Overindulge with these 10 brain hacks to promote mental and physical wellness!
It’s National Splurge Day! Splurge, (defined by Merriam-Webster.com): to indulge oneself extravagantly. Most people think of expensive meals and material things when indulgence is brought up, but we are here to share with you some amazing hacks from top industry professionals to promote physical and mental well being!
1. Brain Hack: Talk Therapy
This brain hack promotes the idea of speaking with a professional, or even a trusted friend, in order to clear out our confused thoughts and get down to the deepest desires that lie hidden within your subconscious. Negative thoughts are experienced by virtually everyone, but those that are able to properly access them, and actively utilize talk therapy, are going to be lead towards the positive side of every situation.
“Talk therapy is a faster, more efficient, new approach to therapy. It involves reprogramming the negativity built up in the subconscious and reprogramming it with positivity. This is all part of the emerging field of energy psychology. We promote properly accessing our negatively held memories and then utilizing energy exercises to dissipate the intensity of the emotions attached. This is what we believe leads toward a newly positive outlook.” – Cara Hewett, M.A and Tracy Zboril, M.S.W.
Soul Happyfounders, Tracy Zboril, M.S.W., and Cara Hewett, M.A., are both seasoned therapists who have been practicing in the field, in private practice, hospitals and clinics, for over 40 years collectively. After working with clients for decades, looking deep into how their past disappointments have had such negative impacts on their lives, the pair became frustrated with the barriers the psychotherapy industry faced. Since the beginning of their careers, they were trained in traditional therapeutic models, which can be time-consuming and costly with results that are often unsustainable. The two felt there needed to be a better way to help their clients get rid of the feelings that are holding them back from reaching their full potential. Until recently, the psychotherapy industry did not fully understand how minds process and store memories. Within the past 10 to 12 years, there were major breakthroughs in neuroscience that Tracy and Cara utilized to develop, practice and enhance what is now the Soul Happy Technique®.
2. Brain Hack: Focus on Personal Growth
Personal growth may seem like a gentle way for this brain hack to promote being selfish, however, it aligns more with the internal ability to trust yourself and what you know you are capable of deep down. In order to uncover what you want to expand upon within your life, you need to uncover the factors that may be single-handedly hindering that growth from occurring. These “blind spots” so to speak, of our past experiences, are vital for the progression of our future thoughts and ideas.
“My advice for late bloomers is to learn to trust yourself. However, there usually needs to be some work done first before you get there.” – Barbara Plasker, Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur and Certified Professional Coach
Barbara earned her Doctorate in Adult Development and Education when she was 56 years old. She has helped College Professors improve their skills, worked with homeless adults to change their lives, taught classroom teachers how to use technology in their lessons, conducted staff development with leaders and managers of a regional hospital, and was a Public Health Educator for 11 years. She is now a speaker, Certified Professional Coach, founder of her business, It’s Never Too late to Bloom!, and author of Simple Ways to Transform Your Life: Lessons Learned by a Late Bloomer.
3. Brain Hack: Connect with Others:
Collaboration between others with varying experiences than your own can implement original thoughts and ideas that could never be conducted on one’s own. This brain hack stresses the importance that working together can bring in order to improve upon and grow ones communicational, and collaboration skills. This is an all too important skill that one should obtain within any industry. Never be afraid to reach out to those that are around you.
“Always look for ways to work together.” – Melanie Van Halteren & Richard Van Tilborg
Richard Van Tilborg is an inspiring speaker, trendwatcher, and a member of the Advisory Board for Virtual Reality Netherlands. Melanie Van Halteren worked in both non-profit and profit where she won several prizes such as the Houten Tulp award and the Sprout young entrepreneur award. Together, Richard and Melanie combined these interests and became co-founders of CoVince, where psychology and technology mesh into virtual learning experiences you’ll likely never forget. You can even create your own learning experiences and share it with the world!
4. Brain Hack: Remain Trainable:
Those that are ready and able to learn, and learn quickly, are those that are going to progress the fastest in the professional world. Most people lose their sense of trainability as they grow older, but it is important to keep this young sponge-like mindset. Even when you have felt that you have reached the top of the career food chain, there is always something new to be learned.
“Access control … learn fast and master skills” – Melanie Lentz
Melanie Lentz became a Secret Service special agent at age twenty-two, making her one of the youngest female agents ever hired. Since making the difficult choice to leave the agency in 2016, she’s been speaking and writing about navigating womanhood in a male-dominated profession and other tough topics like depression, divorce, eating disorders, and becoming a woman she’s proud of despite the tough times. Melanie’s book Agent Innocent will be available this summer.
5. Brain Hack: Own Your Feelings:
Self-reflection is something that most people struggle to achieve, but it plays an all too important role in success. Majority of the time our traumas of the past impact the ways that we treat or react within the present. This brain hack lets us see that when we are able to acknowledge what is really going on inside the workings of our minds, we can further control the ways in which we outwardly react upon them.
