Why Our Brains Are Like Puppies - They both need taming & training

Tyson, our dog, is now five years old. He's calm, well-behaved, and easy to have around. This was NOT the situation when he was a puppy!! If you’ve ever had a puppy, you know how fun and lovable they can be . . . and how much trouble they can get into!! There were several times when Tyson was a puppy that we left him alone (with fences to keep him in the kitchen), and he managed to pull something off a counter and destroy it. We worked hard to train him to obey and teach him tricks. This included teaching him that he is NOT the boss and that he needs to listen to us.

It struck me how our brains are very similar to puppies. I’ve learned that without some “training” and guidance, they will find trouble and make our lives more difficult. Without input from us, our brains' survival instinct runs the show. It will focus on past frustrations, anticipate the worst in the future, and find plenty to worry about. Sometimes, it can feel like we’ve lost control and that negative thoughts control us, that we’re not the boss of our brains.

Dr. Marcia Reynolds, the author of Outsmart Your Brain, says, “The brain responds to stimuli long before your capacity for logic, compassion, and discerning thoughts can be formed. Your immediate reactions often produce bad results . . . because the brain is-

• paranoid,
• judgmental,
• rebellious, and
• a master rationalizer”

I always thought that I saw the world as it really was, that I saw my work, other people, and my life as they truly were. But my studies of Positive Psychology have taught me how our thoughts get in the way. They can distort our reality and even block out our ability to see the good in our lives. I never knew that we had the power to train and tame our brains and that we could have more control over our thoughts for a happier and less stressful life.

As you know, it’s NOT easy!! But we can get better at it. That’s what these weekly tips are all about: telling our brains what to do instead of letting them find trouble.

This week, see if you can notice at least five times when your brain’s negative thoughts are causing trouble. Awareness is a big step!

To browse past positivity tips, visit this page.

Tina Hallis, Ph.D., is a professional speaker and founder of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to helping individuals and organizations increase their positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures.