Brain Charming

Brain Charming (1,170)

June 7th, 2011

I am not a doctor. I am not a neurologist. Actually, I am not an expert in anything at all. What I do possess is forty years of experience in working with people.

Drawing from those encounters, I have discovered some simple, universal applications. One of those is that the human brain can be short-circuited by over-activity or it can be turned into mush by laziness. The mind loves to have a balance somewhere between mental mayhem and brain dead. It is important to find that balance.

To discover that niche, the brain—like every other living thing on earth—needs nourishment. Otherwise, it will begin to cringe back in horror over confusion or go into a deep coma through lack of use. So what is the food? What is “grub” for the brain?

Consistency.

Now, I’m not talking about routine. Routine is what other people ask you to do and consistency is the barometer you place on yourself. Routine can cause you to become resentful and therefore drop all standards of quality. Consistency is the realistic expectations we place on our own pursuits, guaranteeing us a repeated result that provides for soul satisfaction. Without consistency, the brain wakes up wondering if anything is going to happen at all.

I do believe this is why some people think they need a jolt in the morning because they are not early-rising individuals. If the brain doesn’t know you have a job to accomplish, it will often require a jump-start to get electrified.

My suggestion to any intelligent person is to select three different projects to pursue consistently every week. Once the mind knows that it has an appointment, it will begin to keep a more orderly book. The Bible talks about “girding up the loins of our minds”—tightening our thinking with an appointment, causing the brain to know that it will be required to participate. Often we describe someone as “slow.” Well, not so much slow as uninvolved in any activity that demands they show up to do a certain thing at a certain time.

If you do find these three projects to do consistently in your life, you will be surprised at how much sharper your brain will be—even during the down times. Let me tell you my three:

1. I write a daily essay of at least 500 words called jonathots. I am fortunate that it is blessedly read by thousands of people. Sometimes I get my idea for the message the night before. Often I am awakened early in the morning with the notion. But occasionally, I do not know what I’m going to talk about until seconds before I begin to write. But my brain knows that we’re going to do it every day—1,170 days in a row, counting this morning. My brain calls it food. “Food for thought.”

2. I send an individual weekly email to many, many friends and family members. I catch up on details of the week and a word of exhortation to each and every one of them. I do it faithfully. Each person has a day and a time—the same every week. Each individual receives a certain space of consideration in my schedule and they know that for that particular moment, I am thinking only of them. My brain likes it. Fortunately for me, this also gives me the ability to stay in contact with lots of folks, and to let them know the feelings of my heart.

3. And finally, I work on being prepared to be entertaining and inspiring whenever I go to some location to present my program in front of a gathering of souls. I don’t care if it’s eight, eighty or eight hundred. Attendance does not concern me. My consideration is that my brain recreate the music, stories and talent granted to me through the good graces of spirit. I refuse to give less than my passionate best, and therefore have the privilege of receiving the same back from others.

Now, because I keep these three projects flowing consistently through my gray matter, my mind is alive enough to be prepared to on-point for other occasions. It is amazing how much power you gain in your life by simply being able to give preeminence to the important things at the right moment, over and over again. I can recommend it. It is literally brain-charming.

For after all, that’s what they say: When you’ve completed it and have done it right, the third thing is always the charm.