Head First: How To Gain Control of Your Brain and Live The Life You Want

Changing how you live and work is possible by changing how you think about the past.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed, or unable to think clearly when it mattered most? You were probably trying to use a part of your brain that was unavailable at that time. The great news is: There is a simple technique for regaining access to that part of your brain on-demand.

“If you have ever been unable to think clearly when it mattered most, you were probably trying to use a part of your brain that was unavailable. The great news is: There is a simple technique for regaining access to that part of your brain on-demand. #selfregulation #stressrelief”

Although the brain is a complicated organ, and there is still a lot that neuroscientists don’t know about how it works, there are a few very simple and straightforward facts we do know from neuroscience research - that can give you a lot more control over your brain than you may expect.

Thoughts are connections between neurons in the neocortex of the brain. Those connections trigger matching chemicals. To put it simply: negative thoughts trigger stress chemicals (including adrenaline and cortisol), and positive thoughts trigger “feel-good” chemicals (including endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin).

Those chemicals cause sensations we recognize consciously as emotions and feelings. In addition to creating negative feelings like fear, anger, doubt, frustration, and hopelessness, the stress chemicals that are produced from the connections between neurons as we have a negative thought are the same chemicals that are produced when we’re in physical danger. The fight-freeze-flight emergency state is created in response to an emotional trigger as well as to a physical threat.

One of the effects of stress chemicals is that blood drains from the prefrontal cortex of the brain – where we do our cognitive thinking – to the back of the brain. Of course, when faced with a bear, there’s no time to negotiate or strategize. We need to act instantly and instinctively, and that’s what the back of the brain is for – the emergency survival mechanism.

This means that whenever we’re in an intense negative emotional state, we literally can’t think straight – because that part of the brain is offline. You may have found that when you’ve been emotionally triggered in an encounter with someone, it’s only later that you think of all the things you should, or could, have said?

“One of the effects of stress chemicals is that blood drains from the prefrontal cortex of the brain – where we do our #cognitive thinking – to the back of the brain. This means that whenever we’re in an intense negative emotional state, we literally can’t think straight. #selfawareness ”

That’s because in the moment you were emotionally triggered, the stress chemicals in your system had caused blood to drain from your prefrontal cortex to the back of your brain, as part of the fight-freeze-flight emergency state. Later, as the level of those chemicals lowered, and blood started to return to that cognitive-thinking part of your brain, you were able to think clearly again.

Feeling good is about so much more than just feeling good; it’s about being able to access the part of your brain you need for strategizing, problem-solving, creativity, effective communication, risk-assessment, and empowered decision-making. Attempting to comprehend information, make a decision, or take action while in a negative emotional state is like trying to drive a vehicle with the handbrake on – you’re attempting to use a part of your brain that is effectively offline.

“Attempting to comprehend information, make a decision, or take action while in a negative emotional state is like trying to drive a vehicle with the handbrake on. #neuroscience #stress”

As neuroscientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor explains in her “90 second rule” it takes just 60 to 90 seconds to change your own brain and body chemistry from stress chemicals to “feel-good” chemicals, allowing blood to return to your prefrontal cortex. That is, if you keep your focus off the negative and on the positive for that minute-and-a-half. As we know, thoughts are connections between neurons, and those connections trigger matching chemicals.

It takes 60 to 90 seconds for the peak and dissipation of those chemicals from the point of the initial trigger… unless, that is, it is re-triggered. What usually happens is: we feel a negative emotion, we think about it and all of the details and connected concerns; and every one of those thoughts re-triggers the same stress chemicals, restarting that 90-second clock each time.

“As neuroscientist @DrJBT explains in her “90 second rule;” it takes just 60 to 90 seconds to change your own #brain and body #chemistry from stress chemicals to “feel-good” chemicals, allowing blood to return to your prefrontal cortex. ”

The challenge is that stress chemicals are stronger than “feel-good” chemicals – because stress chemicals are part of our survival system. They’re designed to get, and keep, our attention on the “danger”. It’s more important to keep our focus on the wild animal that’s threatening to attack us, than on the pretty flowers. This is why it’s easier to feel bad than to feel good – it’s about survival.

The following exercise will help you to develop the skill of changing and controlling your own brain and body chemistry so that you can gain, and maintain, access to your cognitive-thinking abilities.

“The following #exercise will help you to develop the skill of changing and controlling your own brain and body chemistry so that you can gain, and maintain, access to your cognitive-thinking abilities. #mindfulness ”

Before we start, you’ll need a “subject” – someone or something you love, without any negative attachments. In other words, no missing, regret, or guilt, just love. It can be a person or a pet, or an animal that’s not your pet but you think they’re cute (like elephants or beavers). If you can’t think of a person or animal, you can use a place or activity instead – for example: Hawaii, or gardening.

1. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and think of your favorite color. If you don’t have a favorite, just pick one you like.

2. Imagine being surrounded by that beautiful color. Allow yourself to fully focus on, and feel the feeling of, that color.

3. Next, think of your subject, and imagine holding that person, animal, place, or activity, in your arms, in a hug. Notice how that feels in your chest or solar plexus.

4. Now, imagine that feeling – that physical feeling in your chest or solar plexus – as a ball of light or energy, and imagine it spreading down to your toes, up to the top of your head, and out to your fingertips.

As you do this, the neural connections you’re making in your neocortex (those thoughts of being surrounded by the color, hugging your subject, and imagining the light spreading throughout your body) are triggering the release of “feel-good” chemicals, including endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin. It may take a little while before you start to feel the effects, depending on the existing level of stress chemicals already in your system; but the more you practice this little exercise, the more you’ll start to replace stress chemicals with those “feel-good” chemicals. And you’ll begin to feel the effects, physically and emotionally.

As you feel the change from negative emotions (stress chemicals) to positive emotions (“feel-good” chemicals), blood will return to your prefrontal cortex. Just as you would release the handbrake before pressing the accelerator to move your vehicle forward, be sure to use your focus to change your emotional state before attempting to use your cognitive thinking. This will affect your problem-solving skills, your ability to assess risk, your creativity, communication skills, the opportunities you are able to recognize, and your ability to comprehend information and perform calculations.

Taking your brain off autopilot, and intentionally choosing those neural connections that trigger the chemicals that create how you feel and whether you have your cognitive-thinking ability online or not – can completely revolutionize your results in all areas of your life.

“Taking your brain off autopilot, and intentionally choosing those neural connections that trigger the chemicals that create how you feel and whether you have your cognitive-thinking ability online or not – can completely revolutionize your results in all areas of your life. #intention”

Odille Remmert is a mindset coach specializing in neuroscience-based empowerment, and co-author of the book: Change What Happened to You: How to Use Neuroscience to Get the Life You Want by Changing Your Negative Childhood Memories.