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Your Best Defense Against Brain Rot — Transcript

by The Mindset Mentor Podcast · 3,054 words · 453 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Let me ask you a question. When was the
0:02last time that you did something purely
0:05because you enjoyed it? Not because it
0:07made money, not because it was
0:09productive, not because it helped you
0:11build your career, not because it was
0:14something that you had to do, but just
0:16because it was something that made you
0:18feel like you're alive. Because there's
0:21something really fascinating and kind of
0:23sad about adulthood. Most adults don't
0:26lose their hobbies because they're busy.
0:28they lose them because their identity
0:31slowly collapses into basically one
0:33dimension which is work or their job.
0:38That's it. And then when that happens,
0:40something really subtle starts happening
0:42to the brain. It starts to go into
0:44mental stagnation. And the scary part is
0:47that most people think that's just
0:49basically what adulthood is supposed to
0:51feel like. So today I want to talk to
0:53you about how to reverse that. and I
0:55want to talk to you about how to bring
0:56more joy and creativity in your life and
0:59how to actually improve your brain while
1:02we're at it. Okay, so let's dive in. One
1:04of the the biggest psychological shifts
1:07that happens in adulthood is what I call
1:10identity compression. You know, when
1:12you're a kid, your identity is wide.
1:14like you're an athlete and you're an
1:17artist and you're a builder and you're a
1:19a gamer and you're a a musician and
1:22you're, you know, a curiosity like a
1:25curious explorer. But when adulthood
1:28happens, it's like all of that just
1:30compresses into just this little tiny
1:33bit of who you are. [snorts] You know,
1:34like slowly it feels like your identity
1:36just compresses into just like one thing
1:38and that's like what you do for work.
1:41And maybe if you're lucky it's like two
1:43things. what you do for work and that
1:45you are a parent. That's basically what
1:48a lot of people's lives come down to.
1:50And your brain kind of stops exploring
1:54all of these new places in your brain,
1:56these new ideas and these new things
1:57that you're curious about and it starts
1:59optimizing.
2:00And optimizing is useful in most cases,
2:04but when it comes to your brain, that
2:05comes with a cost. Because the brain
2:07doesn't thrive on optimization. The
2:10brain thrives on novelty, on new things,
2:13on exploration, on creativity, on new
2:16ideas. And when your exploration
2:19disappears, your brain starts running
2:21the same neural loops over and over and
2:24over and over again. And then you have
2:26the same problems and you have the same
2:28routines and you have the same thoughts
2:30day in and day out. You know, 95% of
2:32your thoughts are the same as they were
2:34yesterday. In psychology, that's most
2:36people. 95% of your thoughts are going
2:38to be the same as they were yesterday.
2:40And that's the beginning of what people
2:42call mental stagnation. But neurology,
2:45when you look at it and what's happening
2:47in your brain, it's more closer to
2:49cognitive atrophy. And so this is where
2:52all of it kind of gets really
2:53interesting. When you look at hobbies,
2:56sure, hobbies are fun and hobbies can be
2:58entertaining, but hobbies are also
3:01really good for your brain. And hobbies
3:03are also a nervous system regulator.
3:07Most people try to regulate their
3:08nervous system. nowadays by numbing
3:10themselves. Things like alcohol or drugs
3:13or scrolling or eating food or binge
3:17watching Netflix or whatever other
3:20numbing behaviors they come up with. So
3:21when their nervous system gets all out
3:23of whack, they go to numbing. Let me
3:25just stop feeling everything altogether.
3:28And the reason why they go to those
3:29things cuz those things basically sedate
3:31your brain. And we will be right back.
3:34Hey, I'm running a free live workshop on
3:37March 25th called Identity Upgrade. And
3:39let me tell you why you want to be
3:41there. In the 20 years that I've been
3:42studying and teaching self-development,
3:44I've watched thousands of people try to
3:46change your life by changing their
3:48habits and changing their actions and
3:49changing their routines. But the truth
3:51is, nothing will stick long term if you
3:54don't change your identity. Because long
3:56term, your behavior will always fall
3:59back to who you think you are. So if you
4:01see yourself as someone who has the same
4:03fears and the same limiting beliefs, you
4:06will stay the same. So in this workshop,
4:08I'm going to show you stepbystep how to
4:10upgrade your identity so that you can
4:12finally change the course of your life.
