Your Brain Believes What You Feed It

by Tara West of Aussie Résumés © 2007

What you think and feel can change the whole outcome of your life.  A pretty powerful statement, isn't it?  Particularly when you relate it to your career.

So let us think about that for a minute. 

Your brain believes whatever you feed it.  It knows no better.  It wholeheartedly accepts what you think, what images you hold, and what movies you play out in your mind.  It doesn't matter whether they are good or bad – positive or negative.  Your brain accepts what you give it, trusts your judgement, and then kicks into gear! 

Here's a good exercise to see what I mean.

On a clear night when there's a full moon and you're ready to crash in bed because you're very tired, I want you to go and stand at your back door.  You'll see the outside world bathed in light and I want you to momentarily close your eyes and imagine it's nearing dawn.  REALLY HANG ON TO THAT THOUGHT AND FEEL IT! Because it does, somewhat, look that way.  So it's really the start of a wonderful day!  And when your eyes are shut, you may be thinking about what you might be doing that day… you know, perhaps going for a picnic, thinking about the clients you need to contact in the afternoon, picking up the kids from school at a different time – whatever it is that you might be doing the next day!  Open your eyes.  Look again at the light outside… you can actually believe that you will see the sun coming up soon and hear the birds chirping.  I bet your bottom dollar you will feel wide awake and invigorated… ready to start the day!  Why?  Because you put those IMAGES in your mind, those THOUGHTS, and your brain believed it.  So it triggered off all the "normal" things you might feel in the morning. 

Another one… can you remember those really horrible days you have – where nothing seems to be going right?  Everyone seems grumpy – including you – and the whole world seems out to get you!  You can IMMEDIATELY reverse those feelings.  How?  I want you to sit back in your chair, put a smile on your face, and remember the last thing you laughed about.  Was it the movie you watched last night?  Something someone said that left an indelible imprint on your mind?  LAUGH!  And even if you feel stupid, keep on laughing.  Thing is, it will turn into a real genuine laugh, simply because it seems so ridiculous (although your mind doesn't know that!) J 

You will feel your heart lift and, more importantly, feel so wonderful and good that you have eradicated all those bad feelings you were having. I encourage you to do it now, even if you're not feeling grumpy or bad!  Start laughing… think in your mind, oh my goodness, this is just so funny, and keep on laughing.  You'll soon be belly laughing and feeling really wonderful J That's the power of the mind.

So what makes you feel really good? 

I mean – the real deep down feeling of satisfaction, contentment, and peace.  Think about it.  Because it's those things which you can draw upon in your mind to lift and propel you towards greater things.  For instance, you may find great contentment and a feeling of peace by lying down in a paddock of daisies and staring at the clouds. 

Whatever it is that motivates and works for you, think about it constantly.  Let your brain feed itself on those thoughts and images.  Not only will it uplift you, make you feel REALLY good, but you're living it… over and over; and no matter how far out it seems, if it's not happening NOW for you, it will!  Just through the powerful art of positive thinking.

We can also liken all of this to your career. 

Ever applied for a job that you didn't quite have the qualifications for and it really played on your mind?  Or indeed, deep down you had a niggling feeling that, perhaps, you weren't quite ready for the job – not cut out for everything they were really asking for?  Then when you got to the interview, perhaps you were thinking "Heck, I don't really know if I'm good enough for this job."  Without you even knowing it, your thoughts were ruling your actions, and your thoughts and actions were ruling the interview.  At the end of the day you didn't get the job.  Then you wonder why.  The feelings of rejection and disbelief slip in – you forget the original thoughts you had – and you start to feel cross that they overlooked you.  But if you analyse the real feelings why, it was because you didn't believe in yourself in the first place, and then the interviewers didn't believe in you either.

I remember, at 17, the first "real" corporate job I had with Kimberly-Clarke Australia that had a big focus on word processing with WordPerfect.  I didn't know a great deal about WordPerfect, let alone the role of being a PA for a top executive.  But I knew I could type fast (albeit, unconventionally – I had taught myself); knew I was good at stringing two words together, thus could whip up a really good letter for the boss; had an excellent phone manner; and was a born organiser.  Perfect!  Everything that was needed for the job.  Except for that tiny little detail – WordPerfect. 

I was granted an interview and I knew I had to trick my brain into knowing everything there was to know about that program as it was a key test at the interview.  And that's the key word, you know – trick.  Remember, your brain knows no better!  I borrowed an Aunt's manual on the software, went over it and then took out the salient points I thought I would be tested on.  Then I recorded those bits out of the manual on a tape – and for the next 3 nights before the interview I played it on continuous as I was falling to sleep. 

You see, as you go to sleep your subconscious kicks in until you fall into a deep sleep.  So as this tape was playing over and over and over, it didn't matter if I was sleeping.  My brain was absorbing everything it said until I fell into a deep sleep.  The day of the interview, sure enough I was asked to sit a test.  And as I sat there at the keyboard, with the sweat starting to form on my brow, and my mind starting to go all a jitter at the enormity of it all, I reviewed the question again, took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and the answer seemed to miraculously appear in front of my eyes.  I was able to draw on the knowledge I had recorded and played back whilst sleeping.  Try it! It truly does work! J  Oh, and by the way, I did get the job.

I have used this method in many areas of my life since.  For exams when studying for my Journalism degree (which, incidentally, helps you later on in life when trying to remember something!) and also self help, positive stuff when I know I need it in my life.

You may be wondering what all of this has to do with emotions and what you feed your brain, and the way it affects your life or career.

My thoughts to you are this.  Just as a top athlete plays a movie over and over in their mind of winning, you too can play your own movie of winning that job, grasping within your hands everything you ever wished and hoped for – but only if you believe in it, and only if you feed those thoughts and images to your brain.  For it knows no better.  It trusts in your judgement.  And when you feed your brain something for long enough it will ultimately believe it, but more importantly, YOU will start to believe it and LIVE it.  And when that happens, whatever you think and believe in transcends into something real because other people trust and believe in you.  You exude confidence and self-belief.

Remember: what you think, what you feel and what you dream, is who you are and what you will become.

Seize life!  Everything that you desire is yours, but only if you believe in yourself J

"I always knew that someday I would once again feel the grass under my feet and walk in the sunshine a free man." Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom.

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