The brain and the mind are used interchangeably to describe how we function and think. While they are related, they are not the same and each one has its own purpose. Both can work together or against each other that can better serve you or make things more difficult. The brain is the instinctive portion that determines your starting point, it’s what naturally comes to you. Things like fight or flight, how quickly you pick things up or how talented you are is what is imbedded into your brain, the things you are born with. Your mind is what makes you feel alive and aware that allows you to learn new things, adapt, and overcome what your brain deters you from. It’s what gives you the ability to better yourself that improves your experiences throughout life.
The brain
The brain is a physical thing that coordinates movements, feelings and different functions of the body. The purpose of the brain is so you can survive by keeping your organs functioning. It keeps your lungs breathing, your kidneys functioning and your heart pumping. You don't have to remind yourself to do these things, it's like being on autopilot. The brain also keeps you safe making you aware of dangers which is why you pay attention to what is negative. It is constantly on the lookout for what could be a threat.
The brain is not designed to make you happy but designed to avoid pain. It is stimulated by negativity to make you aware of potential dangers to help you avoid pain. By paying attention to what is negative your brain is doing its job. This in a sense makes you wired to be negative which is why there is a tendency to look for what is wrong. And when you do experience pain in spite of warning signals, your brain is there to tell you “I told you not to do it” and you’ll be more inclined listen going forward.
If you think back to our ancestors, they had to navigate dangerous situations. They had to worry about more prevalent about things what could kill them such as animals, disease, having enough food, the right shelter. But today we do not have the same level of dangers of our ancestors. Instead, the dangers commonly faced with are self-doubt creeping which is the brain trying keep you safe. The brain does this to make you aware of the risk that could hurt you. It wants to protect you from damaging your self-confidence. You may want to pursue something really ambitious like curing, incurable diseases but your brain will make you doubt yourself, so you don’t have to face the struggles along the way.
The mind
Your mind is your perception, ideas, reasoning, memory. It is why you are curious, why you question why you hope. And because of these thoughts your mind generates energy that makes you alive and aware. Without the mind, you would just be physically present. The more thoughts you have is what makes your brain neuroplastic that gives you the ability to learn new things. You have the ability to choose your actions when you think and feel which is through your mind and not your brain alone. This is why you can respond to whatever you encounter.
Learning how to manage your mind allows you to use your negative feelings such as anger, anxiety, sadness and stress to your advantage because they signal something is wrong that you can think through to correct what is going on. Maybe what is bothering you needs to be handled in a thought out way to overcome the feelings going forward. Simply giving into to being angry that leads you to want to yell and fight at whoever bothers you will be destructive to yourself. It will make you defensive and hostile. These feelings signal something needs to change and you're the one that needs to determine how to best handle it.
The fundamental thing that will shape your mind to be an asset is to recognize what's thoughts will lead to the action needed to get what you want. You must consistently focus on those thoughts that will strengthen your mind. And one of the first things you must focus on are possibilities. It an understanding that you might not be there yet but you're working towards getting better. This means you're working on figuring out things and finding solutions.
Working together
The brain and the mind are not the same thing. The brain is fixed to keep you afloat merely to survive and is not interested in learning while the mind gives you the ability to adapt and overcome to reach the possibilities that you imagine so you can thrive. Unaware of both, and they will be working against each other leaving you frustrated. Your brain will limit you from all your ideas making you doubt yourself while your mind will leave you wanting more, stiving for progress.
This is why so many people play it safe avoiding risk because they are unaware of how the brain is holding them back to just get by. Even though they may be unhappy with their situation the comfort they feel in knowing what is familiar leaves them paralyzed. Its why so many people have dreams yet they don’t purse them. The feeling of anxiety has not been rationalized to know that is the brain doing its job of trying to keep you safe.
Once you recognize that your mind and brain are not the same, you have the power learn to manage your thoughts and actions. You have the ability to choose what you imbed into your brain and how to change what is already built in. Your brain makes you reactive and your mind makes you responsive. The difference is a reaction is impulsive while a response is a well thought out action. If someone bumps into you at a crowded event such as concert your reaction might be to push them. But what if that person tripped over something and your response gives them time to explain what happened. It allows you to see things clearly.
Final thoughts
Remembering that the brain and the mind are different will allow you to make it work for you. Use your instincts from what is built into your brain to work alongside your mind to move from surviving to thriving in your everyday life. Developing your mind consistently learning new things to empower yourself will allow you to attack life with a tenacity as opposed to life attacking you. The brain alone is what makes you fixed and the mind pushes you forward to overcome those limitations. While shortcomings are inevitable, you can consistently work on closing the gap to get closer to what you envision through strengthening your mind.
Commentaires