Develop Cognitive Reappraisal

 

A well-developed thought “is like a ski track in the snow. The more you ski down a path, the easier it is to go down that path and not another,” says Alex Korb, a neuroscientist and author of “The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time.”  

Psychologists call this path creation, "cognitive reappraisal." Individuals who develop intent and practice thoughts that stimulate stronger neural networks increase positive thoughts and a joyful brain.

Performing a cognitive reappraisal does not involve turning off negative thoughts. It is also not about turning untrue negative thoughts into untrue positive ones. 

The goal deals with reframing thoughts constructively, so they are based in reality. Thoughts are composed of a pattern of activity between proteins, chemicals, gene expressions, and neural connections in the brain. The more we focus on a thought, the strong the circuit grows. The mind, like the body, grows with repetition.  

Begin to practice by writing down negative thoughts as they appear. 




Then challenge them. Write affirmations: “I am creative.” “I am a good friend.” The goal is repetition.  

Reappraise negatives with creative possibilities.  

Develop a positive path.

Shine On

"If you see yourself in the correct way, you are as much extraordinary 

phenomena of nature as trees, clouds, the patterns in running water, 

the flickering of fire, the arrangement of the stars, and the form of a galaxy. 

You are all just like that, and there is nothing wrong with you at all." - Alan Watts

When analyzing ourselves, we often discover fissures. By accepting the open spaces and letting light in, we feel the shine.

Take time to appreciate the amazement of your life.

Express your individuality and ways you enrich each day.

When a negative thought, fear or frustration floats into the mind, replace it with a wonder and a gratitude.

Find the Shine. 

Mindful Moments

" . . . wanderer, the path is made by walking. By walking, one makes the road, and upon glancing behind one sees the path that never will be trod again." - Antonio Machado.

During the last 100 years, our nervous systems haven't changed to accommodate the action of modern life.  

In that time frame we have experienced more changes and challenges than in any other period in human history.  

With the speed of technology, we often feel caught on a hamster wheel when we need a rafting trip down the river.

Nick Carr has written, The Shallows and discusses what the internet does to our brain on a cellular level. Others claim the internet will not make us stupid. Some researchers have attempted to connect cell phone use and brain tumors. Regardless of the anecdotal accounts, we need to return to self-reflection.

Mindful moments in writing create a flow beyond the rapidity of life's requests that bombard our psyches. 

While freewriting, we pay attention to the moments and row away from focus on efficiency and productivity. When we feel the most frenzied, we can escape with a pen or fingers on the keyboard. Then we wander and relax in the stream of words without a goal.

Robert Frost said poetry will "take you to a place you've been to before and thought you'd never return to."

Consider what Frost means for a day of mindful writing. Enter your emotional core and connect with thinking in the moment.