What Are You Feeding Your Brain?
Have you ever regretted the way you responded in a situation?
Do you wonder why some things can trigger you more than others?
Are you looking to understand and change for the better?
Your emotions and feelings are messages to your brain. You can intentionally choose how to interpret these and how to respond. This can be a hard concept to grasp for many. It is a key element of understanding mindset and the personal identity you have created for yourself.
By understanding mindset, you can better understand the decisions you make. By “mindset” I am referring to the way you set your mind through your thinking and how your mind has been set by your culture, perceptions and conditioning. Your mindset determines the paths that you take. Mindset is fed and nurtured by your thoughts. The more attention you give certain thoughts and narratives in your mind, the stronger they become.
There's a lovely quote by Frank Owen. It says, “Watch your thoughts because your thoughts will lead to your words. Watch your words because your words will lead to your actions. Watch your actions because your actions lead to your habits. Watch your habits because your habits lead to your character and watch your character because your character leads to your destiny.”
It all starts with how you think. Is your thinking serving you well?
Your thoughts come from what you choose to give your attention to and what information you take in. This information is filtered and viewed through the lens of your conditioning. Much like programming computers, you have ‘rules’ written throughout your life that you unquestionably take as fact. Your understanding and perceptions impact and create the stories you tell yourself and this, in turn, forms, shapes, and creates your identity. Research shows a 4 step progression of your stories creating your beliefs, from which you form your values and this builds your identity.
Your thinking today determines who you will be tomorrow.
We act out of our identity. A lack of awareness of this underpins much of the social and workplace tension people feel and talk about. Insecurity and immaturity can cause people to connect their roles, jobs, positions, etc, to their identity. They cannot see themselves as separate from their position and take feedback personally. They can tend to view comments as a direct reflection of who they are rather than feedback on their behaviour. The more secure we are in our identity, the easier it is to be confident and avoid this trap. Carol Dweck refers to the ability to take on feedback with a willingness to look for learnings and improvements as a “growth mindset”. Self-confidence enables you to be more capable, willing and comfortable in situations where others have a differing outlook and worldview. You can be curious and “seek to understand before seeking to be understood” as Stephen Covey so succinctly put it.
My mum is an avid gardener with the classic “green fingers” that seem to make anything grow. When we were growing up, the corner entrance garden and the patio garden were always filled with flourishing, flowering plants. They contrasted sharply to the side garden where my brother and I spent a lot of time. When I asked Mum about this, she pointed out that the flourishing gardens were fed more water, compost, time and attention and their appearance and performance reflected this.
In the same way, we feed our mind by giving our thoughts attention. Attention is the food for your emotions and your thought patterns. In the intentional and purposeful creation of your identity, watch what information you feed your brain and what you allow yourself to dwell on.
