Train Your Brain

You’re not stuck.

you just can’t see what’s right in front of you

And that’s about to change. For good.

Because chances are, you’re likely focused on...

• Your circumstances
• Your lack
• Your problem

And that’s very normal. It’s by design, actually.

Right this very moment, your brain is running on autopilot. It’s filtering your life. It’s deciding what to notice & what to ignore.

And that’s a good thing.
Because if you noticed everything you’d have no energy.

The brain consumes approximately 20% of the body’s total energy & oxygen. That’s roughly 400-500 calories a day. So it needs to be effective & efficient.

Instead of focusing on how the fabric of your jeans feels against your skin, how the air feels on the back of your neck, or how the hum of your refrigerator is constantly running in the background, your brain chooses what it deems important information & shifts it’s focus there.

It’s primary job? Keep you alive.
Safe.

Safe is the priority

Your brain’s primary directive is to keep you safe.

Neuroscience has proven that the brain is hardwired to focus on the negative, as a survival mechanism.

You run out of food and water = You are unsafe
If a bear is chasing you = You are unsafe

When you’re in a situation like this, your brain will naturally begin to allocate it’s resources towards solving the unsafe problem, so that it can fulfill it’s primary directive = keep you alive.

Historically speaking, missing a threat was more life threatening than missing an opportunity, so the brain learned to prioritize threatening events.

Scientists also believe that the brain uses about two-thirds of it’s neurons to detect, process & store negative experiences in it’s long-term memory (according to Neuropsychologist Rick Hansen).

Thankfully we generally aren’t in unsafe situations most days, but we are still

>> hardwired to see the negative <<

The good news?
You can change this – starting here & now.

The CYCLE

You are in control.

You have so much more control than you realize. But what most people don’t realize is that your thoughts are running silently in the background and they fuel every feeling you feel & every action you take.

Feelings are the signal

Feelings aren’t always trustworthy, scripture reminds us of this often – one example is in Jeremiah 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

But feelings are a really great signal that our thoughts need some attention.

When you’re feeling frustrated, stuck or some negative way, it’s time to examine the thought that it orignated from.

You cannot have an emotion without first having a thought.
Which means that every single feeling you feel has a thought or belief that’s underneath it fueling it.

Sometimes we don’t always know what that thought or belief is, but there’s a really quick way you can interrupt the cycle & stop it from continuing (which is what’s keeping you stuck).

BREAK THE CYCLE

The fastest way to break the cycle is to interrupt it entirely & replace it with a thought / feeling you intentionally want to focus on.

I love to do this through an exercise I call Key Thoughts.
I’ve been using this method for years & it works every single time.

Here’s how it works:

1. Name the feeling you’re experiencing now.
2. Identify the thought that’s fueling the feeling.
3. Choose a new feeling you want to feel & hold it in your body until you feel it fully & the old feeling is gone.
4. Decide on a new thought that supports the feeling you’re experiencing now.

Now go write that thought down somewhere you’ll see it throughout the day – write it on a sticky note and keep it on your mirror, in your car or on your fridge.

Think on it often. It’s the new thought you’re going to think & meditate on when that sneaky old thought shows up (because it will – rewiring takes a little time).

The better you get at this, the easier it becomes to recognize what you’re thinking or believing and replace it with truth.

You can also start each day with a chosen thought & feeling – which is even better, because when you give your brain the directive early on in the day, you’re less likely to be reactive to your life and you can more easily get back on track when you feel off or find yourself in a reactive state.

Practice makes perfect.
Do this daily & you’ll find yourself doing this more easily & naturally.

I’ll give you an example so you can see how it works, but then you do it on the next page – print it out or open up a page in your journal & do it there, but write it down pen to paper. This makes a stronger brain to body connection.

The Reticular Activating System

Meet your Reticular Activating System 🤝

(Also known as RAS)

Your RAS is the secret to training your brain to see the good.
To find the solutions.
To spot the miracles.

Because I guarantee, they’re already there – you just haven’t been able to see them...yet.

Simply put, the reticular activating system is a bundle of nerves at your brainstem that filters out unnecessary information. It’s also responsible for regulating sleep cycles & awareness, but for the purpose of this conversation, we’re going to focus on it’s ability to filter information.

Your RAS serves as the “gatekeeper” & you get to choose what you want to allow in & what you want to keep out.

Most people are running on autopilot (hello energy conservation). This is easy to do when you’re overloaded & have no margin in your life...we’re all at risk of living this way, but when you get really intentional about putting your RAS to work for you, things begin to change...quickly.

One of the most common examples of RAS at work is one I actually experienced first hand & once I saw it in action, it blew my mind...

RAS in action

In 2014, my husband & I were shopping for a new car. That year the smaller SUV’s were newer to the market & we were excited to buy our first “family car” (nope, we did not have kids yet 😂 you definitely don’t know, what you don’t know.)

We test drove several, but eventually landed at a Mazda dealership & fell in love with a sporty & fun, but still somewhat spacious, dark gray Mazda CX-5.

This make & model had only been in production for 2 years, so there weren’t a ton of them on the road. It felt unique, even though it wasn’t a fancy car.

Or so I thought...

We made the purchase, drove off the lot & were so happy with our choice. Until the very next day, I begin to notice Mazda CX-5's everywhere...& in DARK GRAY!! 😂

So what happened here?

It wasn’t something my brain had deemed important.
Until I drove a Mazda CX-5, I had no idea it existed.
I wasn’t looking for it.

Then I became the owner of one & suddenly it’s valuable information to me. I need to be able to spot a gray Mazda CX-5 in a parking lot easily & now I see them all the time.

This is the RAS in action.

The Red Car Test

This is one of the most classic RAS exercises, but it works every single time.

For the next 24 hours, I want you to notice red cars. That’s it. 🚘

What happened with the red cars?

They're suddenly everywhere. Nothing changed in the world — only what your brain was told to look for.

This is exactly what's been happening with your problems, fears & worries. You've been unconsciously programming your brain to find evidence of what's NOT working.

We're about to change that.

Find The Evidence

We’re going to start looking for & finding the good in your life.

1. Choose one area of life that you’ve been praying over.
   Maybe it’s friendships, your marriage or finances.

2. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes and write down 3 pieces of evidence from the last 7 days that God has been moving in your life. Not big miracles. Small ones. A friend who checked in right when you needed it. Something kind your spouse did or said this week. An unexpected $20 that showed up or a savings you received.

Your brain might have some resistance to this at first. You’ve been trained to look for the problem, not the solution. But the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Sit with this until you have 3 solid pieces of evidence.

Did you find it? The evidence was always there — your RAS just wasn't scanning for it.

To lock this in, I want you to pair this evidence with a scripture based declaration (say it out loud, the brain really anchors it in when it’s audible):

The Miracle Log

You’re going to create a new neural pathway & anchor in the work you’ve been doing. When you repeat something for just 3 days, it moves information from short-term memory into long-term memory, reinforcing a stronger neural connection. This is how you train your brain to see the good, for good.

For the next three days, before you look at your phone, I want you to keep a pen & paper next to your bed. You’re going to write this one sentence:

"Today I expect to see God move in the area of ____."

And at the end of the day, before you go to bed, I want you to write:

"Today I noticed ____."

That's it. It’s simple, but it works. Trust the process.

Just two sentences that start and end your day and keep your RAS actively scanning for God moving in your life. This is where you start to notice & see real miracles happening in and through your life on the daily. (my favorite part – I always say “I’m God’s favorite & now my brain just has fun with this because I see God blessing me with sweet little things all the time)

>> You just experienced a shift
Now imagine LIVING this way <<