Say Yes To Saying No To Saying Yes To Drugs !!!!……….???????????
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 16
The Simple Complexity of the Brain
Just like the title at the top, things that are simple can be so overly complicated and confusing….such as the frontal lobe, cortex, amygdala; you got it the human brain.
Just think about the marathon runner that is completely going all out for 3hrs plus without stopping. I have run a few half marathons and with decent times ( I think ha ha ) and I don’t stop at the water stations as I am stubborn. I am not trying to win but I have a relentless no quit attitude during things like this. You get to a point and for me it was about the last three kilometres and after running for 2 plus hours your body is saying quit, your lungs can’t hold air, and your heart needs a break but there is that certain high that comes from saying I am almost there; I can take just a little bit more. Once over the finish line you roll around in the grass and come back down to earth telling yourself that you could not have done twenty more metres…this was it…Thank God it’s over…..but I could have done another kilometre if the volunteers slowly pulled back the finish line without me knowing it.
While we are at it we can admit that we are all aware of the witnessed events where a person that couldn’t bench press the weight bar without plates on it, had lifted a 2 ton vehicle off of the leg or arm of a child at an accident scene. You see, under normal circumstances a manoeuvre like this. unless practised by a hardened weight lifter would never happen. In the scenario above and like others it happens all the time. Why?
Well there is a chemical in the brain called adrenaline and it basically is produced during fight or flight situations and increases blood flow to the muscles. Think of the marathon runner I wrote of earlier and the phrase we often here….”I’m running off of adrenaline”.
Now the brain isn’t just complex and simple by helping you physically, it is also that way mentally. Think about when you are having a really bad day and things are looking bleak. All it takes is a couple of positive words of encouragement, maybe a good laugh and things suddenly seem possible when moments ago they were dire. Trust me I know this first hand.
Sleep, proper nutrition and exercise is also something that tells the brain that things are good. How many times have we been depleted mentally as per stress, work, or relationship blues and the more stressed we are, the more we think, and the more we see nothing but dark clouds; during this time our sleep is crippled. Once we get that one good solid cycle of 8 hours; suddenly the impossible is possible. Yes, the brain needs its’ nourishment to repair.
Why This Topic Today ?
Well for whatever reason I have been feeling lethargic over the last couple of days. I am not depressed or anything like that; I just don’t seem to have the jump to even venture outside for a nice walk and some exercise. I had been journaling it for a couple of days and adding it to my list but for whatever reason I couldn’t flick the switch.
Anyway, my brain is what got in the way. I read a great book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and he calls this Resistance. My mind wanted to go for the walk, my body was in good condition, but my brain produced resistance that stood in its’ way. I have always known that once you start your dreaded chore like this you will feel better and lose this awful chemically like substance; but you had to get over the hurdle of starting/resistance first.
Well I am happy to report that last night I overcame my adversary and put on my black dress shoes (yeah you read that right) and took that 25 minute walk. Within 2 minutes of leaving the house I felt great. The wind was nice and cool, the scenery down at the marina was inspiring with its’ dark angry clouds over the lake and the serotonin and dopamine levels shot up like a rocket. The brain was both the winner and loser in this equation. It won the battle at the beginning but lost the war in the end.
We could go on in depth regarding the brain; it even cures disease as per concentration, meditation, and positive thinking but we can save that for another day…..my brain hurts.
My Brain Thought Up This Invention (patent pending)
This miracle invention is designed for those that have a hard time getting up in the morning. They are the ones that don’t go to bed on time but have to be at the office by 9. When it is signalled at 7am the rubber fists that are on springs in the base of the mattress get charged with electricity and up and down they go until you get up to turn activator off which is in another room. When Feldman (Bizarro Kramer) stole my idea about the alarm clock that told you the weather when it goes off I knew I had to get back to the drawing board. Anyway I am just waiting for the patent to clear and when it does you can order yours directly from me. By the way; I call it the Punch the F**k UP !
this weekend…Barry Elliott interview, Soo Greyhounds Report and more………………….
