How to Boost Brain Power through the Power of Neuroengineering
In this mind-blowing episode of The Fire Inside Her, host Diane Schroeder delves into the captivating world of neuroengineering with guest ST Rappaport. Prepare to have your mind hacked as Rappaport unveils a game-changing secret that saved her a whopping 10 hours every week! Discover the power of clear perception, the five senses, and how they can be harnessed to process overwhelming information effortlessly. Learn how to train your brain to prioritize, focus, and process information in a clear and organized manner. Uncover the fascinating journey of a neuroengineer who went from overwhelming disorganization to thriving productivity. Get ready to unlock your own hidden potential and soar to new heights in personal and professional growth. This episode will leave you with practical tools and a newfound understanding of thinking skills and their impact on your life. If you’re ready to unlock your true potential and transform your relationship with productivity, this episode of The Fire Inside Her is a must-listen!
ST Rappaport is a brain engineer who works with ADHD entrepreneurs to unleash their potential via Peak Brain Performance. ST assists them in optimizing their ADHD so they can remove overwhelm, get more done in less time, and enjoy growing their business again.
How to connect with ST
www.lifepixuniversity.com/brain
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Transcript
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Diane Schroeder [:Welcome to The Fire Inside Her, the podcast where we explore the incredible stories of individuals who have discovered their inner fire on their journey to authenticity. I'm your host, Diane Schroeder, and I am so grateful that you are here.
Diane Schroeder [:In a world where time is our most precious commodity, our guest today has game changing revelation that could revolutionize the way you harness your brainpower. Get ready to unlock the secrets of ultimate productivity. Today, we dive into the world of neuroengineering with my remarkable guest, ST Rappaport, whose journey began in the 5th grade when she had an epiphany. She realized that to unleash her true potential, she needed to hack her own brain and make it work better. Join us on this conversation through the fascinating realm of brain engineering and uncover the one secret she discovered, a game changer that saved her 10 hours every week.
Diane Schroeder [:It's an episode you're not going to want to miss. It's time to ignite the fire within your own brain as we explore neuroengineering. Alright, guys. Today, I am looking forward to this conversation with ST Rapoport, and we're going to dive into all things related to our brain in a unique way. And I can't wait to dive into the conversation, but I just have to ask a random question first. I would like to know what you are afraid of that most people would think is irrational.
ST Rappaport [:That's a good question. Really good question because, like, for a long time in my life, I considered myself, like, fearless type, and, like, I would just, like, go and do anything. But then, I guess as I matured, then I was like, I don't know if fear actually goes away. But I still think that I don't experience fear, like, I don't have big major fears. I'm not afraid of heights or, like, speaking on stages or things like that. Oh, I have one, a really good one. When at night or even just, like, during the day, like, if I'm walking and there is, like, a creepy person outside, most people will be aware of and, like, walk to the other side. But I, like, actually get afraid, all my senses go into, like, fight or flight type of mode. I'm ready to attack in case something happens. Obviously, thank God nothing ever did. But that is, like, a real fear of mine. When there's someone out there, and I'm there by myself, it is not good.
Diane Schroeder [:I like it. Well and thank you for sharing that. It's good to know that, you know, if approaching you, you are going to go into fight. Not necessarily fight, flight, or freeze, but you're ready to throw down. And I think that's a very important quality to have. Wonderful. Well, let's go ahead and dive in. And I would love for you to tell me and my guests a little bit about procrastination first. We'll start there. And why people procrastinate, and what is that a symptom of a bigger thing?
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. So, like you said, procrastination is a symptom or a sign. We don't procrastinate and eating chocolate or, unless you're like me who doesn't like chocolate. But we tend to procrastinate on the things that we don't like to do or that are a challenge for us to do because our brain is wired for survival and is wired to conserve energy and doesn't like to work hard. So, anytime there is something that is a challenge for your brain, it doesn't want to do it even though it's really good for your brain because it grows your brain, actually. It keeps it young. But your brain doesn't want to do it. So, you are going to procrastinate on doing it because it is a lot easier to binge on Netflix instead of doing that work that you know that you actually have to do that uses brainpower.
