OPTIMIZE

M. So I think I may have made a bit of a breakthrough yesterday from speaking with Dr. P

C. Tell me

M. He told me about a study where they put a bunch of dogs in a cage and then increased the noise level to a point that was so excruciating that the dogs attacked each other.

C. Interesting

M. It made think about how high the “noise” level is right now because of all the chaos we are experiencing, and how we’re seeing amped up levels of anger.

C. What else?

M. It also made me realize that we have a choice regarding the noise level to which we’re willing subject ourselves.

C. Go on

M. For example, at a personal level, I know that I become very agitated from watching the news and political commentary programs, especially the latter. Exposing my brain to all this hate, anger, and vitriol very negatively impacts my mental health. Bombarding your brain with all this negative imagery and messaging can’t help but cause I’ll effects and lead to or exacerbate unhappiness.

C. Makes a lot of sense

M. As I mentioned, I was beat and mentally fried yesterday. I did a few things which had a rather quick and beneficial impact.

C. Go on

M. I listened and meditated to a video by a woman who talked about love and compassion.

C. What else?

M. I then spoke with Dr. P. It was nice to speak with someone who cares about my well-being. It helped me verbalize my angst and put things in perspective. The story about the dog experiment resonated.

C. Go on

M. As a result of this conversation, I decided to take a vacation from watching the news and political commentary programs. So, last night instead of watching this, N and I watched “The Nutty Professor” with Jerry Lewis. Very enjoyable and innocent. He was so silly in this movie. We couldn’t help but laugh.

C. I like this idea

M. Went to bed and listened to another video by this woman on self-compassion. Then fell asleep and I slept much better.

C. That’s great to hear

M. Intuitively and intellectually, it makes sense that exposing the brain to positive input while at the same time limiting or eliminating its exposure to negative input can have a very positive effect on one’s well-being and happiness.

C. Makes sense

M. Another thing that causes me stress is checking email. I notice that I feel rejected when I check email and don’t see a response to an email. I know that because of my history that I am particularly sensitive to rejection.

C. Go on

M. So, I decided that I’m going to limit the number of times I check email. I feel like I’m zinging my brain with a tiny taser every time I check email.

C. Go on

M. Like I said earlier I’m going to not watch “negative” programming for the rest of the week. Instead I’m going to watch old movies preferably comedies. I’m also going to listen to classical and easy going music. I’m also going to listen/watch/read content related to personal development, neuroscience, exercise, diet, brain health, stoicism, motivation, and those types of topics.

C. Excellent.

M. I’m going to make maintaining a calm mind and optimizing my brain health a priority.

C. I think this is a great idea. Keep me posted.

M. Will do

C. Have a good one

M. You too

C. Was this helpful?

M. Definitely. Thanks again.

C. You got it