Full Transcript for How The Brain Gets Programmed | Episode 008

skills, and overcome limitations, I'm now also a certified self-talk trainer with the Self-Talk Institute and a certified coach, a life certified life coach with the LifeCoach Institute. 00:03:51.759 --> 00:04:02.719 Across those very different areas of my life and work, I've discovered one thing and one factor that influences almost everything else. 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:05.599 The way we talk to ourselves. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:44.720 We now bring a shared professional foundation to the conversations we're having here. 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:50.319 And we've exact and we've arrived at exactly the same conclusion. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:08.959 And that's why understanding the programming behind that conversation matters. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:18.319 They have a history. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:23.439 Some may have begun with something that somebody said to us. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:27.839 Some with an experience we add. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:34.959 Some with a conclusion we reached about what that experience meant. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:46.000 And some may have been repeated so many times that we no longer stop to question where they came from. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.959 We simply think that's me. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:53.680 That's what I'm like. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:57.120 That's what I believe. 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:10.639 But if as we discovered in our last episode, programming creates beliefs, then perhaps we need to go back another step. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:16.399 And ask how the programming itself was created. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:25.839 Because understanding that process might help us recognize something really important. 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:39.519 The voice we hear today may be carrying information that was collected yesterday or many years ago. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:46.079 And that brings us to a question at the heart of today's conversation. 00:06:47.360 --> 00:07:00.879 How does the brain take all those messages, experiences, and pieces of information and begin turning them into the programming we carry with us? 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:10.319 Well, there is a wonderfully simple way of beginning to picture it. 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:17.360 And it's one you've been particularly good at explaining, Daniel. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:19.199 Let's hear all about it. 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:20.160 Yes. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:23.279 Do you mean the filing cabinet? 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:26.879 Let's open the filing cabinet. 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:29.279 Okay. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:40.240 Imagine for a moment that somewhere in your mind there's an enormous filing cabinet. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:43.600 How enormous are we talking, Daniel? 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:46.639 Pretty enormous. 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:55.600 Because this filing cabinet has been collecting information for a very long time. 00:07:56.879 --> 00:07:58.480 So what's in it? 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:21.120 Experiences, things you've learned, things people have said to you, things you've seen, things you've heard, conclusions you've reached, and of course, things you've repeatedly said to yourself. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:29.279 And every day more information arrives. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:36.240 So the filing cabinet is never really sitting there doing nothing. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:38.080 Exactly. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:43.039 Because new information is continually coming in. 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:50.159 And when it does, it doesn't arrive in isolation. 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.440 Is that because there's something in the cabinet? 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:56.960 Yes. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:08:59.679 Lots of things. 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:16.879 So when that new piece of information arrives, one way of picturing what happens is that the brain starts looking for somewhere to file it. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:22.480 Like almost asking, what does this belong to? 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:24.639 What does it belong with? 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:26.320 Exactly. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:32.399 Have I experienced something like this before? 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:36.960 What do I already know about this? 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:41.919 What does this remind me of? 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:44.799 Where does this fit? 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:54.960 So, Daniel, we're not necessarily interpreting something new as though nothing has ever happened before. 00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:56.080 No. 00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:04.879 We're bringing what we've already learned to what we're experiencing now. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:13.440 And I suppose normally that's incredibly useful. 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:15.919 It has to be. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:23.840 Because imagine, Christian, having to relearn everything from the beginning. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:26.559 Every time you encountered it. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:30.320 Oh, that sounds really heavy. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.679 I don't think I'm going to get very far if I've got to keep doing that. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:35.200 Exactly. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:42.960 What you've already learned helps you make sense of what comes next. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:53.919 But here's where it becomes particularly interesting for the conversation we're having. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:02.879 Is that because not everything stored in the filing cabinet is simply factual information? 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:05.039 Ah, exactly. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:12.799 Some of it is information we've collected about ourselves. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:24.000 Ah, and when you explain it like that, Daniel, it takes me straight back to something from when I was actually studying in horticulture. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:33.759 When I was studying in horticulture at college, one of the things we had to learn was plant identification. 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:37.840 And every week we were given 20 plants. 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:41.519 20 every week. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:43.679 Every week. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:54.159 We had to

