How to Control Your Brain and Change Your Behavior

Neuroscience has experienced a huge boom in recent decades. Thanks to modern technologies, we can now observe what is happening in the brain in real time, how emotions arise, and how we learn, make decisions, or respond to stress. This knowledge brings a completely new perspective on human behavior and helps us better understand ourselves and others.

Brain neuroplasticity

The brain can change and develop throughout our lives. And so do we. Its neuroplasticity is most
evident in childhood and is particularly strong up to the age of 25, before it subsequently begins
to lose intensity. At the beginning of life, we therefore adapt very well to the environment in
which we live; we can quickly learn foreign languages, acquire new skills, and look for solutions
to problems. In recent decades, however, science has proven that the brain is capable of
successfully changing even at a much older age under certain conditions that we ourselves create
for it.

So if we take care of our brain and train it, it does not cease to be sufficiently active. Just like
young children, who are curious, docile, and absorb every interesting moment with interest, we
adults should also keep our minds fresh as much as possible by not ceasing to crave new
knowledge and by nurturing our curiosity and active approach to life.

Create conditions for your brain

With a certain amount of effort, we can “rewrite” even deeply rooted negative information, traumas, or habits that we have previously acquired and no longer serve us. As an example, we can cite well-known sentences that are strongly written into our unconscious:

● No one will like you like this.
● Boys never cry.
● You will never amount to anything.
● You always have to be the best!
● There is no point in trying; someone better will always come along.

It is important to realize that the brain does not stop creating new cells and neural connections if we actively work with it. Therefore, to strengthen neuroplasticity, focus on an active approach and sometimes purposefully avoid routine matters.

These can really be small changes. Go for a walk on a different route than usual. Try a
completely new sport that you have not done before. If you only read detective stories, reach for a woman's novel or a professional publication for a change. Even small changes benefit us and train our brains.

Look for the brain in everything

To use the maximum potential of our brain, we must stop taking it for granted. We need to understand that the brain is our largest control center and fundamentally controls our lives. How we relate, how we manage to be creative, how much self-esteem we have, or how resistant we are to stress.

There are 86 billion nerve cells at play, which respond every millisecond to the whirlwind of
sensory impressions that come to us from both the environment and our body. Neurons are
constantly creating pathways that bring together our memories, our emotions, and other
connections within our behavior.

“Everything we do reinforces a pattern or pathway and solidifies autopilot behavior.”

Good and bad autopilot

We react to information that comes to us from the outside using internal patterns that we have
stored from the past. These are often memories from childhood, for example, how our parents
treated each other or how we perceive authorities. If we had a bad relationship with a teacher in
fourth grade, this pattern can be carried over into adulthood, when we deal with a similarly
complicated relationship with our boss.

If these patterns are repeated, we store them deeper and stronger until we create so-called
autopilot behavior. Sometimes this may not be entirely desirable, because thanks to “habitual thinking," we judge situations similarly. For example, if we have bad experiences with authorities, we judge our other relationships accordingly.

We may also have the impression that we have less control over our actions, because the brain
begins to take control. It simply acts according to repeatedly stored information—habits, which
are much more difficult to "overwrite." And the greater the emotional reaction to a given
stimulus, the deeper the recording in our brain.

With a little effort, however, we can break free from the feeling of helplessness and loss of
control. However, it is important to accept the possibility of positive change and go towards it by
gradually becoming aware of our behavioral patterns and the emotions associated with them, and
starting to rewrite them.

Don't waste energy

Autopilot behavior saves a lot of energy, which the brain intensively consumes. We can imagine
that approximately 30 percent of the food we eat is used by our brain for its functioning. You
have probably experienced a situation a few times when you missed lunch, and this significantly
affected your decision-making, learning, or efficiency at work.

Several studies have even shown that, for example, judges are more willing to forgive prisoners
in the morning, when they have more energy, than just before lunch, when they start to get
hungry. Simply remember that the brain is also “hungry”. Only then will you learn to understand
its needs and work with it well.