4:14So if you're ready to become the next
4:16version of yourself, you can go to
4:172026upgrade.com
4:19or you can click the QR code on this
4:21video and save your seat. And now back
4:24to the show. Hobbies though, they do
4:26something completely different than than
4:29numbing. They engage the brain and they
4:32also calm your nervous system. So when
4:34you have an activity like painting or
4:36woodworking or martial arts or playing
4:39music or going out and even just
4:41gardening, all of those have measurable
4:44measurable effects on lowering your
4:46cortisol which improves your mood and it
4:49also regulates your dopamine as well.
4:51And so what's good about a hobby is is
4:53when you engage in a hobby, you're
4:56activating a neurological state that's
4:58called directed attention restoration.
5:01And this is the brain recovering from
5:04the exhaustion of life and work and
5:09constant decision making and trying to
5:11be productive and pushing and pushing
5:13and pushing. And what's happening is the
5:16good thing about having a hobby is that
5:19it calms your nervous system and you're
5:22working on something that is meaningful
5:24and not just numbing your way out of it.
5:27So you're creating then in some sort of
5:30way versus just consuming or numbing
5:33which is really really good for your
5:34nervous system. And instead of just
5:36scrolling, you might have actually
5:38created something, a beautiful song or
5:40your garden might be better and you
5:41might have some food or you might have
5:42made a beautiful painting. And so the
5:44beautiful part about hobbies is that
5:46you're able to actually calm the nervous
5:48system in a productive way and you might
5:51get some fruits or you might get some
5:54paintings or you might get a beautiful
5:55piece of music that you've made from
5:57doing it as well. [snorts] Here's
5:59another part that most people don't
6:00realize when you look at it. When you're
6:03trying to create, you're in a little bit
6:05of a mode of play. And play is not a
6:08childish behavior. Like when we think of
6:10playing, we think like that's what kids
6:11do. I'm an adult. I'm not supposed to
6:13play anymore. Play is actually a core
6:15cognitive mode inside of your brain. And
6:18when adults stop playing, three things
6:20start happening neurologically. Number
6:22one, your creativity is going to start
6:25to decline. Number two is your cognitive
6:29flexibility drops, which is like you
6:31being open to new ideas and new things.
6:33And number three, your problem solving
6:36actually gets worse. In neuroscience,
6:38they actually call this functional
6:40fixedness. So your brain becomes really
6:43good at doing things the exact same way
6:45that it's always done, which is good for
6:48routine, but it's terrible for
6:50creativity. It's terrible for
6:52innovation. It's terrible for new ideas.
6:54It's terrible for expanding of the
6:57brain. And so hobbies reintroduce the
7:00play circuits into your brain. And this
7:03is where, you know, this play is where
7:05creativity lives. It's where your
7:06curiosity lives. It's where new ideas
7:08and insights come from. Which is why
7:11some of the greatest breakthroughs in
7:14human history came from people who were
7:16just playing with new ideas. They
7:19weren't like grinding away at their
7:20computer to try to figure out how to
7:22solve a problem. No, they were in the
7:23middle of play and just creativity. And
7:25because their brain was making these new
7:27neural connections, they came up with
7:29new ideas. They were playing, they were
7:31being creative, they were just sitting
7:32around and they were thinking to
7:34themselves different ways than they've
7:35ever thought to themselves. And the
7:37beautiful thing about hobbies is that it
7:39also expands your identity. Like a a
7:42deeper layer that most people never
7:44really think about and and I really
7:46think about a lot when I think of
7:47hobbies is that a hobby, it isn't just
7:49good for you. It doesn't just regulate
7:51your brain. It also protects your
7:53identity as well because if your
7:55identity only exists in your place of
7:58work like it does for most people, then
8:01every failure at work becomes like an
8:04existential crisis. It's an identity
8:07crisis. It's a shot at your ego and it
8:11feels like the world is crumbling. But
8:13when you don't just go to work and
8:15you're not just a parent, those are two
8:17very important things, don't get me
8:18wrong, but you do a lot of other things,
8:20then you're expanding your identity of
8:22who you actually are. Like you're a
8:24leader, you're a father or a mother,
8:26you're a musician, you're a runner,
8:29you're a writer, you're a builder,
8:32you're a student of something.
