Rewiring your brain takes time, transparency, and knowledge

ajoekohl

I don't know if anyone needs to read this, but I am fascinated with how, as humans, we can get stuck in ruts for weeks, months, years, and sometimes decades with very little success. In my own life, looking back, I always thought I was doing everything I could to "fix" a situation, and it usually wasn't until later that I realized I wasn't even scratching the surface often of what could ultimately change a situation. Science now shows us that we wire our brains a certain way or another based on what we do, how we spend our time, the things we look at and think about, etc.

The rewiring process is hard because we often have created months, years, or decades of wrongful actions, attitudes, and, ultimately, the choices that follow. Personally, there is a big faith component for me in this rewiring process (Romans 12:1-2 tells us to renew our minds daily) as well. We can't compartmentalize areas of our lives - they all flow one into the other and directly affect each other. So in this rewiring process - whether it be overeating and obesity, drugs, alcohol, lust and pornography, anger, etc. - understand that the first step is to acknowledge that, unfortunately, we have wired our brain in a hurtful way that needs to be undone (for me personally, this acknowledgment is admitting I missed the mark - that I sinned).

Through our own free will and thousands and thousands of choices, we have reinforced wrongful thoughts, attitudes, and actions that follow. If you got yourself into a mess over the course of years and decades, it can sometimes take a long time to work through all that. We love ourselves "the quick fix"! Don't focus on the quick fix. Focus on transparency with others, gaining knowledge, and application of that. Again, personally, for me, this means transparency with others who can encourage me, pray for me, and hold me accountable. I want to renew my mind daily in prayer, reading God's Word for guidance, and applying actions that wire my brain the correct way. I want to read books by the most highly qualified in their areas that spell out case studies and tell me exactly where I am at, so there is no hiding. I want to look at real practices that actually create new habits and rewire my brain properly. It is my personal belief that when we do this, we become closer to the person that God always meant us to be.

Lastly, don't hide! Don't disappear and go on a binge in whatever it is that we do (the already mentioned overeating, drugs, alcohol, lust and pornography, anger, etc.). Eventually, it will be replaced by guilt and shame, and the cycle that we are already so used to for the months, years, or decades that we have experienced the same thing over and over will continue. It doesn't have to be that way! Don't hide. Check-in often, be transparent, and keep moving forward. Be vulnerable enough to admit when you are sad, anxious, frustrated - admit this before God and man. In this, you realize you are making progress instead of self-medicating through whatever means you have become accustomed to and talking about it with no one. This is much healthier and a step in the right direction. God Bless you all, and I hope amazing things for you all.