#516 Dr. Irena O'Brien: Why Does Change Feel So Hard?
From 21st Century Entrepreneurship by Martin Piskoric
May 11, 2026 · 15 min · Season 10 · Episode 30
About this episode
Dr. Irena O'Brien discusses how the brain influences change and performance, emphasizing the importance of understanding its survival instincts.
Dr. Irena O'Brien is a cognitive neuroscientist and founder of the neuroscience school, and we spoke about how the brain shapes change, leadership, energy, and performance before we are even consciously aware of it. Her work helps coaches and helping professionals understand why “the brain's first job is survival” and why change often fails when we treat it only as mindset, motivation, or willpower. Irena explains the brain as a prediction engine: it uses past experience to estimate whether s...
People in this episode
Host: Martin Piskoric
Guest: Dr. Irena O'Brien
Topics covered
- change
- cognitive neuroscience
- leadership
- performance
- survival
- mindset
Keywords
- cognitive neuroscience
- change
- leadership
- performance
- survival
- mindset
- motivation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: neuroscience school
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