Upgrade Your Brain

Today I heard a great analogy about how to change your brain. Just like with your home, before you can move something new in, you often have to get the old out; a bed, a couch, chairs, a table.  When you are ready to upgrade to something new and better you have to get the old out first.  It is the same with our minds.  When we are ready to upgrade to better thoughts, new ways of looking at life, a better way of doing things, we must first get the old out.   This allows space for something new and better.

Have you ever been around someone who particularly impressed you?  Maybe they were very intellectual.  Maybe they were very confident.  Maybe they were very happy and positive.  Maybe they were very deep thinking.  You have the ability to move in that same direction by clearing out space and making room for something new and better.

Marelisa Fabrega, author of the blog "Daring to Live Fully" gives 10 ways to clear out space in your mind. (Warning, do not try to implement all 10 today!  Just pick one thing.  When you feel comfortable with that, pick another.  This is not a marathon.)

1.  Declutter your physical space.  Physical clutter leads to mental clutter.  There is a definite connection here.  As you clean out your physical space you will actually feel differently, lighter, more open.

2.  Write it down.  You don't need to keep everything in your brain.  It takes a lot of mental energy to keep it all upstairs.  Use a device or good old fashioned paper and pen to keep some of that information somewhere else, thus freeing up mental space and energy.

3. Keep a journal.  This mental exercise helps you to get out of your brain and onto paper (or screen as the case may be) things you are worried about, hopes, dreams, frustrations.   Often in the writing down of things in a journal I have had "aha" moments, or figured things out that I had not been able to before.  It's like therapy that you give yourself.

4.  Let go of the past.  It actually takes a tremendous amount of energy to hold onto negative from your past.  You won't realize it until you let it go, then all of a sudden you feel more light and free, and you wonder why you waited so long!  I could write a whole series of articles devoted to tools on how to let go of the past.  Tune in next week for a few ideas on how to do this.

5.  Stop multi-tasking.  Just as it is most effective to tackle one room or one pile at a time, so it is with our minds.  Focus on one thing at a time and do it well.  This keeps your mind from being scattered in too many directions at once, like a pile of clutter of which you never get to the bottom.

6.  Limit the amount of trivial information coming in.  Ask yourself this question,  "Do I feel like I am losing time to any kind of social media? Online sites? News programs? Other?  If so, decide how to limit your exposure to this information.  Doing so will also limit the time your brain spends processing it, thus freeing up space for meaningful things that you choose.

7.  Be decisive.  I once had an employer that would put off decisions until the lack of making a decision was in and of itself a decision, and not usually the one she would have chosen.  Lay out your options and make a choice.  Then it can stop weighing on your brain. Using your higher power for tough decisions can be a great benefit in helping you to feel good about the decisions you make.

8.  Put routine decisions on auto-pilot.  In other words, form habits to decrease the amount of brain space you spend on things that are repetitive.  For instance, I have a morning routine that I follow each weekday.  It includes meditation time, breakfast and going to the gym.  I do the same thing every morning.  It is a HABIT.  I do not have to decide every morning whether or not I am going to go to the gym.  I just do it.  It frees up space and energy inside of me.

9.  Prioritize.  Decide on the top 1-3 things that are the most essential in your day.  These may or may not be tasks.  It is whatever is the most important to you.  Ask yourself, "If I could only do one thing today, what would it be?"  That helps narrow it down considerably.  Often my first priority is relationship oriented rather than task oriented, something I have upgraded in my brain.

10. Meditate.  This can take as little as 10 minutes per day, but can be very refreshing or cleansing, like a cool quick shower when you are hot and sweaty.  It just refreshes you and give clarity to your mind.

For Marelisa's full article on this topic, go to https://daringtolivefully.com/declutter-your-mind

As you use the tools to clear space in your brain, you now have room that can be filled with whatever you choose to fill it with.  Just as you would carefully choose a new piece of furniture for your house, it is wise to also carefully choose how to fill that space inside of you.  There is much to choose from that is good and wonderful.  What do you want to put inside of you?  Give yourself an upgrade!