ST Rappaport [:Now here's the thing. When you're procrastinating, it is a sign that this task is a challenge for you. But why is it a challenge for you? Why do some people have a much easier time with it? Not that we're trying to compare, but we're trying to understand your brain. Here's the thing. Thinking is made up of 28 thinking skills. Naturally, we all have stronger ones and weaker ones, but those weaker ones are making it a challenge for us to do certain tasks. So, anytime you're procrastinating, it is a sign that one of your thinking skills needed to do those tasks are weak. Does that make sense?
Diane Schroeder [:It absolutely does. But just to make sure I'm hearing you correctly, you are saying that when you're procrastinating, your brain is like, no. Thank you. I don't want to do this. This is hard, and I prefer things to be easy. And it's a sign to you that, okay, this is hard. I've got 28 cognitive skills that help me go through life, and I am stressing the ones that aren't necessarily the stronger ones when I'm procrastinating. And it's like your body's natural way of being like, yeah. Nope. We're just going to keep putting this off.
ST Rappaport [:Exactly. Yeah. And here's the cool part. Because it's a thinking skill that is weak here, when you improve that thinking skill, any task related to it, all of a sudden becomes easy, and then just like chocolate, you don't procrastinate on it anymore. So, instead of trying to find a way to, like, motivate yourself to do it right now, even though sometimes things we need to get done right now. So, like, we need to do it. But we want to think of the long term of our life, then we want to think about, how can I prevent this feeling of procrastination to come up again in the future by actually solving the problem as to why you are procrastinating, by improving that specific thinking skill.
Diane Schroeder [:Okay. I love this so much. So, it's going really below then. First of all, when you procrastinate, it's not because you're lazy. Is that a fair statement?
ST Rappaport [:Exactly. We are not lazy as humans.
Diane Schroeder [:Right? Like, give yourself some grace and know that it's a deeper root. So, give some examples about those 28 skills and how I'm assuming we can learn to use them so that we avoid procrastination. We'll start there.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. Okay. So, a really common one is called clear perception, or when it's weak, it's called blurred perception. We take in information through our 5 senses. Okay? You are listening to this podcast right now, and you are using your sense of hearing, and hopefully, you are not getting overwhelmed, and you're taking it in sentence by sentence, and you are able to process it and understand it. But have you ever walked into a really messy room knowing you need to clean it, but instead of cleaning it, you just go out and close the door? Or maybe you, like, come back from vacation and there's, like, 500 emails that you need to respond to, but you're like, oh my gosh. This is just, like, way too much, so you just procrastinate on answering them?
Diane Schroeder [:Yes. I am guilty of both.
ST Rappaport [:Exactly. That's like when this clear perception, you’re taking in a ton of information at a time, and it is not coming in in a clear and organized way. It's coming into your brain in a really blurred, messy way. And that's where we get really overwhelmed, which causes us to procrastinate. Right? So, as soon as we can take the information in a clear and easy way, it will be a lot easier for us to do those tasks. So, because we take in information through our 5 senses, the way to get better at this is anytime you are, like, finding yourself procrastinate or finding yourself being overwhelmed because there's just way too much information and way too much things happening. You're driving on the highway and someone's in the car talking to you, and there's also, like, the radio on, and there's also, like, trying to look at your phone to, like, figure out, like, where to go when there's just way too much information. You will literally have to look on the road at the same time because they're also going to crash, but there's somebody crying.
ST Rappaport [:And so, what you want to do is, you want to go through the 5 senses and just ask yourself, what do I see and list a bunch of things that you see. What do I hear and list a bunch of things that you hear. And as you're doing this and going through all the 5 senses, then you are forcing your brain to, like, calm down and take the information in one at a time, right, instead of it all just speaking of mush. Now here's the cool part. In the beginning, you have to train yourself to go and do this. But once you do this enough, your brain is going to start doing it naturally. You are literally going to create neuron connections in your brain, and you're going to start noticing that when you walk into messy rooms, it's not overwhelming anymore. Your brain is just scanning really quickly and bringing in all the information in a clear and organized way.
