Training Your Brain

How are you? Hope this finds you all doing well and settling in to 2018. What does a new year bring to you? A fresh start? Time to reflect, adjust, move forward? Yeah, me too. :) 

One theme that's been constant for me in 2017 and now this year, has been my thought life. What thoughts do I allow to dominate my days? Which ones are good, fruitful, and healthy? Which are of no value, unproductive, and even destructive?

I've long known that our thoughts can be a guiding force, forming patterns and contributing to our worldview in nearly every area of our lives. Our self talk - what we speak to ourselves, and thoughts we allow to roll around in our mind can often mean the difference between failure and success in even the smallest things.

Harmful thoughts - those we allow to reside in our heads, can be death to a healthy spiritual life, relationships, and life and success in general. Think about it, what kinds of thoughts generally trail through your mind? Negative? Positive? Or both, depending on the topic? Can they contribute to an overall mindset about your traits, relationships, situations, and worldview? We have been, and daily continue to train our minds based on the thoughts we allow and perpetuate. While knowing this is helpful, it doesn't always translate into better awareness or change.

Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf, a book I read last year, offered great insight in this area. Dr. Leaf, a communication pathologist and audiologist, has worked in cognitive neuroscience for over 30 years. In a nutshell, her book explains the connection between our thoughts and physical bodies, and how altering harmful thought patterns yields healthy changes, mentally, physically, and spiritually. 

Dr. Leaf said, "When you think, you build thoughts, and these become physical substances in your brain." The best part is that negative, unhealthy thought patterns can be changed and yield positive results. Her extensive research illustrates the brain's function and capacity, from individuals in everyday circumstances to those with learning challenges and brain injuries. What I found most intriguing was how these scientific finds support Biblical principles of how our lives reflect our thoughts and mindset. What wonderful creations we are! Our God-given capacity to think and live is just amazing.

I was impressed and encouraged by her findings, and would highly recommend her book if this topic interests you. She does get a bit technical, so when I felt in over my head (no pun intended) I read the summaries at the end of each chapter to help process the info.

So how does this relate to writing and other creative pursuits? Our thoughts are key to peace, healthy function, and success. We can begin the year with a positive outlook, training our brains to do what they were created to do, flourishing with productive thoughts that translate into healthy living in all areas.

Although it is an intriguing book, it isn't necessary to read Dr. Leaf's book to begin. We often follow where our thoughts go, so we can start by tuning in to what's going on in our heads. Here are a few things I like to do to help with this process:
 
1) Actively replace negative thoughts with positive ones. My bottom line is this - I'm a child of God and a writer. No matter what's going on or how I feel, this is what God has called me to do. When I find myself being swallowed by the negative, I make an effort to replace lousy thoughts and regroup mentally. One question Dr. Leaf tells us to consider, "What thoughts do we want to become part of us?" (My paraphrase.)

2) Hang out with positive influences. In the writing arena, this includes all of you. Your support is a great treasure. You've been such an encouragement to me. This also includes other friends, like fellow church and other group members, etc. We cannot always avoid negative people, but we can be aware of this and set good boundaries.

3) Stay grounded by tapping into your faith. For me, this is being attentive to God's word and meditating on His principles. Our perspective is always better when focused on the right things.

4) Find good resources. From books like Dr. Leaf's to blogs, continued education, writer's  groups, etc. we can glean good things from seasoned creatives, teachers, preachers, and so on.
 
5) Heed sage advice. When my kids were young they watched a cowboy preacher by the name of Gospel Bill. GB told his young audience, "Garbage in, garbage out," Sowing negative things into our heads and lives causes us to reap the same. Sowing the positive and valuable reaps great long term benefits. Love this simple reminder.

Have you ever considered the impact your thoughts have on your writing and life? What steps do you take to stay positive and productive?

Happy writing,
 Karen






Image credit - Pixabay