I wasn’t sure how I was going to write about this; or IF I was going to write about it, but here goes.
There have been a few instances over the past several months, where I awake early in the morning (before I have to get up) with a melancholy feeling, bordering on depression. I can’t really pinpoint the reason, it doesn’t follow any pattern that I know of, but the feeling is very unpleasant. Maybe it’s the stress of running a small business, maybe it seems as though the world is in a downward spiral, maybe it’s because I’m getting older and feel my best days are behind me, but whatever the reason, real or imaginary, I don’t like it. Starting the day off with exercise seems less than exciting and more like a chore, and I’m not particularly fond of chores. After battling with myself for a few minutes, I do push myself out the door, and in a very short time, a remarkable reversal in mood and attitude occurs. I feel like a piano has been lifted off of my back, like a cloud over my head has passed. I feel like everything I do is worthwhile, I have hope, my focus and memory sharpen, my stress drops, and I charge ahead with the day. The neat thing is; it happens every time. I call it ‘food for my brain’ and I think it’s the best drug ever.
Recent research has found that the brain is not ‘hard-wired’ like porcelain, but more like Playdough; scientists call it plasticity, and exercise and the brain is all the rage in neuroscience right now. You CAN rewire your brain for the better. Maybe mine will eventually be rewired enough so that I won’t have those occasional mornings…….
Stay well, John R Blilie, M.S.