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Do you sometimes wish that you could think differently? Do you find yourself seeing the glass as half empty when you'd really like to be able to see it as half full?
Well, I've got some good news.
Our brains are changeable. With some conscious effort, we can change the ways that our brains work, and in doing so, we can change the quality of our thoughts.
How do we Change our Brains?
First, it's important to have a bit of an understanding on how the brain works.
Imagine a field that is covered in deep snow and it's your job to make a walking path across the field. In order to make a new path, you have to trudge, step by step, through all that deep snow. Ugh. That first time across, it's extremely difficult and it takes a lot of energy and determination. The second time is almost as difficult. But by the tenth time across, you notice that it starts to get easier. Soon you notice that the more you use this path, the more pat-down it becomes, and far less energy and determination is required to use it.
This is the same as forming new pathways in your brain. At first it takes a lot of energy and determination, but as time goes by, it gets much easier.
Develop New Paths in Your Brain
Now, you probably have some pretty well-used neural pathways in your brain already. These might be the ones that aren't serving you so well. How do you change them? You stop using them and develop new neural pathways. Again, this is tougher in the beginning, and more difficult to stick to, because "why would I want to take a new, tougher path through the snow when there is a perfectly well-trudged easy path that is already available to me?" It's true, taking the old, "glass half empty" pathway would in fact be easier, and you may find yourself automatically starting on this path many times at the beginning. But as soon as you notice that you are on the wrong path, stop...
...and get on the right path.
As you begin to use the new path across the field instead of the old path, the old path will eventually snow in, and the new path will become the easiest path to take.
Homework (optional):
A simple way to try this out is to start up a gratitude journal. If you are noticing that you are seeing only the negative stuff in life these days, try writing down 10 different things every day that you are grateful for. Some days you may have to get pretty inventive because it may feel difficult to come up with 10 new things that you haven't used in previous entries, but that's okay. You could be grateful for your favourite colour or for air to breathe or you could simply be grateful that you've somehow had the strength to hang in there this far. Whatever lengths you have to go to, keep doing it.
Be Mindful:
Notice how on some days, it might be easier to see things that you are grateful for, and that on other days this might be much more difficult. Notice how these days ebb and flow. Notice how this is constantly changing. As much as impermanence can feel scary sometimes, when you're feeling down, knowing that things will eventually change for the better can also bring us a sense of comfort and hope.
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