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Every person has thousands of thoughts a day, but how are you using those thoughts?
Are you using them for positive action, or does your thinking result in negativity?
Thinking is essential for survival, so you want to use your daily thoughts to your advantage; this is how you can do it.
Queen’s University in Canada recently did some groundbreaking research about thinking. They found a brand new way to measure when a new thought starts and ends which resulted in amazing insights!
Previous research focused on the number of individual thoughts a person has each day. The research conducted at Queen’s University is different because they considered chains of consecutive thoughts a person has about a specific topic.
The main researchers, Dr. Poppenk and Julie Tseng, call these thinking chains thought worms. You have about 6,200 of those per day!
When you think, your brain is full of activity that creates patterns as consecutive thoughts occur. Dr. Poppenk and Tseng simplify these patterns by calling them thought worms, and that makes it easier for them to understand how a person’s thinking changes.
They found that new thought worms appear as people are exposed to new information. The researchers cite this creation as a similar process to what happens in the brain when watching a movie that moves from one scene to the next.
In the past, much research has focused on what people are thinking, but that is tough to measure. Dr. Poppenk and Tseng acknowledged this situation and decided to concentrate on when people change their direction of thinking. This can be seen on brain scans and through other testing methods.
It also provides guidance to researchers conducting brain studies in the future. Dr. Poppenk suggests that future research could be about spontaneous thoughts; how everyday objects and events impact thinking; and how thought worms change over a person’s life span.
What research have you done into your brain’s activity?
You don’t have to be a neuroscientist to learn more about your cognitive functioning; you can do it simply by understanding the research done by other people.
We have this information for you! Access it by registering for our Brain-A-Thon and find out how you can get more from your thought worms.
Research into the brain and thinking has been ongoing for decades. The previous, widely held belief, attributed to the National Science Foundation in 2005, stated that the average person has between 50,000 and 80,000 thoughts daily.
That’s a lot!
We now understand that these thoughts come together as thought worms that add up to about 6,200 per day.
Of the daily thinking we do, a staggering 80% is contributed to negative thoughts. Even more astonishing is that 95% of thoughts are repeating themselves day after day.
Negative thinking is taking over your brain, and you are doing it day after day!
It is a continuous cycle, and your brain is believing these thoughts. This breeds pessimism and negativity, resulting in limiting beliefs about yourself. If you can break this cycle of negative thinking, then you enable positivity and opportunities to enter your life.
Constantly engaging in negative self-talk causes many issues in your life. It results in unnecessary stress and anxiety that dampens your performance at work and in your personal life.
You may find yourself saying things like, “I can’t do this,” or “I don’t have the ability to do that perfectly.” After a while, these thoughts become your reality even when you are capable of doing great things.
These thoughts may cause depression or low self-esteem which creates a downward spiral. It prevents you from achieving your full potential and limits your chances of being successful.
Relationship issues also come to the forefront because if you don’t have a good relationship with yourself, then you cannot have proper interactions with other people. This creates communication challenges, and you might consider yourself a failure in many aspects of life.
The good news is that you can change your thoughts from negative to positive!
You don’t have to become the victim of negative self-talk or give in to your inner critic. If your brain can have 6,200 thought worms a day, then it can definitely use more of them constructively.
Your brain consists of many neural paths that convey messages, remember information, and help you with making decisions. Generating new neural paths and reconfiguring old ones can happen all the time. This is referred to as neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity allows you to change your brain which means you can change negative paths into positive ones. How amazing is that?
Your inner belief system determines your behavior and interactions with yourself and the world around you. If you can reprogram your brain, then you can tap into positive thinking.
This changes everything about your life, and suddenly, opportunities await you at every turn. It is astounding how much more you can get out of life when your outlook changes.
There is so much to learn about rewiring your brain. Luckily, it isn’t difficult, and we have all the information you need on how to go about doing this.
Join us for our upcoming Brain-A-Thon where we delve into the inner workings of the mind. It’s free, but space is limited, so sign-up now!
Using neuroplasticity to promote positive thoughts has benefits for the mind and body; it will bring about great change in your life. Let’s consider some of the advantages of positive thinking.
When your brain has positive routing, you approach everything with optimism and self-belief. You don’t worry too much about challenging circumstances because you are able to navigate them, find potential solutions, and consider the situation from many perspectives.
What a productive boost to your self-esteem and self-confidence!
Positive thinking allows you to see the good in every situation and helps you to view obstacles and failure as learning opportunities. This automatically decreases your stress levels as you build coping strategies in difficult circumstances.
Since you are dealing better with stress, you are also thinking with clarity. This is crucial as you aren’t wasting energy on fretting; instead, you are using it for problem-solving.
Even when something bad happens in your life, optimism can help you overcome these issues. It builds mental toughness and assists you with bouncing back after an upset.
Besides improving your thinking and mental health, positive thinking also impacts your physical health. You are more likely to exercise, eat healthily, and look after yourself if you have positive self-talk.
With less stress and a focus on wellness, you enable your body to function optimally. It improves your cardiovascular health, boosts your immune system, and enables faster recovery after illness or injuries.
Knowing about thought worms, the effects of negative thinking and the benefits of positive thinking is good, but you have to turn this information into action. When you use your brain as a positive tool, you can achieve your goals and produce amazing results!
We like to do this through a practice called Innercise™—a mental workout that rewires your brain to be productive, optimistic, and stronger.
To increase your positive thinking, you first have to combat negative thinking. Each of us has an inner critic—a little voice in our heads that dissuades us from doing well. You need to break your connection with that voice and stop believing what it says.
Here is an Innercise™ that you can do anytime and anywhere to encourage optimism.
Take three deep breaths and relax your body. You can close your eyes to help you concentrate more.
Allow your inner critic to voice their opinion and focus on what they say for approximately 15 seconds. Immerse yourself in the emotions you are experiencing and acknowledge their existence. Let go of the negativity and associated emotions.
Switch your brain to think positively. Concentrate on a positive thought by imagining an optimistic scenario in the future. Take note of how your emotions change.
Bring your awareness to your thinking and acknowledge that your brain conjured up both the negative and positive thoughts. Your brain is capable of positive thinking—all you need to do is train it!
Are you ready to change your brain and your life?
You can do it with our amazing brain training taking place during the virtual Brain-A-Thon. Get the best tips for rewiring your brain straight from the world’s top coaches and neuroscientists.
A limited number of seats are available, so secure yours now! We can’t wait to help you get the most out of your brain.