learn to recognize plants, each plant, we had to learn the botanical name, and then the following week we'd be tested on those 20 plants. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:57.440 Oh, and then you could just forget them. 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:06.320 Um no, I don't think so, because as soon as we'd been tested on those 20. 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:09.919 Oh, you got another 20. 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:17.840 We did exactly, we had another 20, and then another 20 to learn the following week. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:28.399 And as I studied plant identification for four years, so think about that, four years. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:34.559 Um I've I've been thinking about what was happening during those four years. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:42.720 When I first started, my filing cabinet of plant identification was relatively small. 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:50.000 But every week you were adding another set of files. 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:53.279 That's exactly what was happening. 00:12:53.519 --> 00:13:07.840 Twenty plants, then another twenty plants, then another twenty plants, and gradually I was building up this mental filing cabinet of plants, botanical names, and identifying characteristics. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:23.200 Absolutely, I wasn't starting on an empty filing cabinet. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:30.879 Ah, you already had somewhere to go when you encountered a plant. 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:32.240 Yes. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:48.639 And that's the really interesting part of this analogy, because as that knowledge grew, I became able to look at a plant I'd never encountered before and start making connections. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:53.600 What would you be looking for? 00:13:55.279 --> 00:14:09.919 Well, perhaps the shape of the leaves, how those leaves were arranged on the stem, the buds, the bark, the flowers, the overall habit of a plant, and all sorts of other characteristics. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:20.320 And presumably, some of those things would remind you of the plants you already knew. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:22.000 Exactly. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:33.440 I might not know what particular plant it was, but something about that might suggest a family, a plant family that I already recognized. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:43.600 So I'm looking at something new, but I'm making sense of the of using the information that I already had in my filing cabinet. 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:50.639 Which is exactly the principle we're talking about. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:54.720 New information meeting existing information. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:04.799 And your plant filing cabinet obviously didn't stop growing when you left college. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:06.320 Nope. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:25.919 Because, you know, now that I've reached uh my own 40-year mark in horticulture, you know, and when I think about the amount of plant information I've accumulated over that time, the filing cabinet is enormous compared to the one that I had when I started. 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:32.240

But even after 40 years, it's still not complete. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:33.840 No. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:36.159 And you know what, Daniel? 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:38.960 I don't think it will ever be complete. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:43.200 Because even today, I am still learning new plants. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:48.960 Is that because horticulture itself keeps changing? 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:50.559 Exactly. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:55.120 You know, plant breeders are continually introducing new cultivars. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:56.000 Okay. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:59.039 New plants are becoming available. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:03.440 Botanical change, botanical name, they change sometimes. 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:12.159 Plants get reclassified, and occasionally I will come across um something that I've never simply encountered before. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:21.120 So, Christian, even with 40 years of information already stored. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:23.440 You got it, Daniel. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:26.960 There's new information that's still arriving. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:36.960 And when it arrives I've got those 40 years of existing plant knowledge to help me make sense of it. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:42.960 The filing cabinet keeps growing. 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:47.679 The filing cabinet is never finished. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:50.240 And when we spoke to Dr. 00:16:50.399 --> 00:17:01.759 Shad Helmsteder, he explained where some of that programming can come from and the part our own self-talk begins to play in it. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:14.640 He takes us just one step further because he explains what can happen in the brain when those same thoughts are repeated again and again. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:17.200 So let's hear Dr. 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:20.880 Shat explain it in his own words. 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:37.599 When we want to change programs, and you recognize that thoughts are coded messages sent to your brain that tells it what to believe, what to think, and how to operate. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:41.119 And your brain doesn't have any choice. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:52.799 So if you have old programs that are the wrong programs, we get them from our parents, we get we get bad programs from friends or kids at school when we're growing up. