In my previous article, I wrote about the possibility of changing the way we think. I call this “reprogramming” the brain. We each have a wealth of experiences, both good and bad, which shape our outlook and in turn shape our behavior. When we procrastinate our important creative projects, we’re usually letting ourselves be controlled by fear. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend reading that article because it forms the basis for the one you’re reading now.
Having a productive mindset when it comes to your creative endeavors will go a long way toward your lasting success and fulfillment. If you believe you will fail, you likely won’t even try. Adding to that, if you’re paralyzed by the thought of failure itself, this only compounds the issue. I’ve struggled with these unproductive mindsets in the past, and I know that they lead to a whole lot of inactivity and a whole bunch of projects scrapped before they get their chance to shine. This repeated failure to commit and follow through actually makes the problem even worse as we may begin to believe that we’re not even capable of finishing anything. We may start to think that we’re fundamentally flawed in some way. I’m sadly speaking from personal experience here. Life is too short and your potential is too great for all that mess, I say. Is it possible to change the way we think, or to reprogram our brains? YES! And to great effect.
Reprogramming the mind
Science has shown that through repeated behavior, the brain can form new neural pathways, essentially rewiring itself. Neuroscientist Jeffrey Schwartz addresses this subject at length in his book, Brain Lock. Written specifically to help sufferers of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder take control over their condition, the book details a system of thought and behavior scientifically proven to have physically altered the brains of his patients for the better.
He says, “For the first time ever for any psychiatric condition or any psychotherapy technique, we have scientific evidence that cognitive-behavioral therapy alone actually causes chemical changes in the brains of people with OCD. We have demonstrated that by changing your behavior, you can… change your brain chemistry, and get relief from OCD’s terrible symptoms.”
This should give you some hope, whether you suffer from OCD or not. If the brain can be reprogrammed in such a way that it reduces the symptoms of a crippling mental disorder, then surely it can be reprogrammed to help you create amazing things. Our process will be somewhat similar to the process used in Brain Lock — It’s all about engraining better, more accurate and fair thoughts into our minds, changing our mental response to self-doubt and in turn changing our creative behaviors and habits.
Reprogramming through repetition
First, a word of caution: Reprogramming your mind is quite a different process than reprogramming a computer. It’s much more difficult. With computers, you get to simply open a document, erase bits of the program you don’t like, add new code, save, and close. It’s one and done. Not so in the process of reprogramming the mind. It takes repeated, conscientious effort. Every time you redirect your thoughts from something negative to something positive and then act on that positivity, your brain will reprogram itself a little more, bit by bit. Think of it like training a dog or other animal. They can learn, but it takes repeated practice along with consistent rewards and corrections.
Get Ready, Get Set…
This process is not easy, so we’re going to need to start with a plan.
When I decided to commit to making Meager Quest a reality, I knew that my current thought processes were not going to see me through. I accepted that unless I gave myself some better mental programming, nagging internal voices would eventually convince me that Meager Quest was bound for failure, and that I should scrap it and do something “less sucky.” It had happened before and I knew that that cycle was bound to repeat itself. I’ll share an exercise I did on the outset that has really helped me.
- Set aside some quiet time to sit down with a sheet of paper to think about your current mental programming. Write down every negative, unhelpful “program” or thought you can think of. When you sit down to create, what thoughts or self-doubts pop in that make you feel downright uncomfortable with the prospect of creating? When someone tells you sincerely that you’re really good at what you do, what thoughts pop in to try to discount their honest opinion? When you are thinking of showing your work to a friend or sharing it online, what thoughts pop in to make that seem like a terrible idea? Write all these down in specific, clear words. In addition to helping you identify these thoughts, writing them down and seeing them on paper will help you see just how unfair and frankly untrue they are.
- Looking over the list, observe them as though they aren’t your own thoughts. Think of them as dialogue from one stranger to another. If you saw a random person on the street say any of these things to some other random person, what would you think? Most of us tell ourselves some pretty horrendous things, and it’s not until I did this exercise that I started to see just how shocking they were.
- Then, in a second column, go down the list, creating a new positive program for every negative one. These new programs will deal with the same subjects, only in a more objectively true and positive way. This part of the exercise isn’t about blind optimism, it’s more about optimism grounded in reality. Let these new programs be real, but at the same time encouraging and constructive. The new, more productive programming you’re crafting now should be the kind of thoughts you’d share with a friend that you really want to see succeed.
For example, one of my biggest negative programs on my list that would run through my mind whenever I hit any sort of obstacle was “You don’t know what you’re doing at all!” The program I decided to replace it with was “You’re learning a lot. You’ll continue to learn and get better as you continue to work.” The new program I crafted resonated with me as true, and it’s certainly a lot more fair and less verbally abusive than the original. Make your list today, it will make the process of reprogramming your mind much easier.
Go!—The Process
Now it’s time to really start. This is where they more difficult, life-changing work begins. Get excited! You’re ready for the challenge. You’ve written down your negative mental programs and you’ve planned out better ones to replace them, so you know exactly what to do. It’s time to start working on something you want to make. Doubtless, committing to making something is going to cause the mental programs you identified start to show up. Here’s what you do when they pop in:
- Call them what they are. These are just thoughts. Negative, unproductive mental programs. You’ve already written them down, labeling them as what they are. You know they don’t help you one bit. I like to think of them as my brain trying to be helpful but being totally misguided and out of touch with reality. Thinking of it this way helps me to be more gentle with myself and my thought processes rather than judging my brain too harshly. Start by gently calling these thoughts what they are. Silly brain! You do know how to make a guy laugh!
- Know why your brain is doing this to you. Your brain looks back at past hurts in your life and is trying its darnedest to keep that failure and heartache from happening again. Knowing why your brain would try to sabotage something you want to do helps you to be more comfortable with any nagging uncertainty that might remain, helping you to keep creating anyway. At your core, you know better than the automatic processes of a hunk of fat and nerve cells inside your head. You know that avoiding failure and discomfort by not doing something you feel called to do is the high road to a more crappy life. Understanding why these thoughts would pop in helps you to know that it’s not necessarily because you actually suck or that your actually going to fail.
- Recite the new mental program you’ve crafted, whether in your head or out loud. Fortunately, you wrote them all down so you can refer to them if you ever need to. Once you’ve laid hold on a more truthful, nourishing thought, get to work on what you’re making. Sweat over it, enjoy it, cry over it, pour your soul into it. No need to hold anything back. By reciting this new positive thought every time and then acting on it by getting to work, you are reprogramming your brain, slowly but surely.
- Get better. As you are diligent in repeating this process and making art, you’ll start to notice improvement. Thoughts that used to really bother you will start to lose their sting. Things that used to hold you back will start to loosen their grip. Over time, you will be come more willing to commit and more engaged with what you’re creating. With the shackles of self-doubt loosed, you’ll gain more of an ability to fully love what you’re making, even in an unfinished state.
Continuous Improvement
All in all, I’d be lying if I told you that I have fully cured my brain of all negativity. In working on Meager Quest and on this blog, there are still roadblocks to dismantle and hurdles to jump over. There are still times when I fear failure and times when I have to struggle a bit against the desire to throw it all in the scrap heap. But I have noticed that these obstacles are a little easier to overcome as I’ve armed myself with new, powerful mental programming. It gets better and better, and I have seen tons of progress in both my thought processes and in my project. I’ll continue to learn along side you, and hopefully we can lift each other up. I hope this process will help you as much as it helped me.
I’d love to hear from you! Share a few of your own negative “programs” along with your new, positive ones in the comments!
