Success could be about innovation, about practice, about determination. One thing that will be the common denominator is how you wire your brain to get to your desired state of mind.
Good news is your brain changes with you or may be you change because your brain is constantly changing.
There’s a traditional saying that the mind takes the shape it rests upon; the modern update is that the brain takes the shape the mind rests upon. For instance, if you regularly rest your mind upon worries, self criticism, and anger, then your brain will gradually take that shape – will develop neural structures and dynamics of anxiety, low sense of worth, and prickly reactivity to others. On the other hand, if you regularly rest your mind upon, for example noticing you’re all right right now, seeing the good in yourself and letting go…then your brain will gradually take the shape of calm strength, self confidence, and inner peace. (Source)
“As your mind changes, your brain changes; and as your brain changes, your mind changes.” Hanson explains how neuroplasticity is accomplished:
Busy regions get more blood flow, since they need more oxygen and glucose.
The genes inside neurons get more or less active; for example, people who routinely relax have improved expression of genes that calm down stress reactions, making them more resilient.
Neural Connections that are relatively inactive wither away; its a kind of neural Darwanism, the survival of the busiest, use it or lose it.
“Neurons that fire together, wire together.” This saying from the work of Donald Hebb means that synapses – the connections between neurons – get more sensitive, plus new neurons grow, producing thicker neural layers.
It’s said that practice makes it easier for brain to highlight on the same function over and over again, making that part of the brain easier to access. That’s why it’s said cab drivers who need to memorize the city maps to get their license, have that part of their brain bigger than the rest.
Turns out more struggles and obstacles you have in learning, better your brain learns.
And if you are looking for inspiration to keep your new year’s resolution going, here’s a tip- physical exercise is good for the brain because it helps create new neurons.
It gets it’s name from what I thought would be a good way to spend my Sunday. No rules, no commitments, no alarm- its free flow. I do what I want to do.
I noticed in trying to chase the next thing to get done throughout the week, I was simply exhausted, to the point I would get irritated very easily. My weekends as a busy working mom would mean endless things and errands to take care of. I never made the list, it simply got lost in more things to get done.
So I stopped. I started this as an experiment on myself to see if it could actually work. So, there’s no schedule for my Sundays which also means I mostly say to all invitations and meetings and brunches on Sunday. I want to keep the time open and available for me.
The way it works- I wake up without alarm and get up and so whatever I want to do. Sometimes I just spend drinking coffee in the balcony and water the plants. Some Sundays, I play with my son, sometimes it’s the gratitude journal followed by all morning being in bed and reading. I keep my whole week scheduled to perfection and this one day I just let it all go. The bed stays messy, the house not quite perfect, the lunch unplanned. Some days we will drive for a bite, some days I will whip up a fancy mean or just order in.
This also works because it’s Sunday and everyone’s available. Sometimes I will delegate work; sometimes I let everyone do what they want. It helps that my parents help as well with my son. So, anyone is free to get their own breakfast done, some days, someone will take the responsibility to make it- it's never me :)
You get the idea... so how does it help?
Decompress- after a hectic week and stressing out, this day resets my system for Monday
Unschedule to schedule better- This allows me to just let everything go. The feeling of letting go is so powerful in not having hundred more things to do that Mondays are always better. That one day break is a real Sunday for me.
Me time- it allows me to live one day the way i want. Yes there are still certain things I will do, but mostly and as much as possible what I want to do.
Solitude helps- I am an introvert and yes i always need my me time. Its a must and when I loose it, it always creates more problems than solutions. I gather my thoughts on life, my career, things I want to do, places I want to travel and catch up with friends.
Asses life- I remember a friend who once told me, we are so focussed on running after the next hike, we forget what we have now and we never enjoy that. It stuck with me. I am not part of any race that day, I try to forgive and forget all wrong doings and try to breathe in more peace within myself.
So far, it has been working, I really look forward to Sundays.
Experts argue that getting into a state of flow can produce substantial happiness, the kind that lasts longer than the pleasure we get from eating a good cookie.
According to Matthew Swan, MA, Registered Art Therapist, “Through creativity, we often find answers to our problems.” He says when we’re stuck, it helps if we can step outside the box and find another way of doing something. To be successful at this, we need to do things outside of our normal, everyday routine and to make connections between things that we had not thought about before. In fact, the creative process is the act of making these new connections.
The link between creativity and better mental and physical health is well established by research. So, while if you consider yourself someone who is creative naturally, chances are you are happier and that means better at work.
Robert Epstein explained in a Psychology Today article how challenging situations can bring out our creativity. Even if you don’t succeed at whatever you’re doing, you’ll wake up the creative areas of your brain and they’ll perform better after the failed task, to compensate.
In 1954 the first flotation method was created by John C. Lilly, a neuro-psychiatrist, as a way to create sensory-deprived control groups for his experiments. Being inside the flotation tank takes your brain from highly conscious alpha and beta waves to solid theta waves—the kind you would normally have right before falling asleep and just after waking up. Normally we only experience these theta waves for a few minutes, but having extended theta periods helps us to visualize better, often giving us vivid mental images. Sensory deprivation helps in reducing anxiety, stress and even chronic pain.
So, like everything else, creativity can bring you happiness and in return give you the much soughted after peace or grounding of you self that can actually help you catapult your career forward.
If there’s one thing you should focus on this year, it definitely has to be making yourself happier and the rest will happen automatically. If you are looking for more ways to make your brain happier, read this.
This year let the year not be in wishing, lets back it up with some concrete plans. So what would you do, if you weren't afraid?
Can you still try to make it work? Is there an alternative? Don't let the lizard brain rule you this year... take the plunge and let's try it together.
Grab a coffee and get reading :)
