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Your Thoughts Create Your Life

  • Writer: Patricia Faust
    Patricia Faust
  • Jan 23, 2020
  • 5 min read









Well we are at the end of January already! Has the excitement of the new year with new goals and resolutions worn off yet? And, for all of us in the northern hemisphere. We are smack dab in the middle of winter. Are you in the repeat cycle of ‘nothing ever works out for me’? Guess what! We have the power of neuroplasticity to save or doom us. What will you choose?


Neuroplasticity

Remember that neuroplasticity changes our brain in response to our environment. If our expectations for the new year have already come to a screeching halt – we are dealing with the brain adapting to challenging circumstances in a negative way. This sounds like a real dilemma. If our brain adapts to our toxic environment by being totally negative, what can we do?


The Positive/Negative Brain

Let’s get some perspective on the positive/negative brain. Our brain adapts to our thoughts and it is predisposed to go toward the negative side of things. Now that begs the question – Why? First of all, our brains are hard-wired to sense threat on a subconscious level. It is a survival mechanism. Secondly, we see the world through the perspective of our life experiences. Unfortunately, our brain hard-wires perceptions from experiences that occurred when we were young children. Perhaps you heard your parents arguing about money and you saw the emotions that went with that argument. Your brain decided right then and there that a lack of money was a threat to you, elicits fear, and you needed to be protected. All of this occurred below your level of awareness in your subconscious mind. You ended up living your life through this filter of fear. For example, you are given opportunities to succeed in your career but your brain always raises red flags about how you couldn’t handle it; aren’t prepared for it and made the risk of accepting careers moves too fearful. As a result, you feel like you are in a dead-end job and can’t figure out why you aren’t happy.


Now let’s change the scenario. What if you stepped out of that fear response and decided to go all in for that new challenging opportunity. Your brain has the ability to restructure gray matter in reaction to this change of stimulus. When you change what you think, say or do, you change your emotional state. Emotions actually change what will ‘be fired together to wire together’. You are creating new neural pathways to support your new way of thinking (neuroplasticity).


How to Rewire Your Brain

According to Psychology Today, there are four steps to rewire your brain to think and feel a different way.


1. See your automatic response patterns and behaviors as learned brain strategies.

This means that your toxic thought patterns and behaviors make you believe that you are a lesser person. Your brain is made to be a problem solver. Problem thoughts and behaviors are learned responses that you automatically use – because they work to protect you. These are not conscious thoughts or behaviors – but you believe that is just the way that you are wired; it is just you. These are behaviors learned as a child that you have practiced many, many times. These thoughts and behaviors might seem like they are ‘you’ but they are really learned behaviors. That is good news because they can be unlearned.

There is an aha moment here – you can choose how you want to think and live. Once the awareness of knowing that you can change your thoughts – you can break out of your comfort zone, your automatic response. When your typical red flags go up you can acknowledge them but choose not to follow them.


2. Re-frame a behavior as a problem located outside of who you are as a person.

You need to step outside your problem/behavior to objectively see what is true and what is not true. As an example – take an unwanted thought that pops up in your head – ‘I am not smart enough to do that”. Tell yourself that you have the knowledge to complete that job and acknowledge that fear is keeping you frozen from acting on it.


This is a monumental task. It takes a force of nature to focus on something completely opposite from where your brain has always taken you. This was a survival technique and the change of thinking will take determined focus. You will however, consciously change the way you think.


3. Set clear life vision to refocus your energies on what you consciously prioritize and most value.

“To the extent you have a clear vision of your life and what you most value, your body and mind subconscious galvanizes, and sharply focuses, your emotional energy to create thoughts, ideas, and actions align with your highest yearning.” (PsychCentral.com)


Maybe you have had a vague idea of what you want to do with your life. But you never sat down and specifically designed what you want and how you are going to get there. Your subconscious mind needs details. A specific vision is necessary for success. Your subconscious mind needs this information consciously fed to it.

“It’s not an option. It’s how your brain is designed to work. You need a clear vision of what you really want, who you want to be, what you are willing to do and not do, clear enough so that you can see it, preferably involving most or all of your senses, that is, you picture it, taste it, smell it, hear it, and feel it – as if it were already a present reality.” (PsychCentral.com)


When your vision is your passion you are allowing the subconscious mind, responsible for developing habits, to let go of those entrenched habits and patterns that have been causing your problems. To influence a change, you must have the cooperation of the subconscious mind. Your vision must energize you and therefore, drives the change. You can achieve what you want when the conscious and subconscious mind are working together.


