Episode 4: Practice Changes the Brain

How Repetition Rewires Your Reality

"What you practice, you become."

Episode 4 dives into the science of neuroplasticity and how consistent attention — not willpower — shapes your identity.
Dr. Gelbart introduces key brain-based concepts to help you build the life you want by practicing the thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that align with your deeper values.

How to train your brain.

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🧠 Created by Dr. Jerry Gelbart | © 2025 All rights reserved

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
be practical as well as generous in your ideals keep
your eyes on the stars butremember to keep your feet on
the ground Theodore Roosevelthere's an example the simple but
powerful new concept that canstart you off most the time when
we feel an impulse or emotion wedon't have to do anything we

(00:25):
almost always have time to holdback our reaction what we say or
do and give ourselves extra timeto process what's happening
before we act.
As I become older andtheoretically wiser, I can't
tell you how often I found thatkeeping my mouth shut or not
lashing out when I feel like ithas led to the better outcome.

(00:46):
Emotions are there to grab us,to suddenly hijack our mind and
our body and set us into motionwithout having to think.
Anger is there to mobilize us toattack.
Fear is there to help us defend.
Love is to help us connect withothers and to regenerate our
species.
The sudden hijacking of our mindand body is usually quick and

(01:07):
strong, and if you don't act onit, it sets up a physical
struggle inside.
You can learn to win thatstruggle as you listen further.
Mind gem number three.
Next time you get hijacked by animpulse to act, consider if you
can give yourself time to thinkabout how to respond to it.
Usually you can.

(01:28):
An impulse can suddenly try toyank us out of the pilot's seat.
It's like an alarm.
Sometimes it's the real thing,but it may also be a false
alarm, and reacting withoutthinking can be disastrous.
Emotions can be sudden, but theycan also build, and we can find
ourselves being swallowed up bythem before we realize it.
We may not even be aware thatwe've left the pilot's seat.

(01:50):
We can get lost in our emotionalmind.
Mindfulness will teach you tofind the driver's seat and stay
in it.
If you hear alarms, strongemotions, and think you have to
act immediately, gem numberthree reminds you to process
what's going on before acting.

(02:13):
I think you should take your jobseriously but not yourself.
That is the best combination.
Judy Dench If your mind is inthe past, thinking about your
mistakes, blaming yourself orothers, feeling resentful about
things, then you're not in thepilot seat.
If you're worrying abouttomorrow, then you're not in the

(02:33):
pilot seat.
If you're judging yourself,wondering if you're good enough
for the job, then you are not inthe pilot seat.
When you notice yourselfslipping out of the pilot seat,
simply remind yourself to getback in.
One way to do that is to remindyourself to be present, take a
slow deep breath, focus on yourchest, on the physical

(02:55):
sensations of the air going inand then as you exhale focusing
your attention on the sensationsof the air coming out.
This brings you physically andmentally into the present from
wherever you are.
Each time you notice yourselfleaving the pilot's seat and
nudge yourself back in, you'repracticing mindfulness.

(03:16):
Now that we're starting to workon staying in the driver's seat,
we can begin to look at thecontrol panel.
reading our emotions properlyand responding in healthy ways
can help us navigate aroundobstacles and reach beyond our
dreams trick is we can alwaystrust the instruments sometimes
when alarm goes off it's a falsealarm doing something drastic

(03:38):
might get us in trouble that ishow it is with our feelings and
impulses so we have tounderstand what can get in the
way how beliefs we formed inchildhood distort and stick how
what we think we know And whatwe don't know we don't know can
blur our view.
Let's go back to our threeimportant questions.

(03:59):
P-A-E-J-O.
Are my perceptions accurate?
Emotions justified?
What are the possible outcomes?
Perceptions accurate?
Emotions justified?
Possible outcomes?
I try to remember it as theconsequence guy, Joe, waiting to
be paid if I don't carefullyconsider the outcomes of my

(04:21):
actions and reactions.
Pay Joe.
Let's talk about consequences.
We want to move away from blame,whether it's blaming others or
blaming ourself.
Instead, the healthier, moreeffective model is that there
are consequences to our actions,and we must accept them, learn,
and modify our behavior.
So accept that we are lifetimestudents.

(04:43):
Blaming and kicking ourselves,or others, only distracts from
the learning process by addinghurt, shame, anger, and other
negative emotions on top of theoriginal mistake.
We can't change other people whotend to kick themselves or
people around them, but we canchoose for ourselves to get out
of that kind of obsessing andabuse of ourselves and of
others.

(05:04):
Getting rid of blame from yourlife is related to living
non-judgmentally.
You'll see that this is also thekey to dealing with self-esteem
problems.
Mind gem number four.
Blame is a distraction.
And 4A, make a mistake, make acorrection.