8:35Now your identity has multiple pillars
8:37versus just like one or two pillars. So
8:41if one of the pillars collapses, your
8:43whole life doesn't collapse with it. And
8:45this is one of the hidden psychological
8:47advantages of hobbies is they basically
8:50diversify your identity portfolio. Just
8:53like a a a smart investor diversifies
8:56their money. Smart humans diversify
8:58their sense of self. You're not just a
9:01person that goes to work and has a job.
9:04Like you're much much more than that.
9:06And I know a lot of people listening to
9:09this right now have forgotten who they
9:11actually are. You've forgotten what you
9:14love to do. You've forgotten what
9:16excites you because you've just been
9:17stuck in the same mundane routine for
9:21the past 5 years or 10 years or 20
9:24years. And so you've gotten so locked
9:26into an old routine, you've forgotten
9:27who you are. You've forgotten all of the
9:29things that make you excited. It's time
9:31to break out of that routine and expand
9:33who you actually are. And this brings us
9:36to something really important as well.
9:37Like many people believe that they can
9:41just figure out their purpose by sitting
9:43on their couch and thinking about it.
9:44They think like their purpose comes
9:46first and then they start taking action.
9:48But in reality, what I have found is
9:50that purpose is usually discovered
9:52through curiosity, through doing
9:54something new. And that curiosity
9:57usually starts as some form of a hobby.
9:59Like think about it. Almost every
10:01meaningful pursuit in life started as
10:03something that somebody did just because
10:06it was interesting. Not because they
10:07were trying to make money or because it
10:09was profitable. It was interesting.
10:11Somebody was excited about something.
10:14They pursued it. They fell in love with
10:16it. They mastered it. And it became part
10:18of their purpose and their meaning and
10:20why they feel like they're alive on this
10:22planet. Your brain's constantly giving
10:24you signals of curiosity,
10:27like little tiny whispers of interest,
10:30but most adults ignore them because they
10:33think like, "Oh, well, that's not
10:35productive." Like, I just need to focus
10:37on being productive. And I tell me, I'll
10:40tell you this, like focusing on just
10:41being productive all the time will kill
10:44your fun in life. Like trust me, I've
10:46gone down that route for years where
10:48I've just gone, I'm going to be
10:49productive and I'm going to go hardcore
10:50at work and I'm going to throw all my
10:52hobbies away.
10:54That's not the way to go. You know, like
10:56what if those curiosities and those
10:58little thoughts of like, hey, this
10:59sounds fun. Maybe I should try this
11:01thing. You know what? Maybe on Sunday I
11:02should go try some take a pottery class
11:04or something like that. What if those
11:06like little curiosities or ideas are
11:08actually breadcrumbs that you're trying
11:10to the universe or God or whatever it is
11:12is trying to lead you in a direction of
11:14something? What if the hobby that you
11:16feel drawn towards is actually your
11:18brain saying, "Hey, there's something
11:20meaningful here. Like maybe we should
11:21explore this." You know, some hobbies
11:23stay hobbies and that's completely fine.
11:25That's amazing if you can find a hobby
11:27that actually fills your cup. But
11:29others, they slowly evolve into
11:32passions, like missions and careers and
11:35creative outlets and like the ways that
11:37you want to actually impact the world.
11:40Like purpose rarely arrives as like a
11:42lightning bolt. Like I don't know
11:44anybody's just been sitting on their
11:45couch and like, "Oh my god, I found my
11:47purpose in life." Like more often it
11:49starts as something that you're curious
11:51enough to just try. Like I always tell
11:53people if they want to find their
11:54purpose and their passion here on this
11:56earth in this life that you have like
11:58just continue to ask yourself like what
12:00am I really interested in learning or
12:02getting better at? There's usually
12:04something that that lives in there. So
12:08now when you look at it the the
12:10something that's that's I would say is
12:11one of the most important things that
12:13people don't realize about the brain is
12:14that your brain is built to adapt. It's
12:17built to grow. It's built to be
12:19constantly having new challenges and new
12:21ideas.
