Everyone Has a To-Do List. Do You Have a To-Be List? | Emily McDonald

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0:26How important is it to make sure your nervous system is in alignment with what you think and believe within your brain in order to manifest what you want in life?

0:37Emily McDonald:I think it is the most important thing. I truly think it's the most important thing. I mean, when I think of your nervous system being in alignment with what you want, I think of your thoughts, your beliefs, but not only that but also your habits and the way that you show up in the world because your brain doesn't just listen to your thoughts it also listens to who you're being right and that's such a key player and something that I love talking about is identity because you know your identity is your destiny in this life and I love talking about that and it's so huge I mean every single time I shift my identity my reality shifts like pretty quickly and so that's because your brain holds a model of who you are right in the default mode network there's a key component in that but your brain holds a model of who you are and then it uses that model to predict your thoughts feelings behaviors and choices without your conscious awareness so a lot of the time we think we're choosing but really it's our identity and our nervous system that's choosing for us and they've shown that in studies that a lot of time the neural representation of the choice that you've made shows up in a brain scan before you're even consciously aware of the choice that you're making.

1:42Emily McDonald:And so that really is the importance of making sure your nervous system is in alignment with where you're trying to go. Because if it's not, then you're going to have those moments where you're like, why did I not do the thing I know I should be doing? Why did I make that choice? Or maybe you don't even know what to choose or you're confused or you're feeling stuck, you're lacking motivation and getting your nervous system into alignment really is the first step. Interesting. So would you say that our nervous system is actually making decisions for us rather than what we truly want or desire? That happens a lot of the time without our awareness.

2:15Emily McDonald:Our brain is making choices for us. And when I think of the brain, that's a part of the nervous system. So they all kind of work hand in hand, right? Like the brain is a part of the central nervous system. We've got the peripheral nervous system as well. So these two work hand in hand. But I think that, you know, through processes like meditation and practicing mindfulness meditation, we can start to become aware of these patterns and build the awareness of them and actually begin to heal these things so that we maybe have more agency over these choices. And in those moments where you're waking up, or maybe, for example, you have this habit of eating unhealthy foods, and you're always doing that.

2:52Emily McDonald:If you're opening up the fridge and you're really hungry and you're really stressed, so your impulse control is not as strong when you're stressed or tired, and you're opening the fridge and there's a dessert or there's a salad, it's like your nervous system, if that's a part of your identity, to always be eating unhealthy foods, then your nervous system probably would subconsciously motivate you to go and eat that dessert or the unhealthy snack or whatever it is. But when you kind of practice mindfulness and you kind of expand that gap where you feel the desire and the motivation, but you can actually kind of override it, that's when you can start to choose differently.

3:24Emily McDonald:And I always say you're always doing one of two things, reinforcing your current reality or creating a new one. And just from the kind of neuroplasticity perspective, right? You're always either strengthening the pathways you've always strengthened in your brain or lighting up new ones and strengthening new pathways in your brain that can then help you build a new reality. So, yeah, I think that we are always kind of being subconsciously motivated and we're always moving in the direction of our focus. We're always moving in the direction of our identity because our identity is our destiny. but so yeah I think to answer your question yes but we do have agency to kind of change what those subconscious motivations and desires are.

4:04Why is it so much harder to create decisions based on a future reality than a current reality? I think it's only harder if you don't have a super clear

4:14Emily McDonald:vision of the future reality and this is where I think practicing the art of I call it identity shifting, but sort of constructing that version of you that has it all, I think is the most important thing. Like everybody has a to-do list, but how many people have a to-be list? Like, do you know who you're being called to become? And I always think, you know, in every great movie or book, there's this hero's journey. It's like, they don't achieve the goal as a version of them who started, they achieve the goal as a version of them they had to become to achieve it. And that was, I mean, in my own journey, in my own life, like I knew if I had this big dream I was gonna have to become a better version of myself and so knowing that if I want to live in a better quote-unquote better reality different reality then I'm going to have to become a different version of myself and I think that can be confusing if you don't know who that version of yourself is but I like to sit down I mean I always take my people that I coach through and even myself through a practice where I visualize that version of me who has it all like who is that version of you who has it all?

5:22Emily McDonald:What are their habits? What's their energy like? What's their mindset like? How do they carry themselves? What do they do every day? What are their beliefs, you know? And I think once you get clear on that, it becomes a lot easier to act as that version of you. So yeah, I think it's only harder if you don't have that super clear picture.

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6:28Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of The Daily Motivation, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to click the link in the description. That will take you to the full episode of our main podcast on the School of Greatness. And if you are loving the daily motivation, please follow us over on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts right now. And if you want more exclusive content and ad-free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcasts right now. And if you want to get even more inspiration from our world-class guests and learn how to improve your life and take it to the next level, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter.

7:18Again, have an amazing day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another episode of The Daily Motivation Show.

7:30Hey, everyone. It's me, Morgan Stewart, and I have a new podcast called The Morgan Stewart Show. Join me each week as I talk about pop culture, fashion, my personal life, and just a warning, I'm going to be giving my opinion on everything. I'll also have some really fun guests to join in on the fun.

7:44Emily McDonald:The Morgan Stewart Show is out now. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts or watch full video on YouTube.