The Mental Gym
Case Study
Kelly’s a wedding planner who kept asking me,
“Why do you make me do the hard stuff in our sessions? Isn’t the goal to make work easier?”
At first, she resisted doing the work
But then, she saw what that hard work actually did for her.
She realized it was like going to the gym for her brain.
Suddenly, she wasn’t just okay with it; she wanted more.
Thinking Skills
While you are doing any task, you (without even realizing it!) are using your 28 thinking skills.
When the thinking skills you need to use are strong, doing the task happens easily.
If the thinking skill you need to use is weak, doing the task will be a challenge.
The struggle that Kelly had, came from a weak thinking skill of Perseverance.
Perseverance
Perseverance is the thinking skill that helps you push through when your brain wants to quit or take the easy way out.
It’s the mental stamina to keep going even when the work feels hard or uncomfortable.
The Mental Gym
Kelly struggled with perseverance because she naturally wanted to avoid difficult tasks, if there’s an easier way, shouldn’t we do it in that way?
The thing is, avoiding hard work doesn’t make it easier next time.
It actually keeps your brain in the same place, making challenges feel just as hard each time.
In our sessions, I purposely make Kelly do the hard stuff.
Why? Just like going to the gym strengthens your muscles, doing the challenging mental work grows and strengthens your brain’s perseverance skills.
When you push your brain to work harder in controlled, purposeful ways, it builds new neural pathways and makes those hard moments feel easier in real life.
Improving Perseverance
Here are 3 ways you can practice perseverance yourself:
1) Choose small, manageable challenges.
Start with tasks that are just outside your comfort zone but still doable.
This is like lifting a weight that’s heavy enough to build muscle but not so heavy it causes injury.
2) Set an hour or two a week where you purposely to do hard things.
This can be learning a new language, a new skill or just doing a task you always do in a harder way.
3) Reflect after the challenge.
Take a moment to journal or think about how it felt to push through.
What did you notice? What got easier? What helped you able to do it?
This will help your brain understand even better what you did and apply it to more situations.
Your Challenge
The best way to keep your brain young is to do new and challenging things.
Your challenge this week is find a way to purposely challenge yourself.
It can be a new skill, a new class or even doing something you’ve always done in a new way.
Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
ST Rappaport, Brain Engineer for ADHDish Business Owners
Hi, I'm ST,
Just like you, I want to get more done in less time.
Most business owners want to grow their business but already got a lot of stress.
At LifePix University we help you optimize your brain to become more efficient and effective while experiencing more inner peace.
Learn more here.
Your Essential Guide
to Cognitive Functions
This guide will give you all you need to start improving your cognitive functions. Learn what all 28 thinking skills are, how they apply to you and what you can do today to begin improving them.
Thinking Skills Assessment
Thinking is not one big thing. Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
Take the FREE assessment to see where each of your cognitive functions are currently at.
How much are your
Thinking skills costing you?
This calculator will figure it out for you in less then 5 minutes.
The Mental Gym
Case Study
Kelly’s a wedding planner who kept asking me,
“Why do you make me do the hard stuff in our sessions? Isn’t the goal to make work easier?”
At first, she resisted doing the work
But then, she saw what that hard work actually did for her.
She realized it was like going to the gym for her brain.
Suddenly, she wasn’t just okay with it; she wanted more.
Thinking Skills
While you are doing any task, you (without even realizing it!) are using your 28 thinking skills.
When the thinking skills you need to use are strong, doing the task happens easily.
If the thinking skill you need to use is weak, doing the task will be a challenge.
The struggle that Kelly had, came from a weak thinking skill of Perseverance.
Perseverance
Perseverance is the thinking skill that helps you push through when your brain wants to quit or take the easy way out.
It’s the mental stamina to keep going even when the work feels hard or uncomfortable.
The Mental Gym
Kelly struggled with perseverance because she naturally wanted to avoid difficult tasks, if there’s an easier way, shouldn’t we do it in that way?
The thing is, avoiding hard work doesn’t make it easier next time.
It actually keeps your brain in the same place, making challenges feel just as hard each time.
In our sessions, I purposely make Kelly do the hard stuff.
Why? Just like going to the gym strengthens your muscles, doing the challenging mental work grows and strengthens your brain’s perseverance skills.
When you push your brain to work harder in controlled, purposeful ways, it builds new neural pathways and makes those hard moments feel easier in real life.
Improving Perseverance
Here are 3 ways you can practice perseverance yourself:
1) Choose small, manageable challenges.
Start with tasks that are just outside your comfort zone but still doable.
This is like lifting a weight that’s heavy enough to build muscle but not so heavy it causes injury.
2) Set an hour or two a week where you purposely to do hard things.
This can be learning a new language, a new skill or just doing a task you always do in a harder way.
3) Reflect after the challenge.
Take a moment to journal or think about how it felt to push through.
What did you notice? What got easier? What helped you able to do it?
This will help your brain understand even better what you did and apply it to more situations.
Your Challenge
The best way to keep your brain young is to do new and challenging things.
Your challenge this week is find a way to purposely challenge yourself.
It can be a new skill, a new class or even doing something you’ve always done in a new way.
Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
ST Rappaport, Brain Engineer for ADHDish Business Owners
Hi, I'm ST,
Just like you, I want to be more efficient and effective.
Most entrepreneurs want to grow their business but already got a lot of stress.
At LifePix University we help you rewire your brain to become more efficient and effective while experiencing more inner peace.
Learn more here.
Your Essential Guide
to Cognitive Functions
This guide will give you all you need to start improving your cognitive functions. Learn what all 28 thinking skills are, how they apply to you and what you can do today to begin improving them.
Cognitive Functions Assessment
Thinking is not one big thing. Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
Take the FREE assessment to see where each of your cognitive functions are currently at.
How much are your thinking skills costing you?
Find out by using this calculator (for free!)
