by Aye Duran
A day will come that you won’t be able to look and focus on the bright side anymore because your brain has been wired to spot every problem to whine about.
When you open your eyes in the morning, what is the first thought that comes into your mind? Are you thankful for the new opportunities today may bring? Or are you grumpy because it’s Monday again? A famous motivational speaker, Mr. Earl Nightingale believes that eventually, we become what we think about.
This may sound unbelievable, but even science supports Nightingale’s belief. Though our brain is not liquid in structure, it is malleable in nature. This means that a human brain is capable of re-engineering itself, with us in charge! How does this exactly work? Well, it is all thanks to the process of Neuroplasticity.
Thanks to our advanced brain imaging, scientists have discovered the process of Neuroplasticity in which a brain changes itself throughout life. This means that one can increase their intellectual quality, learn new skills, recover from brain trauma, and even unlearn bad old habits.
However, if it is possible to alter the way our brain works, then it is also possible to change the wiring of our brains for the worse.
A Neuropsychologist named Donald Hebb developed the Hebbian Theory. According to Hebb, his theory is based from the belief that “Cells that fire together, wire together.” Dr. Michael Merzenich, supported Donald Hebb, saying that the things we go through, our demeanor, and our outlook in life cannot be separated from the way our brain engineers itself. This only means that what ever we do and think, change the way our brain works for better or for worse.
It is normal to complain about something once in a while. However, never running out of reason to complain is a different story. There are people who whine about anything. anytime, at anywhere! These are the people we often call as Debbie Downers, and constantly hearing their rants is really frustrating.
If we continuously entertain negative thoughts and feelings, we would be called as Debbie Downer in the near future. Sure, nobody wants to be negative all the time, but when one focus on negative thoughts and complain all day, our brain will re-structure itself to adapt after these unpleasant thoughts.
A day will come that you won’t be able to look and focus on the bright side anymore because your brain has been wired to spot every problem to whine about.
So what do you need to do in order to avoid being tagged as a Debbie Downer? The answer lies in cutting the grass before it even start to grow. We are not saying you should ignore the flaws you are seeing nor force yourself to be happy. What you need to do is to have a better perspective in life.
Taking advantage of the neurolopsychologists discovery, we should think about positive thoughts every day. This way, people can unlearn being negative and re-wire their brains to think think positively. This way, we all would become a positive thinker serving as a ray of sunshine than a Debbie Downer!
Article first published on PositiveOutlookBlog.