“RACK. Reflect (notice when you feel this way), Ask yourself (is this person intentionally making you feel this or not?), Communication (don’t accuse communicate back and forth). Kiss and make up or Kick them out (decide to make up and let it go or realize they are intentionally trying to hurt you and they need to go)” – Carla Feagan
Carla Feagan is the Author of the Amazon Best Selling Book, A Life Worth Living; The Journey of an Authentic Soul. She has over 20 years of research to help overcome her own traumatic childhood and now uses that to help others do the same. In 2015, she adventured on her own year-long “Eat, Pray, Love” journey to twenty-one countries where she returned empowered to live the life she wants. Carla now currently lives and works from Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
6. Brain Hack: Take Charge:
What sets the successful apart is the fact that they are able to tackle their problems head-on, while most people wait for the repercussions of the issue to arise first. This brain hack stresses the importance of embracing the problems that you may face in order to allow the chance to greatly influence the world around you, rather than allowing the world to influence you and your ideas.
“Looking for the cause of a problem and tackling it directly rather just reacting to a symptom of the problem.” – Sara Sherman
With nearly 25 years of single momming under her belt, Sara Sherman knows exactly how hard it is to raise kids alone as a working parent. As the Author of The Single Mom’s Guide to Getting a Degree, she provides single moms with the step-by-step know-how they need in order to create a powerful life based on the priorities they choose for themselves and their children.
7. Brain Hack: Stay Authentic
It is easy to get carried away with the ideas of others, rather than following the path of your true desires. It is also simultaneously easy to get carried away with thoughts of what could be, rather than what is really true in the present moment. This brain hack asks you to focus in on your authentic nature and thoughts for a clear perspective on what you really want.
“You need to check in with your inner sense of rightness, which means listening to your body and your own authenticity, rather than only paying attention to what others may think you should do.” – Ellen Korman Mains, Author, Speaker, and Certified Focusing Guide
Ellen Korman Mains is the author of the award-winning memoir “Buried Rivers: A Spiritual Journey into the Holocaust.” At the age of 19, she began studying with Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and has led meditation retreats in North America and Europe for over three decades. Integrating her life experience as the daughter of Holocaust survivors, she speaks about the cross-section of spirituality and social change, and guides individuals in embodied self-awareness.
8. Brain Hack: Keep a Thick Skin
There are endless amounts of rejection to be faced within any professional setting, and those that are able to effectively move on from it are going to see the most success. This comes from a deep sense of passion to never give up, even when everyone around you is telling you no. Continue to perfect your craft, whatever it may be, and ignore those that doubt you.
“Have a long term mindset and just keep going.” – Rosie J. Pova, Prolific children’s writer, wife, mother, Award-winning author
Rosie J. Pova is a multi-published children’s author and speaker. She’s the award-winning author of If I Weren’t With You (SPORK, an imprint of Clear Fork Publishing, 2017), Hailey Queen Pranking Makes Perfect: The Alien Encounter (SPORK, 2017) and Sarah’s Song (SPORK, Fall 2017). Rosie also works as a Writing Instructor in the Dallas Independent School District through the Writer’s Garret. She loves visiting schools and sharing her journey from Bulgarian immigrant to a published author. She inspires kids to dream big, use their imagination, and treasure stories. Her upcoming book Sunday Rain (Lantana Publishing) will be released in spring 2020. It’s a story that celebrates diversity, the love of books, and new friendships.
9. Brain Hack: Hydration
Many of us underestimate the importance proper hydration plays in our overall physical and mental wellbeing. The worst part is that many of us are chronically dehydrated and we don’t even notice it! This brain hack may be simple, but drink plenty of water so you can actively promote a healthier body and mind.
“Drinking more water is good for your body and brain” – Cathryn Castle Garcia, Co-owner of C2G2 Productions.com
Cathryn Castle Garcia is a professional scuba diver and co-owner of C2G2Productions.com, specializing in underwater and wildlife film production, photography, content creation and publishing. Her and her husband’s first book, Ocean Metaphor: Unexpected Life Lessons from the Sea is now available in select retail outlets and on Amazon.com.
10. Brain Hack: Follow Your Calling
It is important to uncover what we really want out of a career or passion, and this process often takes a solid amount of time. This brain hack encourages you to not rush yourself into a project that might not align with your deepest inner callings or instincts. Take the time that is necessary to determine these true feelings, and then act immediately once you have uncovered them.
“We need to overcome our fears and follow our calling.” – Suzanne Wexler, Lifestyle and Culture Expert, and Journalist.
Suzanne Wexler provides stylish and upbeat TV segments, and has been broadcasted on over 200 radio stations throughout the US and Canada. She has been quoted in Reader’s Digest, Goodhousekeeping.com, and Prevention Magazine. Suzanne has written for the Huffington Post, National Post, Montreal Gazette, and Bust.com. Her upcoming book of humor essays called Desperately Seeking Fabulous features non-fiction coming-of-age stories about her life, and is geared towards Millennials who may be experiencing an extended adolescence.
