Did You Know This About Your Brain?
The brain is so freaking cool. The more I learn about it, the more fascinated I become. Also, the more I understand how it works, the more insight I gain to improve my thinking (literally). I want to share the latest that has me like whoa.
Your brain is constantly working. There are 2 “modes” (or states of activity).
Conscious: This is your mode of focus (aka present mode). You’re present, in the moment, attentive, and concentrated. You’re actively aware of your thoughts, emotions, and surroundings. You’re paying attention to something with intention. While in this mode, you have the capacity to make calm and informed choices.
Subconscious: This is your default mode (aka narrative mode). It functions like an autopilot. It’s active 95% of the time, mostly engaging in internal thought, contemplation, emotional reactions, and behaviors without you even realizing it. It’s also the part of your brain that creates narratives and stories. Your subconscious mind is involved in internal processes like mind wandering, daydreaming, self-reflection, memories, and future planning. It’s job is to ensure that you respond exactly the way you are programmed (Yes, you read that correctly).
Here’s an example. If you got into your car and paid close attention to the way the seat felt against your body, slowly started the car, sat there for a moment while feeling the steering wheel underneath your hands, thought about where you were heading and what route you would take, chose to leave the music off, and then became completely immersed in the drive without any distractions, you would be mostly in your conscious thinking/present brain. But most of the time during this scenario, we’re not . . . our brain is in default mode. This means we’re thinking about what we have to do the rest of the day, what just happened before we got into the car, or something that’s going on tomorrow while we’re getting the car moving. We hop in the car, throw on some music, a podcast, or make a phone call all while throwing it in gear and getting on the road. I do it too! We’re busy and ready to get to where we’re going. Since this is so relatable, it’s a great example to describe what it would look like to be your conscious brain versus having both your conscious and subconscious brain at play. In the latter part of the example, your subconscious brain is doing the most of the actual driving while your conscious brain is focused on said song, podcast, or phone call. Did I say the brain was cool or what?
A little more on the subconscious mind . . . it’s designed to turn your learned thoughts, emotions, and behaviors into a program that will play in the background (like a record player) so you can focus on other things. In order for this to happen, the information the subconscious brain receives must be repeated until it becomes almost a habit! Remember that it has to be something you do automatically. Some examples:
Behaviors: some can be helpful while others are not. Driving a car, riding a bike, tying your shoes, comfort eating, disassociation, perfectionism, excessive scrolling, overworking, yelling when overstimulated, etc.
Thoughts: any thought you repetitively think can eventually become a belief. If it’s negative, it can become a limiting belief. “I’m not good enough.” “I’m not lovable.” “I do not deserve . . .” “I am powerless.” “I cannot trust other people.” “I cannot succeed.” But on the complete opposite spectrum, imagine the positive thoughts you could turn to beliefs! “I am beautiful.” “I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.” “I am great with money.” “My body is worth taking care of.”
Emotions: if you experience similar events over and over again in your life that cause you to feel a negative emotion, it can become almost automatic for you to feel them when your brain thinks a future event is going to be comparable. Emotions like fear, anxiety, anger, envy, guilt, shame, inadequacy, and helplessness are the most common.
The problem with default mode is that the narrative is always in the past or the future. Because remember the conscious mode is activated when you’re in the present moment. When you’re on autopilot, the subconscious mind is thinking about things that have already happened or things that might happen. Furthermore, most of the time (not always) the narrative of the past and the future is negative. This is a big problem because if your subconscious mind is negatively looping most of the day, it’s going to negatively affect you.
How could this play out? Let’s say you’re having a GREAT day. But at 4:00 that evening, you get a shitty text or phone call that puts you in a mood. Your subconscious narrative is going to steer you to focus on that one negative thing and bypass all of the positives that happened before and after it. What about when you’re thinking about the future? It’s normally what could possibly go wrong about it. The what if scenarios. We think about all the cringe stuff from the past more than we do all the wonderful things (generally speaking). Yes, we absolutely DO think fondly on memories and look forward to the future, but usually when we become intentional about it—think conscious brain.
However, the default brain mostly focuses on the above examples when we’re not paying attention. This is called "negativity bias”. This is essentially our brain's evolutionary adaptation to prioritize potential threats, thus increasing our chances of survival in a hostile environment. This means negative stimuli are processed more strongly than positive ones, causing us to naturally gravitate towards focusing on the negative aspects of a situation. It’s directly connected to our survival.
But wait, there’s more. A further problem, when we are in default mode, those negative thoughts are creating cortisol and stress hormones that are keeping us from thinking clearly. This is why it’s so important to bring your brain back to what we’re currently experiencing. The present moment. This is where peace exists.
The Good News? We can train our brains to exist in the place of presence more often. Some examples of how to do that are meditation, deep breathing, mindful eating, exercise (like yoga), visualizations, and journaling without distraction. The reason this is possible is an amazing process called Neuroplasticity. It’s the fact that our brain continues to change throughout our lifetime. When you use a certain area of your brain over and over again, it gets stronger and thicker, just like a muscle. For example, the more you practice meditation and mindfulness, you’re strengthening the area of your brain that manages self-discipline and self-control. The better you are at these things, the more successful overall you can become.
Your brain is ready to be worked. The phrase “you use it or lose it” is very real when it comes to neuroplasticity. Neural circuits that do not engage in performing the same type of tasks will begin to degrade after an extended period of time. If we do not use a certain part of our brain for a prolonged time, we will lose function in that area. Yikes.
For me, this means that complacency as an adult can impact your brain–and not in a good way. Routine and structure are good, but variety and introducing new things are also very good. Work and challenge your brain! That’s what it’s here for! We have plenty of things that do this when we’re children, but as we become adults, it’s up to us to do this for ourselves. Yes, you can change your brain! I see neuroplasticity as a beautiful gift that should be taken advantage of every day! It’s motivation to overwrite the unhelpful thoughts, behaviors, and habits I picked up as a child and to write in all the ones I want more of in my life! To learn to live in the conscious brain more often.
What does this all mean? There is an opportunity to change your brain. Once you know this and can see it, you can never unsee it. Your brain is more complex than you could ever imagine! It’s truly amazing all it can do for you. It’s always working FOR YOU. You have the power to do this for yourself. To improve upon some of the things you wish were different. To call in more presence. To achieve more conscious moments. To think, believe, and behave less from a negative state. To change and update limiting beliefs. And with all the free resources the internet provides, you can make it possible. Love and take care of your brain and it will love and take care of you right back.