Why Your Brain Ignores “Better” (And What To Do About It)

Stop competing on 'better.' Start showing what you see that others miss.

I started noticing something in positioning calls with consultants.

They’d list their credentials like ingredients on a cereal box: “I help with strategy.” “I do transformation.” “15 years of experience.” Prospects would nod politely, check their watch, then ask about pricing.

But when I’d ask “What do you SEE that others miss?” their posture changed. They’d stop performing and start teaching. The conversation shifted from interview to revelation.

Turns out, there’s neuroscience behind this.

Your brain lights up when it sees something new.

Not “interesting” or “improved.”

New.

Cognitive neuroscientists Nico Bunzeck and Emrah Düzel proved this with MRI imaging. They found a region called the substantia nigra, your brain’s novelty center, that only activates for completely new stimuli. Once something becomes familiar, it goes dark.

The researchers explained it this way:

“When we see something new, we see it has a potential for rewarding us in some way. This potential that lies in new things mo…