That is right. Our brains are lazy. Even though our brains burn 20% of the calories we consume, it loves to be lazy. So how do we put our lazy brains to work?
Keep Momentum
Science offers guidance to understanding that once something is in motion it remains in motion. While traveling in the UK, I was conversing with a family member of some friends. I had asked her how she was doing. She quipped, “Have to keep moving… because if I stop, I won’t start again.” I giggled at the complexity of the wisdom so smartly articulated in one statement.
For example, if we immediately exit the bed in the morning, we are more likely to keep forward momentum throughout the morning, even the day. But after a few snooze button festivals, reflecting on the impending ‘to-do’ list, we most likely will find it harder and harder to get out of bed. Often times we mistake this lethargy for sadness, depression, or hopelessness. Wrong! It is our brain happily being lazy. When you stay in bed, it doesn’t have to work. Your lazy brain doesn’t care which conclusions you come to thus keeping yourself in bed, it just knows it won’t have to work. If you are active and attacking the day, it too has to match your same efforts and energy. This is work it does not want to do.
Get Conscious
Non-conscious thinking is 90 to 95 percent of our thoughts. We are only aware of less than ten percent of our thoughts! For efficiency sake our brains need to be able to shuffle cognitive tasks to the unconscious, but our brain is being efficient to be lazy, not to take on more work. Every now and then check in with your thoughts. Become aware of what you are thinking and your emotional climate. Often in the midst of routine tasks, we may notice an increase in anxiety or sadness. Stop. Take a brief moment and replay what you were just thinking. You might be surprised what your routine thought pattern had just been playing. Take control of that unconscious thought and rewrite it with a self-affirming action oriented statement. Let’s say you caught your brain thinking ‘what-if’ they reject my proposal? Restate the thought, regardless of my proposal’s acceptance, I am smart and capable.
Thought Ruts
I liken our thinking to a old vinyl records. Our thought records could be great and uplifting or negative and filled with doubt. These thought records go round and round in our minds building ruts in our brain’s neuro pathways. Just like country dirt roads become rutted and nearly impossible to traverse outside of the rut, so do our thoughts. If we have become accustomed to negative thinking or self-destructive thinking then those negative rutted thoughts are that much harder to bounce out of. Just like yanking the steering wheel to one side to escape the imprisonment of the rut, so must we yank our thoughts to one side. We pave new pathways in our minds as we become conscious of the thought and restate the thought. So first we have to take control of the driving thoughts, and second, we have to think new thoughts to build new positive grooves for our thinking.
Push Gently
Being aware that our brains are lazy by nature is key to having patience with ourselves. Applying all these techniques of making success a habit, giving your future self a voice, I have been pushing my brain, my thought life during my IM training. I am learning that I need to delicately manage the building of my new thought roads.
Case in point, I was in the middle of a spinning class. I was not into it and overwhelmed at the workout schedule ahead of me in the next four months. The best way to describe it…I flat lined my brain. I was taking myself through the, ‘I can. I will. I am strong. I am healthy.’ mantras. My legs and breathing were just fine. Studio music stinky, but still there was music! I could have ridden forever, but my brain was tired.
I have put my brain to work at a level it is not used to. Hysterically, I probably have only used an additional one percent from the standard ten, but as far as my brain knows, it has been working harder than ever before. I burst out crying. Right there in the middle of spin class, my little lazy brain threw a proper two-year old temper tantrum. My brain was sick of working and did not want to have to do it anymore. I had my little cry, and I finished the spin class. My brain even pouted the next day during a run. ‘I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to have to work. I want to be lazy!’ I finished my run, but I was frustrated. I am only in the middle of week one of official training, and I can’t run for 40 minutes!?! But then I realized, my body is fit to do the work. I just have to give my brain the same kind of grace and patience to become fit as well.
Brain Champions
Champions aren’t born, I really do believe champions are made. I told my spoiled, lazy brain, we are going to do this. Brain, you will learn to think like a champion the same way my body is learning to perform like a champion. As a result, I finished my 2,100 meter swim and 40 minutes of bike sprint intervals yesterday, happily! I am so proud of my brain learning to think like a champion!
WO: Week 1 of IM training complete!
Please visit the attached link for the charity I am racing for: http://www.scope.org.uk/ To donate please go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/lelandlearns
Thank you for the support!!
Leland Learns 