Diane Schroeder [:Oh my gosh. That is such an amazing perspective to share. Because all this time and I'm not just thinking about me. You know? I'm thinking about my son who, you know, sometimes, like, if I overwhelm him with too much information, he, like, shuts down and tells me to pound sand. And it's like, it's over, it's too much sensory overload. And if I'm hearing you correctly, there's a way that we can train our brain, thank God because our brains are just amazing, to process it better so that we can build the muscle to not be overwhelmed. I love that so much. So, now that you've answered my most pressing question first, tell me and my listeners a little bit about you, and how did you become a brain engineer? And what inspired you to get to the place you are today to help other people with their 28 functions.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. So, it actually started back when I was in 5th grade. I was struggling with reading, and I went tons of writing tutors and got pulled out of class tons and my parents were spending tons of money and I wasn't really getting anywhere. So, they're like, okay, it is time to do something else. And so, they brought in Forrester mediators or brain engineers to not do any writing. We, like, did none of the typical things you do when you go to a writing tutor. We worked on these 28 thinking skills. Now by working on how my brain was thinking, automatically, my reading improved. But not just my reading improved. Also, every other area of my life, like socially, academically, my confidence, like, everything just got better. And it was, like, at that age of 5th grade that I knew I wanted to learn this, but I didn't realize it would be my whole life. I just thought it'd be like, I'd learn it, and it'd be cool to, like, know and be able to help other people. So, I started training at 17, and it's a couple years process. But during the process, you're also working with people. So, working with people, helping them. And I took a course one day, a course by Tony Robbins called Rapid Planning Method. That's planning based on your motivation instead of your to do list. I thought that was pretty cool. Like, we always say, like, I have, like, 100 things to do, and our to do lists are really long. He's like, no. No. No. Think about your motivations and, like, your big goals, and based on that, create your plan now. And I did all exercises in the course, and I, like, did everything that he said. But no matter how hard I tried, I could not do what he was teaching us to do because he spoke a lot about planning 6 months, a year ahead, and I couldn't do that. Even though I've always considered myself a planner, I always would plan my day the night before. So, I could think about today, tomorrow. Like, other than that, like, my brain couldn't think. I just couldn't do it. So, I was like, fine. This is really cool, but it's not for me. A few months later, I took another training that worked specifically on the thinking skill of categorizations, and categorizations is a really interesting one.
ST Rappaport [:Sometimes we have, like, a group of items, so let's say a group of marbles, and we split it into smaller groups. We split it out, say, by size or by color. Another way we can categorize is doing the opposite. It's by taking a bunch of random things and putting it together in a group. So, if I have a whole bunch of marbles that are different colors and different groups, and I say, like, together, this group is a group of marbles. Right? Marbles or concrete things, that was easy for me, and right? Like, I could categorize. But when it came to abstract concepts, when it came to things that, like, weren't tangible, then I had a much harder time with it, and I just couldn't categorize until I improved this thinking skill. During this training, I improved that thinking skill, and literally everything changed for me. Like, I saved over 10 hours every week by changing just like my schedule, my day. I literally tripled my business. I, like, was able to change everything, and I was even able to, like, do Tony's course without even having to go back to it that I knew that adults needed it. So many people were talking about, like, helping children, and I was like, adults need to be able to improve their 28 thinking skills also, and that's when I got super passionate about it and started working with adults.
Diane Schroeder [:Oh my gosh. So, can I ask you a question? Are you a concrete, very linear thinker naturally? Like, it's a, b, you know, is that what you mean by kind of not the abstract? It's very a, b, c, d. And if you throw a g or an h in there, it just kind of disrupts everything. Is that how it was for you prior to locking in that skill?
ST Rappaport [:Yes. That was part of it. Another way that it really showed up. It was like, let's say, being able to see the details or, like, the trees, but not the forest. So, I was very detail oriented, but I had a very hard time seeing the big picture. So, every time I need to do something, I would do it right now. Let's say I would have an errand, and I'd be like, hey. Like, okay. Perfect. Let me just go out and do it. But then 2 hours later, I would go ahead and have another errand to do, and I go to the house again. And then 2 hours later, again, instead of being able to see the big picture of I could go out once and do all those errands. And, like, now, I go have one day a week where I do the errands. Right? Like, I focus on the bigger picture instead of just the details of what's happening.
