The Overwhelmed Brain

Emotional Intelligence for Critical Thinkers

Are Convenient Beliefs Healthy For You?

A convenient belief is something you believe to be true, whether it actually is or not. It is a belief that is convenient for you because it serves a purpose in your life. A good example is distance healing. Sending your thoughts, prayers, positive vibes, or “healing energy” long distance to help someone heal may sound a bit ludicrous to some people. But for those who practice it, and can cite amazing results from doing it, they have no doubt it works.

So the question is: If the results are positive, does it matter if you can’t scientifically prove the process? [Read more…]

Don’t Make Enough Money? Here’s An Angle You May Not Have Considered

Picture source: http://www.pehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/money-pile-of-benjamins-shutterstock_125967320.jpg
Picture source: http://www.pehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/money-pile-of-benjamins-shutterstock_125967320.jpg

The first question I won’t ask you is: “What is your passion?”

The reason I won’t ask is because it doesn’t matter. If you’ve found something that you are passionate about, follow that passion whether it will make you money or not. If you go into your journey with the sole intent of making money, and you don’t make it, what will happen to your passion?
Will you still be passionate about it any more?

Are you willing to love an idea so much, that you’re willing to risk going broke pursuing it? If the answer is ‘yes’, then you have a true passion. If not, then what is really driving that passion? Is it money? Is it your ego wanting status and prestige? The answer you come up with may reveal some learnings for you.

The second question I won’t ask you is: “What skill or expertise can you offer to people that they are willing to spend money on?” [Read more…]

Do You Converse With Flow Or Resistance?

Flow leads to well-being, resistance leads to stress. Image source: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/integrativemed/clinical-services/qigong/
Flow leads to well-being, resistance leads to stress.
Image source: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/integrativemed/clinical-services/qigong/

In Tai Chi, there’s a movement exercise called Pushing Hands. The lesson to learn when doing this exercise is that force can be redirected. If you redirect a strike, it will never make contact. The strike won’t meet resistance; therefore, the flow of the motion is never interrupted.

Pushing Hands teaches the Tai Chi student about flow and resistance. The less resistance there is during the exercise, the more it flows. Another way to look at flow versus resistance is by comparing a dam to a boulder. Water will flow its way around a boulder, but cannot penetrate the resistance of a dam.

In conversation, flow and resistance work very similarly. Do you find that you can easily speak your mind, allowing your conversations to flow along, while feeling a general sense of well-being? Or, are you more defensive when you talk to people, feeling vulnerable, and on-edge? [Read more…]

Be Confident About What You ‘No’

If you have a hard time saying no to people, it’s time to rewire your brain.

Saying yes to a request for your time, when you really want to say no, is allowing someone to cross your boundaries. You feel it inside and out. A question comes out of someone’s mouth, and you wholeheartedly want to say no, but something happens inside you, and you get this overwhelming fear that if you say no, something bad might happen.

Perhaps your friend will be upset with you. Maybe your relative will feel dejected. Even your spouse might go wide-eyed, wondering where this new “attitude” came from. [Read more…]

How To Not Stress About Money

Are you stuck in peace and serenity all the time? Does your life move along smoothly, without hassle? Do you find that you are more relaxed than stressed throughout the week?

If you answered ‘no’ to any or all of those questions, then you’re probably not one of the millions of people that the American Psychological Association calls ‘the most stressed‘.

According to the APA, 18 to 33 year olds are more stressed than the rest of the US population (it was a US only study).  The focus of their stress was mainly about work and money.

That really comes down to nothing but money, doesn’t it? Why are we so obsessed about making money though? Do we want a new car, more clothes, or a new house? Or, do we just want a pair of shoes, because we have none? Whatever the answer, the real reason we want more money is this:

Money equals options.

When you have more money, you have more options. When you have more options, you can meet more of your needs. And when your needs are met, you are less stressed, more relaxed, and life does move along more smoothly.  [Read more…]