaline before a fight - the fight or flight response is triggered and adrenaline is released in anticipation of pain, or to help you avoid injury (or death).
The weird thing is, your body really isn't designed to run on adrenaline all the time. In fact, if you do it too much your adrenal glands can become overtaxed, leading to chronic fatigue and adrenal burnout syndrome. This can happen to anyone who is under lots of stress for long periods of time.
I have a friend who used to teach martial arts who experienced this exact phenomena. Long days of working his day job, then training all night and staying up until the wee hours finally took its toll, and he ended up bed-ridden with adrenal exhaustion for weeks. He said he was young and thought he was invincible; he was wrong.
I don't just mention this as a cautionary tale for instructors; there's a certain type of student who becomes addicted to adrenaline as well. Usually, these people are high achievers and risk-seekers. They train hard all the time, enjoy competition and excel at combat and contact sports.
The problem really isn't with these students - they are generally just wired to pursue that adrenaline high. No, the problem comes in when you design your school to cater to that type of student.
Why? Because they only represent a small percentage of your enrollment. We'll talk about this more later in the week.
Stay tuned, because tomorrow I'm going to discuss another negative chemical that can impact how your students interpret their experiences at your dojo.
