Episode 002 – Mindset 2.0: Going Beyond Self Awareness to Rewire Your Brain & Re-engineer Your Reality

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Note: This blog post serves as an accompaniment to the corresponding podcast episode of A Changed Mind, where we’ll distill down the core ideas of this week’s theme, along with additional distinctions and insights. If you haven’t listened to the episode yet, you can go here to do so.  Enjoy.

In Episode 002 of A Changed Mind, we begin to tackle a common issue that so many people in our community and the world of personal development face: they feel stuck. 

Maybe that’s your experience in your “self help”  journey too.  You’ve read books, attended events, and absorbed the concepts.  You’ve jumped up and down, you’ve changed your state, you’ve tried to tell yourself different stories, you’ve drank the kool-aid of motivation and (temporary) inspiration.  And maybe you’ve even seen some improvements from doing all of this.  

But the promise of personal growth remains elusive. 

That’s the essence of what I call Personal Development 1.0.  It’s a broken model full of empty platitudes that don’t bring about REAL change.  And that’s why stress, anxiety, relationship challenges, health issues, financial instability, lack of purpose, and business struggles remain constants in your life.

It’s frustrating….but there is good news.  We’re entering a new phase in human evolution and we now have access to the tools and technologies required to actually integrate the “knowledge” and principles of personal development into the very core of our being.  In other words:

We’re moving from KNOWING about personal development to EMBODYING it every day.

So in this blog post (as in Episode 002 of A Changed Mind), we’re going to explore what’s required to bridge that gap in a practical way – a way that creates REAL, permanent brain change and, by extension, allows you to experience profound transformation in your life. 

Defining Personal Growth – What Is It?  What Isn’t It?

Personal growth encompasses various dimensions and there’s no one-size-fits-all blanket definition.  Everyone is on their own growth journey, but there are many parallels that draw people into this adventure to begin with.  It typically starts by taking the time to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and our early experiences, including childhood traumas and limiting beliefs that get programmed into our subconscious and shape our worldview at an early age. 

By developing this self-awareness and an understanding of why we think the way we do, what we believe, how it impacts our lives, and where all of this comes from, we can begin to address the feelings of inadequacy, stress, anxiety, and overwhelm that aren’t serving the self-identity we do want. 

Now, where Personal Development 1.0 focuses more on motivation and inspiration and positive thinking – Personal Development 2.0 recognizes that true lasting change comes from rewiring the parts of the brain that are creating stressful and negative emotions. It recognizes that no amount of hustle and grind or success can truly make you happy. Happiness comes from a retraining of your nervous system – moving away from the fight or flight reactions that most of us are living in day in and day out – and retraining ourselves into the parasympathetic or rest and relaxation state of being. This is where your true personal power is. This is what real transformation is. 

Watching motivational videos, listening to inspirational speakers, and buying into the “hustle & grind” culture of more, more, more is where self help has been – but it doesn’t work very long.  You can get all the dopamine hits in the world from watching uplifting YouTube videos…but nothing really changes.  If anything, this outdated and distorted version of Personal Development often causes even more feelings of inadequacy and other adverse effects.

Personal Development 2.0 isn’t just about the neuroscience of changing your brain. It’s also about learning how to connect more deeply to your spirituality – and recognizing that everything is “consciousness”.  Whether you want to call it God, Jesus, Allah, the universe, or the unified field, this omnipresent force connects everything and everyone.  So in many ways, personal growth involves learning how to connect directly to this great body of collective intelligence or higher power – and accepting that the healing of your traumas, overcoming of your resistances, and elimination of your limiting beliefs isn’t something you do alone.  It requires a connection and trust in a power greater than yourself.

I’m Self-Aware…Now What?

My own journey into personal development began with 12-step recovery.  Going through that process made it clear to me that overcoming my addictions required addressing the underlying thoughts and emotional patterns causing my pain.  In it’s own way, the traditional 12-step model of recovery is a crash course in personal growth.  

The key realization I had in going through the process was that knowing the information was only the first step.  If I really wanted to change my behavior and perceptions about myself (and life in general), I had to embody and integrate the tenants that recovery had taught me – things like limiting beliefs, surrender, self-worth, and decision making – into my daily life.

A big part of recovery is relinquishing control to a power greater than oneself.  And what’s interesting is that as I went down the rabbit hole of some of the great religious texts, I recognized that even some of the great spiritual and philosophical teachers have struggled with this embodiment aspect of personal growth. It’s one thing to teach calmness, faith, and trust, but it’s another to truly embody and resonate those qualities in one’s own life. 

If we examine the teachings of Jesus, Muhammad, or even Buddah, we can see that they offer guidance on becoming a greater version of oneself, connecting with consciousness, and flowing with the intelligence of life. This message is echoed in Eastern teachings, the New Thought movement, and various modernized religious doctrines – they all convey that we can attain the greatness (even Enlightenment) of these spiritual teachers and that there is a higher power caring for us moment by moment.