Diane Schroeder [:Oh my gosh. So, I ask this because I'm thinking back to some of the people I've managed in my life or that I was responsible when I was their leader, and it is completely opposite of how my brain works. It's so easy for me to see the big picture. I can see the finish line. I know what problem needs to be solved, and what it looks like after the problem is solved. Where I really struggle is those fine details, those, you know, the trees. So, I can see the forest. I don't always see the trees, which is fascinating to me because it's really hard as a leader to except someone else thinks differently than you do or even understand how their brain works. So, I'm assuming that's how it saved 10 hours a week is that you were able to really kind of adjust your life around. Like you said, now you just run errands one day instead of in the moment.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. And now, like, I take it, like, to whole another level. And not just grouping, just tasks like that. Like, literally everything gets grouped all the way down. Right? Like, so let's say I host a podcast. It's a solo show, very educational. Like I have to really plan out everything before because it's very short. There's a lot of information in a very short amount of time. So, on one level, batch content. Right? Like, I have a few weeks where I record content for the next 6 months, but it goes a lot deeper than that. I have all the documents of all the 6 months out open, and I'm literally grouping every single section at the same time. So, all the CTAs, all the titles, all the way down, and that saves, like, even more time. So, like, you could really geek out on this if you want. I always say 10 hours because, like, that's believable, but, like, I really think that this boy is a lot more. I just want to say before what you were saying about, like, when you are a leader and, like, dealing with other people, one of the reasons why I'm super passionate about this is because, like, when you understand how other people about these 28 thinking skills, you can understand that, like, other people's brain works differently, and then you can talk to them in a way that their brain understands.
ST Rappaport [:Now I am a big believer that you can change your brain. Right? So, like me, just because then I was at the details, I learned how to see the big picture and it helped me drastically. So, if you're in a position where you could help that person, so let's say a parent, you want to help them improve their thinking skills, you want to understand where they are, but also help them get to a different point. But not every situation is that, like, appropriate. Right? Like, if you're in a meeting, you're not there to try to change a person. By just understanding how their brain thinks differently than you can talk to them in a way that their brain understands.
Diane Schroeder [:It's very freeing, I think, to just understand that. And it also sounds like it can provide a lot of empathy and compassion and less frustration. And I think on a certain level, we all understand that. Right? Everyone's wired differently. Everyone views the world differently. But I think when it comes to leading and being in charge and managing a team or having a team of people, it's really easy to forget all that in the moment.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. Exactly.
Diane Schroeder [:Like, it's just really easy to be, like, I understand. It's the same with procrastination. Now that you've told me and shared a little bit about procrastination, it completely makes sense to me, and yet also don't trust myself enough to not end up procrastinating on some big project that I have coming up because I haven’t put in the work to re-wire my brain. It’s simply very fascinating. So, how do you help people with the 28 skills? What is your process for that? How can you help my listeners if they’re interested in re-wiring their brain because I know, I’m just thinking of some of my listeners that I do know personally that I’m like, oh, man. They’re going to eat this up.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. So, we usually, they're in groups of 6. We work with entrepreneurs and we group of 6 where we meet twice a week on Zoom to do very specific brain exercises that were created to improve your thinking skills. They literally look like fun sheets, and just by doing them and the discussions that we have around them improves their thinking skills. Now anyone who's listening and wants to know where they're at with each one of the 28 thinking skills, I do have a free assessment you could take at lifepixuniversity.com/brain. And then once you know that, like, I have a bunch of resources, free resources that give you additional exercises that you can do at home to improve any of those 28 thinking skills.
Diane Schroeder [:Oh, wow. And I will link all of that in the show notes if you didn't catch that because you're driving or walking or whatever. And what a great gift to give someone because it's just a good place to know where you are. And I also want to throw out there that I think this is a great gift to give to yourself for self-care. You know, I talk a lot about self-care and how important it is on the journey to authenticity and being your most authentic itself. And if you can understand how your brain works, because we give our brains so much power, and our brain is, you know, a huge part of our everyday lives, clearly, that understanding it, you're giving this huge gift to yourself too. Would you agree with that?
ST Rappaport [:100%. I tend to speak rather strongly about my opinions on things, and not everyone online likes it a lot. And one of the most common hate comments I get from people is like, why are you telling people this? You’re being really mean and, like, you're telling people that they have problems and things like that. And I'm like, okay. If, like, you don't want to change, you don't want to change. But like you said, it’s like a gift for yourself of you being aware so that way you can give yourself more grace and you can figure out, like, what your next step should be. It removes a lot of the frustration and creates a really big space of understanding.
Diane Schroeder [:Why do you think people are so resistant to diving in deeper?
