Life Hacks | Reboot Your Brain

Need some fresh inspiration? Read below...

I recently received this newsletter below and can't find it anywhere on the web, but I really wanted to share it with everyone I know because it's such an invigorating process. Please read on to see how you can reboot your motivation and really tackle June and the rest of 2016!

Reboot your Brain

You’ve probably heard of rebooting your computer when it starts to act sluggish - but did you know that you can reboot your brain, too? You can!

Most of the time, you have a huge amount of working memory tied up in problems, to-do lists, bills, unfinished projects, things you need to do, want to do, have to do, don’t want to do, and everything you’re procrastinating on. This list includes your dreams, hopes and desires, too, and it covers every single area of your life.

You think about your unfinished business and your desires, quite often. That’s what you do when you worry and when you daydream and often while you’re trying to do something else - which means, all of this stuff in your head is keeping you from being present!

Here is a radical exercise that will help you reboot your brain to get clarity on your life, de-stress and it will help you in creating a plan to make it all happen.

You will need a few things:

1. Time alone in a quiet and serene space. I recommend several hours… I really want you to take this seriously because this one exercise could be the one thing that changes your life forever.

2. Three notepads and a pen

You will, in essence, “brain dump” on paper. You will write down everything that is tying up your working memory. There are a couple of compelling reasons to write everything down:

• Writing something down makes it feel more real. If you have a dream that never makes it beyond your imagination… that’s sad. Something magical happens when you write down that dream. It takes on a more physical form. It becomes more real. Real things are more easily actioned than imaginary things.

• Writing gets your to-do list out of your head. Carrying this massive volume of data around only adds to your stress. You are stressed about remembering something; you are stressed because you have to do it; you are stressed because… I’m sure you can imagine all the reasons you have to be stressed about what you have to do! Now - you may think, “I only have a few things on my to-do list, why should that stress me out?” Well, this is an all-encompassing to-do list of everything you want or need to do, whether short-term or long-term.

• Writing brings to light all of your unfinished business: half-done projects, unpaid bills, unwritten notes, unmade calls, etc. and almost forces you to get them done.

Here’s how you do this exercise for maximum impact:

Step 1. Take one pad of paper, and write down everything on your to-do list. Anything and everything that you need to do that’s been nagging at you because you haven’t done it: finally making the dentist appointment you’ve been procrastinating on, finishing painting a bedroom, weeding the garden, calling your uncle, apologizing to a friend… write down anything that you think you need to do… anything that is making you feel guilty, less-than, stressed or unhappy.

Write down your professional and personal to-do’s. It doesn’t matter if a ‘thing’ is immediate or in the future, important or “someday.” Write ONE line per item, in any order that it comes to you. Just write - one line, one item.

You will find that a stream-of-consciousness phenomenon will occur. One to-do will spark memories of another, and so on. That’s okay! Just keep writing until you can sit for 5 or 10 minutes without thinking of a single thing to write.

Completely empty your mind of everything you have to do.

Step 2. Get a second, separate notebook. This is your Desire Notebook. In this notebook, write down everything you want. Every relationship, experience, material thing… this is a dream book and there are absolutely no limits. Who is around you? What is around you? What does your life look like? Where are you? What are you doing?

It’s important not to judge or diminish your desires. Write from the heart, from pure desire. You want what you want, and that’s okay! Don’t stop writing until you can’t think of another desire!

Now that you have “brain dumped” on paper, doesn’t your head feel clearer? Lighter, even? You’ve pushed your brain to the limit, forcing it to release everything it’s been holding on to! But you’re not quite done yet.

Step 3. It’s no fun but it’s important. In a third notepad, write down your fears. List them all, big and small. “I’m afraid of…” (from all areas of life). Get them out of your head!

Step 4. Sit down with all three notepads and read every single entry out loud, starting with your To-Do’s, then your Desires, and then your Fears. It’s important that you do this out loud. And if another idea pops into your head, write it down in the appropriate notepad.

Step 5. This next part will make you smile! When you look at your Fears, is there anything in your To-Do or Desire lists that could take care of a particular fear? For example, if you have “apply for the management position at XYZ Company - wouldn’t even the possibility of a better job help alleviate a fear of not being able to pay your mortgage? Let your imagination run here and explore possible solutions to your fears, hidden among your desires or to-do’s!

Step 6. Next, take a look at your Desires and think of possible solutions - again, look to your To-Do’s and even your fears as ways to help you achieve your desires.

Step 7. Finally, prioritize your To-Do list. What’s most important to you, short-term and long-term? The things that you don’t want to deal with may be important… and imagine how good you’ll feel when you do them and you’re making progress in the right direction!

And now it’s time to get to work. Now that you’ve prioritized your list, get moving. DO IT. Then take a black pen and cross off that item.

You can do this process once a month, or once a year… but do it. You will be amazed at how free your mind feels, and how you can accelerate living the life you want!

To a simpler more fulfilling life,
Steven Johnson
Founder
Brainwave Research Institute
Effortless monk-like meditation at the touch of a button? Click here to experience the InnaPeace free demo NOW!