• The brain stem which comprises of the spinal cord and connects the brain to the rest of your body and regulates physiological processes such as respiration and heart rate.
• The limbic area which help regulate emotions (amygdala)  and works with other features of the brain to create various forms of memory (hippocampus).

• The cortex which includes the prefrontal cortex this allows you to think and reflect. It also lets you to manage and regulate your emotions, desires and impulses. This is also where your mind develops awareness and subjective experiences.

WHY YOU PROCRASTINATE

If you find yourself having big ideas but you tend to spend your time doing senseless tasks instead of implementing your ideas, then it may be time for you to confront your emotions. That’s right, procrastination isn’t a time management problem, it’s more of a challenge with you regulating your emotions. You may actually be worried about failure, or your mind may take you on a trip down memory lane back to an experience where you may have not done as well as you

expected on a project or task. Some behaviours that you may exhibit are:

• Rumination being fixated on certain aspects of your life.
• Comparison, scrolling your social media feeds
• Engaging with activities that drive your impulses and give you momentary pleasure such as playing games.

GROWTH MINDSET VERSUS FIXED MINSET

A fixed mindset is going with the status quo or not being able to site a reason for change. It’s the type of mindset in which you may be less fluid and more rigid in your way of thinking. Growth mindset is creating opportunities for success, it’s the ability to see the big picture in bringing about a positive change. It’s also your level of health and happiness that bring attention to you.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE YOUR FIXED MINDSET

You can begin to raise your awareness and combat your fixed mindset by:

• Catching yourself when your mind gets into a negative loop of doubt and worry. When this happens, nurture your thoughts, reflect as to why you have developed a fear-based way of thinking at any moment and tell yourself that you are in a different place. It’s time to flow forward.
• Being aware of your level of happiness. If you aren’t entirely happy with certain aspects of your life; write out why you may not be happy and list some things that you would like to change.
• Recognizing negative experiences that you keep attracting. What attitudes, behaviours and thoughts might need to transform?

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AFFECTS OF  WORRY-FILLED THINKING

Many times when you fill yourself up with worries, doubts, and fears; it comes from your level of subjective awareness. This means that you may not be totally aware of how well you are actually doing because you may slip into self-criticism. What happens is that your mind begins to scan its memory bank for similar situations you’ve experienced that may have had an undesirable outcome and you start to associate your past experiences with your present moment. Your body also begins to feel the physiological affects of your thinking:

• Muscles tensing up – your shoulder and leg muscles may tighten up preparing itself for some type of threatening situation.
• Tight jaw muscles and headaches will come on which will bring on moment of unrest
• Increased heart rate/elevated blood pressure can bring on potential panic attacks.
• Shallow breathing is a common symptom of anxiety.
• Increased or decreased intestinal and/or bladder activity – your body may begin to secrete certain chemicals or hormones that can affect your digestive organs.

Your mind can’t distinguish between your actual reality and your imagination or your past thoughts. Therefore, it’s important for you to be aware of your thoughts that don’t accurately represent your present moment.

YOUR MOOD ALSO  GETS AFFECTED

Yes! Even though your present reality may be so much better than your past; when you begin to worry about an outcome that hasn’t occurred yet your mood will undergo a subtle change.

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