12:22But it only does that when it's
12:24challenged and when it has novelty and
12:26it's doing something different. When you
12:28repeat the same routines over and over
12:30again, you have the same problems that
12:32you're solving and you're in the same
12:33environments every single day. The brain
12:36starts to conserve energy because it's
12:39smart and it does this by running the
12:41same neural pathways over and over and
12:43over again. In neuroscience, this is
12:45called neuroefficiency. And so, you
12:48know, the brain becomes very good at
12:50doing the same things the same way over
12:52and over and over again. That's a good
12:54thing when you're trying to create good
12:55habits in your life. But there's a
12:57downside to it. You know, when you stop
12:59learning, when you stop exploring, when
13:01you start, you know, you stop trying to
13:03create in some sort of way, the brain
13:05starts to reduce the growth in new
13:08neural connections inside of your brain.
13:10And over time, that can lead to what's
13:12called cognitive rigidity. And that's
13:14where thinking becomes less flexible and
13:18creativity declines. Like you see this a
13:20lot like with older people, right? Where
13:22they've been doing the same thing over
13:23and over and over and over and over
13:24again and you try to give them a new
13:25idea and there's no flexibility to the
13:28idea. You start talking about we should
13:29do something different, no flexibility.
13:31You start talking about something that's
13:32progressive in the world, they don't
13:33want anything to do with it. You see it
13:36a lot with older people. you know, they
13:37become less flexible in their thinking
13:39and their creativity declines and they
13:41do the same things over and over and
13:43over again and they get so set in their
13:45ways there's literally basically no more
13:48cognitive flexibility. And I don't know
13:50about you guys that scares the out
13:51of me. Like I don't want to become
13:53somebody like like that. I want to
13:54become someone who's always open to
13:55ideas and trying to be creative. And
13:57when you have hobbies and creative
14:00activities, they do the opposite for
14:02your brain. When you learn a new skill
14:04or you challenge yourself to become
14:06better at a skill like painting or
14:08building something or playing music or
14:10playing tennis or just trying something
14:11that's just new for you, the brain
14:14changes and activates neuroplasticity
14:16which is just the process where neurons
14:18in your brain form new connections and
14:21strengthen existing ones. And so when
14:23you have a creative hobby, you also
14:25increase the the the activity in your
14:28brain and a part of your brain that's
14:29called the default mode network, which
14:31is a part of your brain that's
14:32associated with imagination, with
14:34insight, with uh creative problem
14:37solving. And this is why people often
14:39have their best ideas when they're doing
14:42something creative, when they're doing
14:43something they love, when they're doing
14:44something that's playful. You know, some
14:46hobbies are just for fun, but some
14:49hobbies actually improve the brain when
14:51you do them over and over again. When
14:53you try to keep improving, when you
14:55challenge yourself, they keep your
14:57neural networks flexible, and they
14:59stimulate dopamine pathways associated
15:02with with motivation, with drive, with
15:04curiosity, and they literally help your
15:06brain stay younger and more adaptable
15:09over time. So in other words, when life
15:12becomes nothing but routine and work,
15:14your brain slowly starts to decline and
15:16slowly starts to narrow. But when you do
15:19something new and you challenge
15:20yourself, you explore and you create and
15:23you play, your brain actually expands
15:26and gets stronger. And so if you feel
15:29like you've been stuck for a while and
15:31you feel like your brain's been stuck
15:32lately, if life started to feel like
15:34it's way too repetitive and you feel
15:36like mentally dull, don't ask yourself
15:38what's wrong with me. Like just try ask
15:40yourself a different question. When was
15:42the last time that I let myself do
15:45something fun or I let myself explore
15:48just because it seemed interesting and I
15:50just wanted to do something different?
15:52Because hobbies, I used to think of
15:54hobbies as like distractions or just
15:56something that I would do to have some
15:57more fun. But hobbies are expansions of
16:00your humanity. Like they regulate your
16:02nervous system. They protect your
16:04identity. And sometimes if you follow
16:06them long enough and get passionate
16:08about about them enough, they can
16:10actually lead you to your purpose as
16:11well. Hey, thanks so much for watching
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