I have found this statement to be true.
“Neurologists claim that every time you resist negative emotions and choose positive ones, you are rewiring your brain to be more positive and loving.”
Step one to transition from a negative life experience to a positive one is simply deciding to do so.
In order to rewire my brain (to have a more positive life experience), I first have to notice the temptation to embrace negative feelings/emotions, to entertain negative thoughts/drama. I notice negative feelings and emotions rising inside myself, I catch myself and I make a decision to resist all that.
“People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.”
-Mother Teresa “Do It Anyway.”
When I understood that “Who I am” is NOT my internal feelings and emotions (I am merely the one noticing them) and understand that my internal feelings and emotions are my responsibility (instead of blaming others), then it becomes my duty to catch myself entertaining/fostering negative energy. It’s up to me to catch myself doing that, then decide to do things that instead foster positive feelings/energy (such as daily meditation/practice gratitude/being of service to others).
What happens when I do that is the neuroplasticity of my brain kicks in, and the brain literally rewires itself to make “being positive” (which is what I’m DECIDING to be) way easier/natural/normal.
It’s as if my brain has it’s own AI and it notices “Ah, we’re trying to be positive now? Let me make this easier for you and start rewiring some of these neural pathways.”
With practice, being a “positive energy” person eventually becomes my “way of being.”
In a meeting yesterday, I read the question “who do I think I am?” and asked everyone to consider the answer.
Per some “spiritual masters/gurus,” they will tell you every answer I can come up with to answer that question will be wrong. I do not consider myself a spiritual master, so I will tell you who I think I am is the little decision maker inside this meat puppet deciding if the thoughts and signals coming into my brain’s awareness from my five senses are true, or false. That is who I am. I am “the little decision maker” of this meat puppet I am housed in.
When I decide to change my life, my life will change, but not until then.
