Most people think the same thoughts every day. Then when neuroplasticity makes it even more automatic, they think, "this is just how I am." Scripture offers an alternative: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2 (NIV) Renewal takes time and intention. So does rewiring.
 If you want to feel different tomorrow, start building a different brain today. #selfbrainsurgery

Twelve hours before my son Mitch was killed, he called me. It was the best conversation we'd had in over a year. He told me he wanted to come home, live with us again, and go back to college. Then he told me he loved me, and I told him I loved him too. Twelve hours later, he was gone. For a long time, that phone call felt like the cruelest part. It seemed like God let me believe everything was going to be OK, and then took my son the same day. There's a name for what happened in my brain. It's called cognitive tunneling. After all these years, I recently learned the name of it from a post by Jim Kwik @jimkwik , author of the book Limitless. Under trauma, your attention narrows to one terrible point, and you lose the rest of the picture. I've described it as a camera zooming in so far that it can only see a small part of the world. I've felt it and written about it, but now I have a name for it, and that's healing. A while after Mitch died, a chaplain friend sat with me in the hospital chapel and told me to do the hard work of looking back at that day from a different angle. So I did. On the very last day of Mitch's life, we were connected. He was looking forward to coming home. And that same day, he went to his eternal home. That phone call was a gift God gave me to hold onto. The third commandment of self-brain surgery is that I must believe that most of my automatic thoughts are untrue. Grief hands you a story fast. You're allowed to look at it again. "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18, ESV. If you're in that tunnel right now, I'm so sorry. Look again. It's hard and holy work, and you don't have to do it alone. Save this for the next time hardship has you too zoomed in to see other things that are still true. Share with a friend who's in the tunnel. And follow me to connect the dots between neuroscience and faith to help you navigate life and find flourishing. Click the link in my bio to learn more about the Ten Commandments of Self-Brain Surgery. #selfbrainsurgery #anxiety #mentalhealth #grief #neuroscience

This is probably the most controversial thing I discuss publicly: you already have what you need to heal, grow, and change. I want you to say this out loud with me if you're somewhere you can: "I already have what I need to heal and grow and change." I know it's true for you because Scripture says it. You already know you have a sound mind from 2 Timothy 1:7 ("God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"). Then Peter adds this. "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3, NIV) Every time I teach this, somebody comes up and says, "But you don't know what I've been through. You don't know my personality. You don't know my diagnosis." That's true, I don't. But I do know what Peter wrote, and he wrote "everything we need." I say this with love, friend, but also as a doctor giving you the straight facts; I don't see an asterisk in that verse that says, "Unless I've been through trauma, or have ADHD, or a high ACE score, or my name is ________." So are you ready to accept what he has already given you, and the way he designed you? Are you willing to learn how to operate your system so it stops operating you? And ultimately the question is this: do you want to get better, or do you want to stay broken, bitter, or trying to figure out who to blame for what's keeping you stuck? Because neuroscience and scripture agree: you have what you need if you're willing to change your mind. Share this with a friend who needs to know they are designed to heal, and save it for later when you need a friendly reminder that you have what you need. And follow me for daily connections between neuroscience and faith that will help you in your quest for healing, hope, and higher performance in your life. Click the link in my bio to learn more about my New York Times best selling book, The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery. #neuroscience #mentalhealth #hope #anxiety #selfbrainsurgery