A Better Brain at Any Age

At age seventy-five, you still have all the neuron connections you did at twenty-five.

You'll appreciate the miracle that lives under the skull. And the gift of being alive.

Snap a rubber band on your wrist when you notice a thought pattern you want to change. Then remind yourself to substitute a more comforting thought.

in a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, humor during instruction led to increased test scores

Reframe incidents to provide a new perspective. Reframing is a natural process you move through as external circumstances and inner stories change

Have a dialogue with yourself. Talk back if you find yourself sunk in a negative story. Create a positive to balance the negative rather than trying to defeat it.
Remind yourself that you are great, everyone has personality quirks, and you are loveable.
Talk to your inner child or fearful self. Remind it that you are capable and can get help from others.
Address judgments and blame. Blame is a spiral of thoughts that perpetuates ongoing anger and frustration. Since you can't change others, focus on changing your own point of view. Ask yourself questions to determine if blame is a distracting story of your mind. These questions, based on the work of Byron Katie, are detailed in chapter 4.

Snap a rubber band on your wrist when you notice a thought pattern you want to change. Then remind yourself to substitute a more comforting thought

Track and change your thoughts by keeping a diary. Note events that trigger uncomfortable feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

Problems arise when emotions and thoughts limit the mind. Limits can be “anxiety, negative fantasies, pessimism, and even identity with certain ideas of who we and others are

At age seventy-five, you still have all the neuron connections you did at twenty-five.