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:18:02.000 We get bad programs today from social media, bad programs meaning programs that could work against us instead of support us and work for us. 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:11.920 We get programs from the world around us, and then primarily our biggest, most powerful source of programs is our own self-talk. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:18.000 And if that's negative self-talk, we can get that self-talk and wire our brain in a very negative way. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:40.720 But and this is really important, because it's chemical, because it's physical wiring electrically and chemically in the brain, because our thoughts are converted to signals that wire and rewire neural pathways in the brain. 00:18:41.039 --> 00:19:04.240 And because we now understand from neuroscience that these thoughts that we thought went nowhere, because they're actually wiring our brain, once we realize that, then we understand, maybe for the first time, that no matter what programs we got, we can create new pathways. 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:12.559 And then each time those same thoughts are repeated again and again, you travel over and over that same neural pathway. 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:20.720 And each time you each time you walk down that pathway, you make it stronger and stronger and stronger, like like paving a road. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:32.880 Starts out as a small pathway, a dirt pathway, and then and then you walk over that pathway and it becomes deeper and stronger and wider, and and then you begin to pave it thought after thought after thought. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:37.039 And there's something really important in what Dr. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:39.519 Shad has just explained. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:45.359 We may receive programming from all sorts of places. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:53.920 Our parents, other people, our experiences, and the world around us. 00:19:55.039 --> 00:20:02.079 But eventually, one of the most powerful voices can become our own. 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:10.160 And when the same thoughts are repeated again and again, Dr. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:14.960 Shad describes those pathways becoming stronger. 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:21.039 Which brings us straight back to our filing cabinet. 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:32.559 Because we're not only receiving information, we can also keep reinforcing some of what's already there. 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:42.079 And that gives us a very useful way of coming back to our own programming. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:51.039 Because our own filing cabinet didn't stop receiving information either. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:21:00.079 And unlike my plant identification filing cabinet, not everything was there to be deliberately studied either. 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:04.079 Ah, that's an important difference. 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:08.640 I deliberately learned those twenty plants. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:23.200 But nobody sat us down every Monday morning and said, Right, here are the twenty things you're going to learn about yourself this week. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:28.000 And yet, Daniel, the information just still kept arriving. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:37.039 From parents, from teachers, from friends, other children. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:38.960 Successes. 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:41.359 And those failures. 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:44.000 Things people said. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:48.720 And things we decided those experiences meant. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.519 That's an important distinction. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:58.079 Absolutely, because something happening to us. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:07.680 And what we Conclude about ourselves because it happened, aren't necessarily the same things. 00:22:09.279 -->

00:22:09.920 Yeah. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:15.200 You struggle with a particular subject in school. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:17.519 And that's an experience. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:20.480 I'm stupid. 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.119 And that's a conclusion. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:29.119 Or you don't get chosen for something. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.680 And that's an experience? 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:34.240 Nobody wants me. 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:36.319 And that's a conclusion. 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:45.519 Ah, and once those conclusions enter the filing cabinet. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:52.559 They can be there when you next when your next experience actually arrives. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:02.000 And now we'll go back to that unanswered phone call, Daniel, that we mentioned at the beginning of the episode. 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:04.400 Right, Christian. 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:10.960 Because the unanswered call itself contains very little information. 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:13.680 Yeah, the phone rang. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:15.920 They didn't answer. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:19.039 And that's what actually happened. 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:26.559 But then the filing cabinet gets involved. 00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:38.160 And if my experience, my existing experience tells me people are generally reliable, they'll call when they can. 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:41.839 Then I might barely think about it. 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:56.319 But if there's already a file that says people ignore me, the same unanswered call can suddenly mean something completely different. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:58.559 There you go. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:00.400 It's happening again. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:01.839 I knew it. 00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:06.799 And notice what's happening. 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:12.000 The new experience hasn't simply been filed. 