Brain Training Tips for More Peace & Joy
Brain Training for More Peace and Joy
When you want to get your body in shape for your personal best what do you do? Exercise and train to get the results you want.
What if you want to get your brain in shape for more peace and joy? What exercises do you do for that?
First, it’s helpful to know the kind of thoughts you are thinking and how those thoughts specifically effect your behavior.
Brain training is all about maximizing your brain’s ability to support the best version of you along with your performance, personally and professionally.
One behavior that we naturally do throughout every day is to think about specific thoughts over and over again. Studies show that because we live in our brains and not in the reality of the moment we are actually only present to the life in front of our face 47% of the time. The other 53% we are living in our thoughts.
Just as you would commit to specific exercises to strengthen your biceps, like 10 reps of a certain weight and then move up your the stronger you get or increase the reps for more lean muscle mass, your brain requires the same focus in order to create more room for thoughts that support peace and joy.Calming the overactive brainis a practice that takes commitment and focus and worth the effort.
When I was diagnosed with advanced cancer back in 2006 and told by the docs that they were trying to get me 5 more years of life my dedication to silencing my mind so I could be present to the gift of life in front of my face went off the charts and resulted in profound peace and joy.
I recently heard a podcast by Joyce Myers and she spoke about three things that rob our peace and joy all of which are self-focused rather than other focused:
- What I think.
- What I want.
- What I feel.
Pause for a moment and reflect on how many of your thoughts AND your words revolve around what you think, what you want and what you feel: I think, I want, I feel. It is a powerful brain training exercise to first observe the thoughts that are peace stealers rather than joy producers.
When I focus on what I think, want and feel I usually end up in a hurricane of negative thinking fueled by moments when I do not feel validated, when I do not get the outcome I wanted or my feelings have been hurt by what other people have said or done or not done. I basically set myself up for brain fatigue.
When you shift your focus from self-absorbed thinking to other focused your joy and peace will expand. This is training for the brain to overcome the root of unhappiness: self-absorption.
What you think influences what you feel and ultimately what you want in life. When you commit to training your brain to think on thoughts that are other focused (service, empathy, random acts of kindness, encouragement, mentorship) you forget the thoughts that fuel drama and you are no longer the lead role in the chaos your thoughts create.
As Jesus mentioned, if you want to find your life (experience life to the full) you must lose your life (focus on self: what you think, feel and want). When I was diagnosed with advanced cancer my kids were 8, 10 and 12 years old, my focus on myself was replaced with a ruthless dedication to choosing life for their sake and my depth of purpose and joy in the moments we shared replaced the negative intrusive thoughts of fear, doubt and worry.
Take Action:
This week begin your brain training for more joy and peace. Think about a give back project you can take action on each day. It can be as simple as a phone call to someone you know who is going through a hard time or a random act of kindness to a co-worker who usually pushes your buttons. Love evokes love, kindness evokes kindness. See how many self-absorbed thoughts you can capture and FLIP into a place of service and give back.
Train your brain to think thoughts that lead to behaviors you will want to reflect on with a smile at the sunset of your life.
Support Resources:
Audio Lessons to Live with LIGHTS ON!
