How to restart your brain

The cover of Paul McKenna’s latest book, which offers techniques for positivity, confidence, resilience and motivation.

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One of the world-famous authors of self-help literature has even written a book on the subject, which became a bestseller in the online bookstore of Amazon when it was released in the UK this week. In it, Paul McKenna, who has 30 years of therapeutic experience and practices hypnosis, gives advice on how to restart your brain and train your positive thinking. According to him, this is not about traditional “positive thinking”, where we constantly try to tell ourselves that everything is fine, regardless of the circumstances, but about a practical psychological system of how to survive and succeed, discovering your own strongest resources. to help you take care of yourself, be confident and take control of your life. “This year, maybe more than any other,

must

we activate

my feelings

of positivity because they are what we need. Of course, I feel the collective pessimism that so many people are suffering at the moment, but it is understandable. “If 2020 was the year of fear, 2021 is certainly the year of painful disappointment,” Paul McKenna told the Daily Mail.

According to him, in the first place we should try to get rid of stress, because it makes rational thinking more difficult. As well as being mentally exhausting, it also prevents us from feeling creative, optimistic and happy. It is not a question of striving to eliminate stress completely, because experiencing it is an integral part of being human, but to reduce it to levels where it does not obscure consciousness and does not direct it only to thoughts of impending doom.

One of the techniques McKenna offers is to sit comfortably and remember a time when we felt very good. Let’s try to visualize this moment as if it were happening again. Once we are fed up with the memory of him, let us turn our thoughts to something that has disappointed or upset us. Let’s ask ourselves what was the use of the worries around him and focus on three different ways we could do to avoid the stress we experienced. “Think about whether you feel comfortable with this alternative to anxiety. If you are hesitant, return your thoughts to all the internal conflicts you feel and try to resolve them. Only when you are completely calm with your alternative solutions will you be ready to move on. This means that you can imagine the things that will protect you and you are well prepared to apply them, instead of worrying about what may or may not happen in the future, “explains Paul McKenna.

Another technique for dealing with stress is by placing a hand on the heart, which some psychologists describe as a second brain.

The reason is

the presence

of neurons,

which communicate between the two organs and influence whether the reaction of panic or calm will be triggered. Therefore, when you shift your attention from the head to the heart and direct all your energy to it, remembering pleasant things, your body relaxes, your mind becomes clearer and your brain releases chemicals that lead to natural relaxation. “As you feel this good feeling, imagine that your heart can speak. Ask him out well if he is no longer absorbed in the connection. Listen to what he says and act as soon as possible, “said Paul McKenna. He describes this exercise as training to stop reacting automatically in difficult situations and to help your subconscious not always act defensively. In this way we will feel free to act more calmly and consciously in case of difficulties.

An important point is also the liberation from thoughts of negative stories. This can be done by going back to them, initially trying to identify the place in your head from which the estimates come that nothing could have been done in this situation. Then imagine that these words of judgment come from more than 3 meters from us, and we will be surprised to find that they no longer have the same power in our head and we can safely move them away even more.

“With regular practice, you will turn brain training techniques into a habit. Soon, eliminating stress and triggering a relaxation response will become your default mode. But remember that the nervous system

it can not

to do

the difference

between real

and imaginary

experience

So every time you imagine a stressful situation, you feel almost the same tension as if it were actually happening right now. And when you approach it calmly, you reprogram yourself to feel better able to handle it, ”says Paul McKenna. According to him, the more flexible we are when faced with a challenge, the more likely we are to be able to control what is happening and get what we want. This is because we create more choices, while stubborn adherence to one approach stops us from exploring different paths and closes our minds to new opportunities for success.

Putting order in the tasks that haunt us is another point in the program to restart our overheated care brain. The English therapist advises to arrange them in a table of three columns. In the first, which we can conditionally call A, we put those that are urgent and will have serious consequences if they are not met. In the second – B, are the important ones, but they can wait, and in C – everything else that we think is good to finish. “Every morning, evaluate and adjust your list, sticking to the tasks from A and if you have time, go to B and C. Even if you do not follow this rule absolutely strictly, in about 20 days you will find how much more productive you are. and how many things you’ve done, “says Paul McKenna.

However, lack of motivation is a serious problem for many people, which is understandable, as it is difficult to maintain focus and strive to move forward when living in the midst of a global crisis. Some scientists even believe that because of the pandemic, we are moving on a wave of negativity and anxiety that have begun to take over our senses. “It’s easy to confuse a lack of motivation with laziness, but in my long practice I’ve rarely worked with a lazy person,” says Paul McKenna. He advises his clients to train their motivation by focusing on something specific that they want to do. Then try to remember a moment from the past when they were really motivated and took actions that led to a positive impact in their lives. “Imagine how great you would feel if you had all the confidence, strength, perseverance and determination again. Going through this memory, make the colors brighter, the sounds richer and the feelings stronger. Say “go” with your most confident inner voice. As you experience these good emotions, press the tip of your thumb against that of the middle finger of your left hand, and each time you do it again, you will begin to experience these good feelings again, ”explains the therapist.

The whole technique

must be

repeats at

any situation that needs extra motivation, not just relying on squeezing both fingers, as it is a cycle.

Paul McKenna argues that even a sense of good fortune can be nurtured by going back to moments when he really was on our side and by bringing out more and more vivid memories of what he experienced then. “When we have a thought, an electrical impulse travels along a set of neural pathways in the brain. The more times he does this, the bigger they become, just like with a regularly trained muscle, ”adds the English therapist.

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