Welcome to the NeurOlympics podcast!
Welcome to the NeurOlympics podcast, where we believe that every brains got talent! Join us as we take a break from our everyday business to sit down with our in-house neuroscience experts to explore the cognition behind talent and other hot neuroscience topics that we envision to help you and your team to enhance productivity, performance, and well-being. Whether you're a talent cultivator and managing a team, coaching athletes, or seeking personal growth, tune in to unlock your and your team's full cognitive potential!
The Neuroscience Behind Reflections & New Year's Resolutions
In our last episode of 2024, we dive into reflections and intentions through a neuroscience lens. Discover how reflecting on both positive and negative moments reshapes your brain, why acceptance is key to growth, and how to transform reflection into actionable change.
Plus, we explore common New Year’s resolutions and provide science-backed strategies to achieve them. Whether you’re resetting for the year ahead or revisiting past challenges, these brain-based tools will help you thrive. 🧠
With our NeurOlympics cognitive games we establish your cognitive profile by measuring the executive functions, your cognitive key strengths, and linking them to the jobs and work environments that you thrive in!
Play with your team, for hiring a new talent- HR recruitment, or for personal endeavour.
TRY THE GAMESPrevious Episodes
December 11, 2024
52:06:00In today's episode, Dr. Ilja Sligte and Drs. Andries van der Leij join us to explore the final cognitive skills in the behavioral cycle: acting and executing! They dive into how different brain types—fast vs. precise actors and dynamic vs. persistent executors—impact productivity and procrastination.
We share practical strategies to align your work style with your brain's natural tendencies, offering insights to help you beat procrastination, manage perfectionism, and set concrete, achievable goals for 2025. 🧠
November 27, 2024
00:20:59In today's episode, I dive into the neuroscience of planning and goal-setting, exploring why your brain avoids uncertainty and how setbacks can drive growth!Unpack how setbacks rewire your mind for success and learn how to craft SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) that actually play to your strengths. Whether you’re levelling up at work or chasing personal growth, these brain-based strategies will keep you focused, fired up, and ready to win. Let’s make your goals work as hard as you do 🧠
November 13, 202400:43:41In this episode, Lucie is joined by Ivar Schot and Kira Urmes, our two customer success managers, as they dive into the neuroscience of planning and goal-setting. They explore how organized and improvized planning styles, measured with our Neurolympics games, can make or break success in various job roles and discuss how aligning planning strategies to brain types maximizes efficiency.
Plus, they uncover why the brain learns best from failure and how our personal goal-setting habits help reduce daily stress and foster growth. 🧠
Key Themes:
- Organized vs. Improvized planning styles
- Aligning planning with job roles
- Neuroscience of learning from failure
- Personal goal-setting for stress management
- Role of planning in personal growth
October 30, 202401:56:38In this episode, we dive into why decision-making has become such a struggle in modern life. With an overload of choices, many of us experience decision paralysis or simple dissatisfaction after making a decision!
Lucie explores the famous Paradox of Choice, explaining how cognitive overload affects our brains, and shares practical strategies to improve decision-making. From Steve Jobs' black turtleneck to the 10/10/10 rule, these tips will help you free up mental capacity and make smarter choices every day. 🧠
Key Themes:
- Decision fatigue from cognitive overload
- Paradox of Choice: too many options, worse outcomes
- Practical strategies for freeing up mental space
- Decision-making tips: Steve Jobs’ routine, 10/10/10 rule
- How chunking can reduce decision paralysis
October 16, 202400:42:03In this episode we’re diving deep into decision-making with Drs. Andries van der Leij. From hiring the right talent to handling high-pressure situations, we break down how the brain navigates complex choices and the biases that can lead us astray.
We also share tips on how to improve your decision-making skills using neuroscience-backed strategies. Whether you’re a HR professional or just navigating life’s daily decisions, this episode will help you cut through the noise and avoid decision fatigue!
Key Themes:
- How the brain processes decisions (simple vs complex)
- Factors influencing decisions in talent management
- Avoiding decision fatigue and choice overload
- Improving decision-making with neuroscience-backed strategies
- Dealing with stress and high-stakes decisions
October 2, 202400:23:42In this episode, Lucie tackles the hidden costs of overthinking and why it’s draining your brainpower. We’re exploring how non-stop workloads and the pressure to stay ‘productive’ can actually harm creativity and cognitive performance. Lucie also shares insights on the importance of letting your mind wander, why sleep deprivation is a silent productivity killer, and offer practical, neuroscience-based tips to sharpen your learning and memory skills. Tune in to discover how to get your brain working with you, not against you!
Key Themes:
- Overthinking and cognitive drain in the workplace
- Importance of mind-wandering for creativity and problem-solving
- Societal sleep deprivation and its impact on thinking
- Practical tips to enhance learning and memory
- Leadership advice to manage cognitive load
September 12, 202401:11:26In today's episode, Lucie speaks with with our Co-Founder Andries Van Der Leij about the power of cognitive diversity and how understanding different thinking styles can revolutionize your workplace! We explore the two main types of thinkers—thorough and intuitive—and discuss practical tips for optimizing thinking and managing cognitive load in a high-pressure work environment. Key themes include understanding cognitive diversity, managing biases, optimizing performance, promoting psychological safety, and balancing thinking styles for stronger team dynamics.
August 28, 202400:20:26In this NeurOlympic episode, I dive into how technological distractions are eroding our ability to focus and maintain attention. We'll explore the science behind multitasking, why it's so harmful, and practical tips on achieving and sustaining a state of flow, even in our distraction-filled world. Let’s protect our precious attention and find ways to boost our focus in today’s demanding environment!
August 14, 202400:54:06In today’s episode, we explore the intersection of cognitive skills and job/task suitability, highlighting how understanding your cognitive profile can unlock a multitude of career possibilities 🧠 Join us to explore how understanding individual brain differences can skyrocket productivity and foster cognitive diversity within teams!
July 31, 202400:51:26In today’s episode, we explore the intersection of cognitive skills and job/task suitability, highlighting how understanding your cognitive profile can unlock a multitude of career possibilities 🧠 Join us to explore how understanding individual brain differences can skyrocket productivity and foster cognitive diversity within teams!
July 17, 202400:52:36In our first episode, we share the founders' vision and dive deep into how aligning your cognitive profile with the right job or task can help you thrive. We chat about the practical benefits of understanding how you and your teams’ brains work, share insights from our founders’ experiences, and explore the fascinating neuroscience behind passionately following your purpose. Plus, we touch on some societal challenges around how we currently identify talent!