BRAIN TRAIN

Helping the mind achieve specific results
BY Archana Law

Setting a goal is one thing but achieving a transformative result is something else – entirely! According to author Douglas Vermeeren, of the 20 percent of people who set goals about 70 percent fail to achieve them.

Nearly everyone wants their results to improve significantly and make a huge impact. However, in the pursuit of growth, most look outside themselves for answers, making the process much more complex than it needs to be.

So is there an art to goal management?

BLENDING Timothy Gallwey introduced the concept of the ‘inner game’ in his influential book titled The Inner Game of Tennis (1974), where the core message is that the greatest obstacle to success is often internal rather than external.

This approach has since extended beyond sports, influencing coaching, leadership and personal development. By understanding and mastering these inner challenges – or the ‘inner game’ – people can unlock greater potential, focus and effectiveness.

Though the outer game of accomplishments, performance and results typically dominates our conscious awareness, the inner game is where the real action takes place. Our belief systems, and mental and emotional frameworks, define our worldview – and they determine our approach to life.

The two games unfold simultaneously and influence each other.

ALIGNING Your body has an operating system similar to that of a computer, whereby some functions are pre-programmed and controlled by the subconscious mind while other actions – such as choosing what to eat or wear – are consciously controlled.

Whenever we see, hear, feel, smell or taste an event or experience, it is stored in our minds as pictures, sounds, sensations, smells and tastes – much like a recording or movie. Later, when we are reminded of that event or a similar situation, we draw on our internal representation of the world as part of our library of refe­rences. Repeated use of the same reference shapes our beliefs, perspective and outlook.

Once a habit is ingrained in your subconscious, it is on autopilot like all the other programmes you have created in your life. Rewiring behaviour that’s rooted in the subconscious calls for a serious and conscious effort.

REWIRING The subconscious mind can’t reject a command or habit that’s been impressed upon it; it simply carries out orders.

Epigenetics researcher Dr. Joe Dispenza explains that repeated thought patterns create habitual neural pathways, leading to a ‘predictable future’ based on past behaviour. He adds that the brain can reorganise itself by forming new connections, breaking old patterns, and introducing thoughts and beliefs to support new outcomes.

Though the brain has the ability to learn and grow with age due to brain plasticity, it has to be trained regularly. Repetition and emotional conviction can impress new beliefs upon the subconscious to align every cell with these beliefs.

CONTROLLING A key element of the inner game is learning to reduce the mental chatter that leads to doubts, judgements and negative self-talk, which sabotage performance.

Practices like non-attachment, relaxation techniques, deep breathing, over analysis and self-compassion will help manage anxiety and build confidence. Focussing on things you’re grateful for and have accomplished creates confidence and motivation.

VISUALISING Picturing a desired outcome with emotion can trick the brain into experiencing the result as if it has already happened.

Since it doesn’t differentiate between real experiences and vividly imagined encounters, visualising yourself as being already successful, healthy or happy leads to behaviourial changes that align with these outcomes.

This technique works by activating the brain’s reticular activating system (RAS) – a network that filters information and prioritises what we focus on. By consistently visualising success, RAS directs focus and attention towards resources, people and opportunities that support achieving those goals.

TRANSFORMING People are often addicted to negative emotions such as stress, anger or guilt, which trigger neurochemical reactions in the body, leading to a habitual cycle of predictable thoughts and reactions.

Mindfulness teaches individuals to be aware of these habitual emotional reactions and replace them with more empowering emotions such as gratitude, joy or compassion. This shift can alter the brain’s chemistry and lead to more positive life outcomes.

MEDITATING Specific meditation techniques help people enter different brainwave states (alpha, theta, gamma), which enable deeper brain reprogramming.

For instance, theta waves are linked to relaxation and creativity, while gamma waves are associated with heightened awareness and insight. Meditation enables the brain to unlearn old thought patterns and adopt new ones.