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Did you know your nose holds a powerful key to accessing memory, performance, and confidence? Let’s learn about and activate the strategy of smell.
What scents instantly take you back? Fresh baked bread? Fresh cut grass? Old books? Or a well used gym? We’ve all had the experience of catching a whiff that transports us to another place and time. How does that work?
Of all our senses, smell is the most powerful trigger for memory and emotion. And that’s because the olfactory bulb is wired directly to the brain’s hippocampus and amygdala – your brain’s centers for memory and emotion.
Studies show that scent-based memories are more vivid and emotionally charged than sight or sound. That’s why just a whiff of a familiar scent can bring a flood of feelings. Doctors even use scent therapy to help Alzheimer’s patients recall names, faces, and moments thought lost. And for those healing from trauma, scents can be powerful anchors for safety and calm.
Here are three ways you too can engage your fragrant superpower.
1. Change your state. Lavender can calm you. Citrus energizes. Peppermint helps sharpen your focus. Use oils, candles, and imagination to find what works best for you.
2. Recapture the past. Surround yourself with fragrant reminders of joyful or successful moments to help create more of the same.
3. Anchor what’s new and useful. Use specific scents to imprint learning, training, and peak performance moments. And when something amazing happens, take it in through the nose.
So, don’t take smell for granted. Use it to change your state, revisit the past, and anchor what works for future access. Until next week, stay Off Balance On Purpose.
The audio for this week’s coaching video is located under the “Get Inspired” tab in the Positive Playlist . You can subscribe to the podcast and listen to other weekly messages for improving all aspects of your life.