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:18.880 It's been interpreted through something that was already there. 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:28.319 And then it can potentially become another piece of information that was added to the same file. 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:38.720 Which helps us explain how programming can begin reinforcing itself. 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:50.160 And then we reach another really important part of this process. 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:56.720 Because eventually somebody doesn't necessarily give us the message. 00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:01.359 We can start doing it ourselves. 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:07.519 Perhaps somebody once told you you're shy. 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:12.400 Then another person said something similar. 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:17.920 Then you found yourself uncomfortable in a social situation. 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:22.160 And that seemed to confirm it. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:26.319 And eventually the words change. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:37.279 It becomes I'm shy. 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:49.839 They may not even be a part of your life anymore. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:55.119 But the message hasn't disappeared. 00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:58.799 Because somewhere along the way. 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:03.119 We took over the conversation. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:10.400 And that's where the language can begin to change in a really subtle way. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:19.200 From something that happened to something we believe describes us. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:23.279 I found that difficult. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:26.960 I'm no good at that. 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:30.480 I made a mistake. 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:34.240 It becomes I always make mistakes. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.599 I felt nervous. 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:41.759 I'm not a confident person. 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:50.000 And eventually That's just the way I am. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:27:01.119 Something that began as an experience. 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:04.160 Has become a description. 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:13.839 And something that has become a description can eventually begin to feel like a fact. 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:21.359 Which takes us straight back to episode seven. 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:25.519 Programming creates beliefs. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:36.000 So perhaps there's something worth listening for over the next few days. 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.519 Not something you need to change. 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:42.400 Not something you need to judge. 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:44.960 Just something to notice. 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:53.839 Listen for those little phrases you use to describe yourself. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:28:10.640 I'm just I've always been I'm no good at I never Or perhaps the one we've heard several times during this series. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:14.079 That's just the way I am. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:21.440 And when you hear one be curious. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:24.880 Where did that come from? 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:27.920 Was there an experience? 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:31.039 Something somebody said? 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.400 Something you've repeated? 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:40.720 Or perhaps a conclusion you reached a long time ago. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:46.400 You don't need to change the file today. 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:50.160 Just notice that there is a file. 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:59.200 And this is where I want to return one final time to that plant identification filing cabinet. 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:04.799 Because forty years later, you're still adding to it. 00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:06.000 I am. 00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:11.279 And sometimes I'm doing more than just adding something new. 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:15.759 Oh, you're updating something old. 00:29:16.559 --> 00:29:17.519 Exactly. 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:21.359 A botanical name changes. 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:24.240 A plant gets reclassified. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:27.440 New information becomes available. 00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:35.119 And when that happens, I don't say, well, that's what I learned thirty years ago. 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:36.960 I'm sticking with it. 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:40.160 No, you update the file.

00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:42.640 I update the file, Daniel. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:48.160 Oh, and that's an interesting thought. 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:52.400 Because our programming has a history. 00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:56.240 But it also has a present. 00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:59.680 Information is still arriving. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:03.279 Experiences are still happening. 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:05.440 And we're still learning. 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:10.160 And we're still talking to ourselves. 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:19.920 So perhaps one of the most important things we can take from today's conversation is this. 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:26.240 The filing cabinet is never finished. 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:40.799 And if it isn't finished, then perhaps what is already in there doesn't have to be the end of the story. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:31:04.000 If today's conversation has got you thinking about some of the programming you may have picked up along the way, you may also want to go back and explore some of the foundations we've been building throughout this podcast. 