Change Your Brain Every Day

1. Your Brain Creates Your Mind: Optimize Brain Health for Better Life

"Your brain is involved in everything you do, including how you think, feel, act, and interact with others."

Brain envy is essential. Understanding that your brain creates your mind is the first step towards optimizing your mental health. The brain, weighing only about three pounds, controls everything you do and everything you are. It's not just about mental health; it's about brain health.

Three key strategies for brain health:

• Develop brain envy - care about your brain
• Avoid anything that hurts it
• Engage in regular brain-healthy habits

By focusing on these strategies, you can improve your memory, mood, focus, and overall sense of happiness and peace. Remember, you're not stuck with the brain you have; you can make it better, even if you've been bad to it in the past.

2. BRIGHT MINDS: 11 Risk Factors That Steal Your Memory and Mind

"If you want to keep your brain healthy or rescue it if it's headed for trouble, you must prevent or treat the 11 major risk factors that steal your mind."

BRIGHT MINDS mnemonic. This acronym helps remember the 11 major risk factors affecting brain health:

• Blood flow
• Retirement/Aging
• Inflammation
• Genetics
• Head trauma
• Toxins
• Mental health
• Immunity/Infections
• Neurohormone issues
• Diabesity
• Sleep issues

By addressing these factors, you can significantly improve your brain health. For each risk factor, there are specific strategies to mitigate its impact. For example, to improve blood flow, you can exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet. For sleep issues, establish a consistent sleep schedule and create a relaxing bedtime routine.

3. Positivity Bias Training: Reshape Your Thoughts for Happiness

"Where you bring your attention determines how you feel."

Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs). These are thoughts that come into our minds automatically and ruin our day. Recognizing and eliminating ANTs is crucial for maintaining a positive mindset.

Strategies for positivity:

• Start each day with "Today is going to be a great day"
• End each day with "What went well today?"
• Look for micro-moments of happiness throughout your day
• Practice gratitude and appreciation regularly
• Focus on your strengths and accomplishments

By consistently applying these strategies, you can train your brain to have a positivity bias, leading to increased happiness and resilience in the face of challenges.

4. Nutrition as Medicine: Fuel Your Brain for Optimal Performance

"Food is medicine . . . or it is poison."

SOUL food for your brain. This acronym stands for:

• Sustainable
• Organic
• Unadulterated
• Locally grown

Key nutritional strategies:

• Consume high-quality proteins and healthy fats
• Eat colorful fruits and vegetables
• Stay hydrated with plenty of water
• Consider intermittent fasting
• Be cautious with gluten, dairy, and corn
• Use brain-healthy herbs and spices

Remember, what you eat directly impacts your brain function. By adopting a brain-healthy diet, you can improve your cognitive abilities, mood, and overall mental health.

5. The Power of Sleep and Relaxation in Brain Health

"When you sleep, your brain cleans or washes itself."

Sleep is crucial for brain health. During sleep, your brain goes through important processes that help maintain its health and function. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night.

Relaxation techniques:

• Diaphragmatic breathing
• Meditation and mindfulness practices
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Hypnosis
• Hand warming exercises

These techniques can help reduce stress, anxiety, and promote overall brain health. Incorporating them into your daily routine can lead to significant improvements in your mental well-being.

6. Relationships and Mental Health: The Brain's Social Connections

"Family and friends—and you—are contagious."

RELATING mnemonic. This acronym helps remember key aspects of healthy relationships:

• Responsibility
• Empathy
• Listening
• Assertiveness
• Time
• Inquiring
• Noticing what you like
• Grace and forgiveness

Your social connections significantly impact your brain health. Surrounding yourself with positive, supportive people can boost your mental well-being, while toxic relationships can have detrimental effects on your brain.

7. Overcoming Past Traumas: Taming the Dragons in Your Mind

"The stories we tell ourselves guide and direct our lives, driving happiness or depression, exhilaration or disappointment, rage or peace."

Dragons from the Past. These are unresolved emotional issues from our past that continue to affect our present behavior and emotions. Identifying and taming these dragons is crucial for emotional healing and growth.

Common Dragons from the Past:

• Abandoned, Invisible, or Insignificant Dragons
• Inferior or Flawed Dragons
• Anxious Dragons
• Wounded Dragons
• Should and Shaming Dragons
• Responsible Dragons
• Angry Dragons
• Judgmental Dragons
• Grief and Loss Dragons
• Death Dragons
• Hopeless and Helpless Dragons
• Ancestral Dragons

By recognizing these dragons and working to tame them, you can free yourself from past traumas and improve your overall mental health. This process often involves self-reflection, therapy, and consistent application of positive mental health practices.

Last updated: September 30, 2024