Good, Better, Best

Each person on this planet is unique. We all look different – even twins have some defining feature that their parents use to tell them apart. But there is something much deeper that makes each of us infinitely individual. Our thoughts.

Brain scientists are becoming more fascinated with the brain. The brain has incalculable storage. Literally – they cannot calculate how much it can store! In fact, it appears that the brain stores everything we see, hear, smell, taste and touch – and what we think about each of those sites, sounds, scents, flavours and sensations. Then there are the thoughts we think without sensory input – thoughts about the past, our opinions and values, etc. The brain records every memory and stores it in long term memory. Many of those records are never accessed again but they are there – in storage – and there is always room for more data. The brain is amazing.

The brain can also be trained. By thinking and rethinking things we are able to add more complex layers to those areas of thought. So, if you do maths every day, practice violin every day, tell a joke every day, read a book every day or cook a meal every day – that ability becomes stronger and your brain is more able to add the next level to it.

There are three ways – within the brain – to train the brain.

1. Plan things. By thinking things out ahead of time, we notice more options and therefore create opportunities for more choices (better and worse!) than we had before thinking it through. Planning can also be called imagining. When we think about things that haven’t happened yet, we imagine realities that do not (yet) exist. This can be a good thing – like planning a delicious meal – as all the ingredients will be purchases and prepared correctly. It can also be a destructive thing – like worrying about something out of your control.

2. Do Things. Involvement in activities shapes the brain better than anything else. A thousand phrases come to mind: Repetition is the greatest teacher. Practice makes perfect. If it is to be it is up to me. The best way to learn something is to teach it. Each time a sight, sound, scent, flavour or sensation hits the brain it reinforces all previous experiences of that thing. So, the more we repeat the things we want to be good at, the more capable we become.

3. Review Things. Reviewing and retelling the plans that became activities allows you to reframe them. The way we retell the story gives it emotional ties – joy, sadness, anger, pride. Retelling events in the review phase with a positive spin trains the brain to be positive during the planning and doing phases. By retelling the things we have done we are thinking them again – and laying another track down on that learning objective. Tell the story of your day focussing on the positives. You will naturally talk about the things that interest you (the tracks you are laying in the brain repeatedly) as these are the things you have strengthened in your thinking.

good, better, best
never let it rest
until your good is better
and your better best

Our thoughts and feelings combine to make up our moral character. The more time we spend planning, doing and reviewing the skills, activities and relationships we enjoy – the better we will become at thinking clearly and positively about them. You become your thoughts and your thoughts become you.

And this is why the brain is what makes each and every one of us unique.

I think, therefore I am!