News flash: your brain is lying to you. And no: it’s not your fault! And best of all, there are some simple things you can do today to rewrite whatever clunky, outdated and angry stories your brain might be telling you.

Neuroscience tells us some basic facts about the brain’s left and right halves -- turns out, our right brain processes information - and our left brain simply weaves a story out of them.

An example:
Right brain -  hey my friend is staring at their phone, it looks something important.

Left brain - NOPE. They probably just hate us. We need new friends. No one likes us.

WTF! Yes, your left brain is a storyteller -- and for many of us, those stories suck!

Here’s how we can work the left brain’s lying, often negative thinking, and retell yourself stories grounded in truth. 

First, when you see a negative story come up in your mind -- say, after your boss sends you an email and the story is “I’m getting fired!” -- note of it.

Name it - negativity. And say, I see you!

The more we get used to the practice of noting our stories, our negative thoughts, our off-kilter ideas about ourselves, the faster we can get in the habit of seeing them simply for what they are.

News flash No. 2: your left-brain thoughts are not - I repeat, NOT - you. They are not true - they are simply offering another experience of being alive, a whispering to-do list, or “this is why you suck” list on the wrong days. 

Again - no different than your other senses - tasting good food, hearing birds chirping, hugging a loved one. Those are experiences - same as your left-brain. And all experiences END.

OK, so it’s an experience - how do I shape it so it is giving me something more positive?

Simple. Rewrite your stories. Build a positivity muscle. And start regrooving your brain.

Gratitude lists are a quick beginning. Write down 3 things tonight that you’re grateful for - 
Gratitude is an action. The more we do it, the more we feel it - and the more our left-brain starts to take notice. 

Creating consistently positive actions lead to positive stories - and over time, our left-brain can’t but help assume that everything is OK - or better still, everything is actually pretty awesome.

Newsflash No. 3: our lives are a gift. We didn’t ask to be here, but here we are. That’s why they call it the present!

So today, instead of living with whatever web your left-brain is weaving, get into action.

Practice positivity. Smile. Write your gratitude down - call your crazy parent and tell them you love them. 

Actions beat ideas every day of the week.