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:08.079 And we've now made it much easier for you. 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:18.799 Throughout our first six episodes, we created a reflection worksheet to accompany each conversation. 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:24.000 And we've brought all six of those worksheets together in one place. 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:30.640 The Growing Plants, Growing People Foundation Workbook. 00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:37.039 It's designed to help you work through those first six conversations at your own pace. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:42.160 To reflect on what you're discovering. 00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:51.200 And begin connecting with some of those ideas that we've been exploring to your own life. 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:56.000 So whether you've been with us from episode one. 00:31:56.880 --> 00:31:59.759 Or you've just discovered grown plants, grown people. 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:04.559 The workbook gives you a place to begin. 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:10.559 And you'll find the details on how to get your free copy in the episode notes. 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:18.799 And we have something else we'd like to offer you. 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:22.240 Something a little more personal. 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:40.799 And if you'd like to take what we've been exploring in the podcast and begin putting self-talk into practice for yourself, we've got another way to help you get started. 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:45.920 We'd like to invite you to try the self-talk app. 00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:55.359 And as a listener to Growing Plants, Growing People, you can try it free for 30 days. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:04.640 But we also know that downloading an app and knowing how to make the best use of it are two different things. 00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:10.480 So we've created something specifically for our listeners. 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:16.400 The Grown Plants, Grown People, Listener's Guide to the Self-Talk app. 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:20.319 It's there to help you get started. 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:25.359 And to help you understand how to begin using self-talk. 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:35.599 And to make those first 30 days something you can actually explore and experience for yourself. 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:47.279 Because throughout this podcast, we're going to continue exploring why the conversations we have with ourselves matter. 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:55.519 But the app gives you an opportunity to begin experiencing self-talk for yourself. 00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:10.400 So if you'd like to give it a try, you'll find the listener's guide and details of your free 30-day trial in the episode notes. 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:24.159 So we've discovered that our programming doesn't simply appear from nowhere. 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:30.800 It develops through the information we receive. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:34.159 And the experiences we have. 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.119 The conclusions we reach. 00:34:37.840 --> 00:34:41.760 And the things that we repeatedly say to ourselves. 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:53.199 And as new experiences arrive, they don't necessarily arrive to an empty filing cabinet. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:58.639 They can be interpreted through information that's already there. 00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:03.199 And sometimes they can reinforce it. 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:08.960 Which leaves us to the a very important question. 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:19.039 Because some of those files may have been sitting there for a very long time. 00:35:23.679 --> 00:35:28.000 Some of those messages may have been repeated for years. 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:31.440 Perhaps even decades. 00:35:32.800 --> 00:35:43.840 So if the brain has learned to think about something in a particular way, can it learn to think differently? 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:48.320 That's an important question. 00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:56.079 Because without that possibility, understanding our programming would only take us so far. 00:35:57.920 --> 00:36:01.119 We might understand where a belief came from. 00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:06.480 We might recognize the experiences that helped create it. 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:16.079 We might even begin to notice the self-taught that continue, that continues and continues to reinforce it. 00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:25.840 But we'd still be left asking: can any of it actually change? 00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:32.159 And that's where our next conversation takes us. 00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:38.639 To one of the most fascinating abilities of the human brain. 00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:42.159 Neuroplasticity. 00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:52.159 Neuroplasticity is the term used to describe the brain's ability to change and adapt. 00:36:53.760 --> 00:36:59.760 And in our next episode, we're going to take that word out of the textbook. 00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:04.159 And explores what it actually means for you and me? 00:37:05.519 --> 00:37:09.039 If experiences can help create programming? 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:13.519 If repetition can strengthen it? 00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:19.519 What happens when we begin giving the brain something different? 00:37:21.679 --> 00:37:24.719 Can new patterns be created? 00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:29.920 Can old patterns become less influential? 00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:40.800 And what does the brain's ability to change tell us about the programming we've been carrying with us? 00:37:43.280 --> 00:37:45.760 And that's where we're going to next. 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:48.079 Episode nine. 00:37:48.639 --> 00:37:51.599 Neuroplasticity explained. 00:38:05.599 --> 00:38:10.000 And perhaps that's the most important thing to remember. 00:38:10.480 --> 00:38:14.719 The filing cabinet is never finished. 00:38:15.840 --> 00:38:23.599 Remember, the most important conversation you'll ever have is the one you have with yourself. 00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:25.119 Make it count.