4. Take action to express your commitment to this new priority or value.

And this is where the thoughts become action. You must perform the new behavior to replace the old one. You have to give your brain new things to do. This is where the brain changes – new chemistry produced, new neural pathways created and a new mindset emerges. This change requires repetition. Your action must constantly reflect your new thinking. You are replacing the deep-seeded habits that have controlled your life. When you consistently take action to override your old emotional response to situations, you are consciously self-directing changes in your brain. The more you practice this new behavior, the more your subconscious mind will integrate it into the new automatic response. When you aren’t using your old hardwiring those patterns will eventually fade away. You won’t be stuck in the fight or flight response anymore. You will make more conscious choices.


This may seem beyond reason that we can change our brain so dramatically. Scientific studies have shown that our brain structurally changes when we consistently and repetitively change our patterns of behavior. Ultimately this means that you can consciously choose what you will create and change. The limiting beliefs are gone!


References:

Staik,A. (May 2015) Four steps to rewire your brain with your mind and conscious action. Neuroscience and Relationships with Dr. Athena Staik. Retrieved from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/relationships/2015/05/four-steps-to-rewire-your-brain-with-your-mind-and-conscious-action/

 
 
 

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March was an unusual month for me.  Normally I work on articles, give presentations and generally just stay tuned to what is going on in the field of aging.  This month I “learned” a lot.  Last year I learned how to write a book.  At the time I took the course I thought it would just be a natural extension of all the writing I had done over the years.  WRONG!!  The actual writing of the book was the easy part.  Putting it together into a book was difficult for me.  The course gave me step by step lessons on constructing a book.  Then editing and formatting were just as challenging.  On June 7 last year the book was published!  It was one of the most satisfying days of my writing career. 

Naturally, when you self-publish, you do not have a publisher promoting the book and getting it in the right categories for best sales on Amazon.  That was crushing because I really didn’t know to appropriately market it.  I am a brain health person!  In December of last year, I purchased a marketing program that is based on statistics.  I am technical minded and so this approach made sense to me.  The course is almost completed.  Can’t wait to see if it improves sales!

The next step I am looking at is recording an audiobook.  This is another venture I knew nothing about.  But I am already tagged on Facebook for marketing of audio book programs.  Facebook picks up everything.  Now my husband was creative director for an advertising agency and when I told him I purchased another class – he couldn’t believe it.  “This was my business.  I know how to do recordings, why didn’t you ask me?” Well, I knew he was an expert in that business, but this audiobook needs to meet all the criteria that Amazon requires for publication.  So, he can take care of the recording part of this audiobook, and I will navigate the process of meeting Amazon’s requirements.  We worked on the book together like this. 

Then I talked with some coaching experts on the viability of starting group teaching programs.  Reading The Boomer Brain book and implementing the Brain Healthy Lifestyle have two entirely different outcomes.  This lifestyle is important to maintaining high cognitive function throughout the later years of our lives.  Look for updates as to when I will roll this program out.

My last learning endeavor was attending a two-day bootcamp for Speakers.  I am really excited about what I learned there.  That is a late this year or next year project, but it is one I am really looking forward to.

 

What Is Happening in April?

The American Society on Aging is having their annual conference in Orlando Florida April 21-24.  This is the largest multidisciplinary conference on aging and the annual conference for Members of ASA.  I have attended a number of these conferences throughout the years, and it is consequential.  Keynote speakers and special events are focused on combating ageism in our society.  Although this is a professional meeting, the attendees come from all aspects of aging services.  They have their work cut out for them this year!

April is Stress Awareness Month.  We should be aware of stress every month and understand how we can break the stress cycle.  These are stressful times, and we need to protect ourselves

Here is a positive one “April is National Volunteer Month”.  When I am working with new retirees who don’t know what to do, I talk to them about volunteering. It is important to have a purpose after you leave the workforce.  There are so many nonprofits who need help in all aspects of their organizations.  It is a perfect way to give back.

Finally – It was Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds – the oldest major league team in the nation.  Cincinnati takes that responsibility seriously.  There is always an Opening Day Parade through downtown to the Ball Park.  Huge crowds line the streets and every year there is talk of making it an official holiday.  Schools and employers look the other way when there is an empty desk.  No matter what the outcome of the game is, there is so much joy, and you can feel that energy.  I am fortunate that I get to experience that.  We all need some joy right now. 

Enjoy your April.

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