Here are five facts you need to know to regain the brain power to achieve the good life,
Which is a life of being well and doing well.
Fact number one says,
Stress is serious,
So take it seriously.
We human beings are called the crown of creation because of our brain.
Yet,
For far too many people,
The brain does not seem to crown their lives with health,
Wealth and love.
Quite the contrary,
It seems to malfunction in self-defeating patterns of stress,
Anxiety and depression.
Chronic stress means the stress response system is turned on nearly full time,
Causing fight or flight stress reactions that dump toxic stress hormones into our system.
A buildup of stress hormones is very bad for your brain.
It literally shrinks higher brain networks,
Temporarily lowering IQ by as much as 40%.
Stress depletes our energy and disrupts our sleep,
Causes marriage and family dysfunction,
Dampens the immune system,
Damages our cardiovascular system and alters our DNA in ways that leads to premature aging and cancer.
Stress is serious,
It's life-threatening serious.
It's not something we should someday do something about.
We need to shift stress whenever it raises its ugly head and we can.
Fact number two is the 50-10-40 factor.
This fact says 50% of what causes a predisposition to stress is a stress gene you inherited which is turned up high.
This problem was reinforced by your family of origin,
Most of whom were stressed because they had the same problem with their stress gene.
A hyperactive stress gene is going to drag your mind and your day into self-defeating bouts of anxiety,
Engendering a nebulous sense of threat when none exists.
It is common for a beleaguered mind to think that a change of circumstances will solve a stressful life,
But research shows that circumstances are only 10% to blame for a stressful life,
Which means changing circumstances does not make a big difference.
The change that makes the biggest difference is a change of mindset.
It accounts for 40% of whether you live a life of stress or the good life,
And there is growing evidence now that a shift to the positive can down-regulate the stress gene,
Placing you in charge of your quality of life completely.
Fact number three says everything for a human being is mindset.
That's because your state of mind determines the state of your brain.
This is a conclusion reached by science,
And there are only two mindsets you need to understand.
One mindset is negative,
Generating an inner experience of contraction that feels like the walls are closing in on you.
It is built on the fearful thinking that makes you believe you are a victim of circumstances.
As I said,
The stress hormones that a negative mindset produce shrink higher brain networks,
The ones you need to succeed.
The other mindset is positive,
Generating an inner experience of expansion that makes you feel like the sky is the limit.
That is built on inner peace,
Love,
And optimism,
And it makes you believe you are larger than circumstances.
A positive mindset not only amplifies higher brain function,
It also stimulates the growth of new connections within the higher brain to increase your potential to reach even greater heights.
Fact number four is stress is psychological fear,
And peace is neurological power.
The opposite of stress and fear is inner peace,
And inner peace is a condition that leads to optimal brain function.
So the more we practice shifting our mindset from fear to peace,
From negative to positive,
The more brain networks integrate and expand.
Brain scans of Tibetan monks who have mastered inner peace look like New York City lit up at night.
So take this to heart as you look out on the world.
Stress is inner peace,
Succeeding is letting go of fear.
The fifth and final fact is the best news of all.
It is that the daily mindful practice that generates brain change is quite simple,
Adding little to your to-do list.
It's about learning to function from a positive to be list.
And better still,
Brain change occurs faster than you might imagine,
In as little as four weeks with practice.
