You Are Not Your Brain

You Are Not Your Brain educates you about the science behind bad habits and breaking them, giving you an actionable 4-step framework you can use to stop listening to your brain’s deceptive messages.

How cool does that sound? Almost like a weapon from Star Wars VII. But what the hell is it?

If you break down the term, it comes down to this: self-directed means you exert neuroplasticity on yourself. So you’re the one who’s using it, and who it’s being used on.

Neuro– stands for your neurons, or nerve cells, in your brain, which are the pathways where feelings and thoughts flow.

Plasticity means something is like plastic – it is firm initially, but can be formed and changed by using the right tools.

Let’s pull it all together.

You can change the pathways in your own brain – and you can do it yourself.

This means even if you’re stuck with a couple of bad habits right now, you can change them. Just because your brain is wired in a certain way does not mean that this wiring defines you.

By coming to the conclusion that you are not your brain you can start changing the physical structure inside it, so that it works more in your favor and less against you.

This is what happens when you hear stories like the one of Christopher Reeve, famous Superman actor, who changed his mindset after becoming paralyzed until eventually moving again.

Note: I’ve explained the concept of neuroplasticity here, including a great video and a little device to help you remember it.

So how do you start to direct some neuroplasticity at yourself? By learning about two more cool concepts with funky names. Number one is called Hebb’s law and is summed up in one beautiful rhyme: Neurons that fire together, wire together. The more often one of the neural pathways in your brain is used, the stronger it gets. For example, let’s say you have a new job, and have to catch the bus every morning at 8 am to make it there on time. You’re doing fine the first week, but on Tuesday in week 2, you arrive at 8:01 am and miss the bus. This causes you stress and anxiety, because you’ll be late and might get yelled at. While you’re waiting for the next bus, you have a cigarette to combat the stress, and it helps. The nicotine and activity give you a sense of relief and calm you down. Now you’ve forged a new pathway in your brain, that links stress from missing the bus to the relieve a cigarette offers. This is then reinforced with every time you miss the bus and have…