As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. This is what Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said about self-confidence. And I can’t agree more.
We all go through life’s ups and downs. No matter how tough the life path you choose is, if you don’t lose belief in yourself, you move forward, figure things out, and make your goals happen.
So, believe in yourself. For some of us, this may be more easily said than done. At such times, I suggest you change your perspective slightly, and try
trusting your brain.
Your Brain Can Change and Grow, So Can You
Within our brains lie amazing powers beyond our reckoning. Our brains contain infinite creativity. The neurons, and the synapses between them, of our nervous system are not fixed and unchanging. Rather, they change and replace themselves based on feedback.
The brain is designed to change endlessly. New brain cells and neural circuits are created through novel stimulation and reaction to that stimulation. This is called neuroplasticity. The essence of the brain is to change, adapt, and grow.
Confidence—
trusting your brain—is the first key to activating change in the brain. We can maintain a positive attitude when our confidence is alive and vital, and a positive attitude responds flexibly to information, increasing the speed at which we change and grow.
If you are in low spirits because of past mistakes or poor behavior, or if you want to change a habit, tell yourself this: “Yeah, that was my brain as it was in the past. Not now though. My brain can change.”
The moment you acknowledge your past experience without being ashamed of it, denying it, or making excuses for it, the brain opens up circuits once completely blocked by stress and starts creating new thoughts. Our brains are ready to ceaselessly change and grow. We provide them with a direction for that change by continuously making choices and by putting those choices into practice.
Ask Your Brain More Often
To make use of our brains’ infinite creativity, ceaselessly pose questions to them. Our
brains answer questions. When questioned, they move actively to find an answer. When we ask them new questions, our brains search for new information to answer them, and they come up with integrated ideas that connect separate informational elements.
Questioning is behavior that involves requesting information from the cosmic database. Once you have your questions, information will come to you in various forms through various pathways. Imagination, ideas, thoughts, conversations with friends, telephone conversations, newspaper headlines, TV advertisements—all of these things will present you with messages concerning your queries. For questioning brains, such forms of information have significance and are important sources of ideas and inspiration.
The more earnest a question, the more passionately a brain moves in its quest for answers. If you sincerely want the answer, you will ask the right question. Trust your brain;
ask your brain. Your brain knows the answers.
If we ask them to, our brains can do things we’ve never done, things we are unaware of. Our brains have great power to find paths we cannot see and create paths we cannot find. Our brains, however, will not put forth their creative power if we set our own limits and keep only to those aspects of ourselves that we have experienced and that we have understood so far.
Some people
live within the limits of the self they have experienced and known. They fear to attempt things outside the scope of their own knowledge and experience. But if you rarely extend beyond what you’ve already comfortable with, your life becomes much smaller than your real potential.
Set Yourself Free
You don’t have to become proficient at everything that intimidates you. But if you make even a little progress, or just shed your fears, you’ll
awaken a part of your brain that’s been dormant. You’ll become more comfortable in general with the idea of trying things that don’t come easily to you, and that alone will help you face your challenges head on. Never again will you shrink away from mountains you haven’t yet climbed.
When you trust your brain and work consciously with your brain’s ability to change, you are the creator of your experience. Don’t cage in your awareness or limit your expectations about what you can accomplish. Set yourself free, knowing that if you try something new in one area of your life, you’ll experience an openness in your brain. As a result, other areas of your life will become more creative and fun as well.
We are what we think. We are what we repeatedly do. We are as conscious or unconscious as we choose to be. With more practice, you can work with your brain’s amazing neuroplasticity to improve your life. You are the master of your own life.
If you're inspired by Ilchi Lee's words, you may like to sign up for his weekly email messages on
his official website here.