But the path isn’t always clear.  The words might sound good, but the application is less apparent.  Change isn’t always easy.  Challenges lead to struggle, struggle leads to exhaustion.  So we embark on this journey of personal evolution, but get lost along the way.  In addiction recovery, we call it hitting your rock bottom.  When you’re here, there’s no where to go but up.  Here, one becomes open to receiving something different…to relinquishing control. This was a pivotal point in my personal journey, as it is for many others.

Even as a teacher myself, I initially succumbed to the ego-driven desire for recognition, a thriving business, and saying all the right things – even if I wasn’t necessarily living them.  Admittedly, I too was influenced by the prevailing narrative of “hustle and grind” culture and many of the shortcomings of Personal Development 1.0. 

However, the deeper I dove, the more I read, studied, practiced, and shared what I’d learned, I realized that a new resonance was emerging – one that is more elegant and graceful. It integrates Spirit, God, or the universe and I realized that true personal growth isn’t about me – it’s about my connection with everything and everyone else and being present enough to experience that connection.  It’s less about striving, pushing, and grinding, and more about collaboration – with Spirit, with others, and with the co-creative force at work.

The Key Distinction That Unlocks REAL Change 

I’ve come to understand that the first step to actually embodying the tenants of personal growth is to accept that there are only two states of being.  At any given moment in time, you’re either operating from a powerful state or a primal one.  

Powerful states, which we can identify when we’re feeling joy, peace, creativity, curiosity, and energy are connected to the parasympathetic nervous system – aka “rest & relaxation”.  Primal states show up as stress, anxiety, anger, and overwhelm and are associated with the sympathetic nervous system – aka “fight or flight”.

In a powerful state, we align with our authentic selves, we access spirit, intuition, creativity, higher intelligence, and empathy.  We feel more confident, passionate, purpose-driven, even selfless. Primal states on the other hand, limit our access to these qualities, keeping us reactive and governed by automatic fear-based responses.  We feel restless, helpless, confused, scared, and self-serving.

Now, if we want to enhance our relationships, create financial success,  experience business growth, reduce anxiety, or find purpose in a chaotic world, it is crucial to notice when we enter a primal state and use the tools available to us to shift back into a powerful state.  It takes practice, but it’s completely attainable.  

With every episode of A Changed Mind, I’ll be introducing you and helping you to equip yourself with those tools, frameworks, and methods.

Interested in the system that’s equipped thousands of individuals shift from primal to powerful states on command?  If you haven’t already, check out our free Mind Hack ebook here.

The 3 Stages of Personal Growth – From Knowing To Doing To Embodying 

Speaking of practice, personal growth typically unfolds in three stages.  In the first stage, we acquire information and attend events that make us feel good temporarily.  We become self-aware and learn about our limiting beliefs, resistances, and traumas – but that’s about as far as it goes.  The “gurus” will leave you to your own devices to make any tangible changes to your thoughts, beliefs, and habits.  That, or they’ll advise brute force methods of “change” – exercise more, read more, do more affirmations.  More, more more.  The result? Old patterns of thinking, habits, and emotions persist. 

The second stage involves engaging in daily practices and actively applying the tools learned in real-life situations.  It’s going from apprentice to journeyman.  This requires embracing the contrasts – feeling good sometimes and worse at others – and recognizing that no matter where you are in your journey, as long as you’ve adopted a growth mindset and you’re doing something to live a more powerful, purposeful, meaningful life, everything is working in your favor and contributing to your growth.

The third stage is where the practice becomes automatic and integrated into our being. It’s when you no longer have to consciously “do the work” because it flows effortlessly. In this stage, we transcend our perceptions and learn to use different aspects of ourselves consciously. It is an exciting phase where we embody a higher level of being that the great teachers have spoken of.

So yes, to achieve this Stage 3 level of personal growth, practice is essential. So is engaging with a community or fellowship that provides support and accelerates the process.  Because as both our individual and collective consciousness continues to evolve, collaboration and collective growth become paramount.

My Challenge To You = Treat Your Mindset Like Your Life Depends On It (…because it does)

By mastering your mindset and committing yourself to your personal evolution, you truly can reengineer your reality and rewire your brain to create a more joyful, meaningful, and abundant life. 

Just remember, the path of personal growth is not about relying solely on information or temporary state changes but about integrating and embodying the teachings. It is about engaging with life, transforming triggers into opportunities for growth, and cultivating a practice that becomes automatic. This evolution of personal growth opens the door to achieving our full potential and experiencing life as a collaborative, co-creative journey with spirit, ourselves, and others.

We are currently experiencing a time of great uncertainty and shifting systems. Amidst the clashes and disagreements in the world, there is a pocket of humanity emerging, able to stand unshaken and certain of their power as creators connected to a greater force – a higher level of consciousness available to all of us.

Embracing personal growth as a daily priority and committing to its practices allows us to solidify the truth that regardless of external circumstances, we will be okay. By immersing ourselves in this journey of growth and evolution, we become leaders in the advancement of humanity. It’s equally daunting and exciting. But I truly believe – and I invite you into the fold to accept – that there is certainty of the goodness of the future.