ST Rappaport [:I think because they know then it means that there's change. Right? So, I'm a big believer in, like, understanding and acceptance, but also at pushing. Like, I think that we've come to, like, a point in a lot of areas online of where, like, you want to be accepting of yourself, which is a 100% true, but you don't want to be the same person you are today in 20 years' time, the same way you're not the same person you were 20 years ago. Right? What's the point? So, together with this understanding, it's like, okay. If you can give yourself grace and understanding of this is where you are right now, but there is room for improvement, and there's place for you to go. And people are scared of that. People don't like change. They don't want to do the work, and I think that's why there's resistance.
Diane Schroeder [:Yes. That's a vulnerable answer. So, thank you for sharing because I do see that as well. I see that working with people to create a strategy for them to take better care of themselves. It's not by making sure they schedule in more time for pedicures or manicures, it's looking at their whole entire life and how they can build more capacity in their life, and that is hard work. It is really hard to work with people that really want the end result, but really don't want to go through the middle to get to it. And the transformation is in the journey. It's not the destination. It's work, it takes to get to where you want to go. Because the secret that I tell people is the destination is when we die. That's the end. It doesn't go beyond that. So, we might as well make the journey as beautiful as possible, even if it is messy, even if it pushes our edges and our boundaries because that's how we grow.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. That's very well said.
Diane Schroeder [:So, my mind is spinning about all of the incredible benefits, not just to yourself. If you're willing to do the work on how you can get better, you're also gifting yourself steps closer to being your authentic self. What do you think about that?
ST Rappaport [:A 100%. I think that part of, not even part. I was, like, part of the process, but I'm like, I was like, no. It is the process of being able to improve yourself requires you to be authentic. Right? Like, there is no change without truth. Like, if you aren't aware of where you are and you aren't authentic to yourself and to your surrounding of what you're trying to change, then you're not going to be able to change. Right? Like, a really simple example, if you are, let's say, trying to be a more patient person. If you're not honest with yourself on how patient you are actually, then you're not going to be able to become more patient. So, literally, you need that authenticity and you need that truth to make any sort of change.
Diane Schroeder [:I just want to say that quote again. There is no change without truth. And that is, boom. That's very profound. And I'm not sure we'll be able to tie this in, but I'm curious if you can. How does all of the work on the 28 behaviors, on learning about how your brain works, and being willing to do the work to change, to strengthen the skills that aren't as strong, how does that affect the community that people are in? How does it affect their work life, their personal life, you know, friendships.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. So, there's a lot going on there. There's the understanding of the 28 thinking skills, and then there's the actual improvement. So, like we mentioned before, when you understand the thinking skills, then you have more grace, so there's a lot more understanding and much more acceptance within your community. But when you improve your own thinking skills, your relationships with other people change. Your communication with other people changes. You see the world; I don't know if in a different way, you have an additional way to see the world, because you have, until now, only been able to the world in one way because of how your brain was wired, and now you have an additional way to see it. Right?
ST Rappaport [:For example, me, when I was very focused on the details, I only saw the world in one way, and every sort of, direction I had happened in that way. Right? So, my mom was like you, was very big in seeing the big picture, and I so the details and you can imagine the clash that happened there because I'm, like, trying to talk in one way, and she's trying to talk another way, and there was a lot of miscommunications. As soon as I improve that thinking skill, doesn't mean I don't have the ability to still see the details. Right? So, you just get, like, a bonus. But now I can talk to my mom and to everyone else in a way that they understand, and we can communicate much better. I think when it comes, like, a little bit more, like, business and work, a lot of people, like, talk about doing the stuff that you're really good at and giving what you're not good at to other people, which is true. I think you should, like, stay in your zone of genius. But you want to also have an understanding of what you're less good at. Right? So, if you're a leader who's trying to portray the big picture, you want to also be able to have an understanding of the details so that way you can show it to the people that you are trying to lead and vice versa, those people who are trying to listen to you when they understand the big picture, they will have a much better time being able to do their detailed job. And I could give so many examples of this.
Diane Schroeder [:Really beautiful way to offer a different perspective of personal development. And I'm curious to see what your answer to this is. I hate the question, you know, list your strengths and tell us what your biggest weaknesses are and how you're going to focus on that. I don't really like that question. I don't think it's a fair question, probably because I don't know how to answer it. I recognize what I'm not good at. And just like you said, I would love to delegate that away and not have to do it. Unfortunately, for me, being in the position I am with my business, I don't have a choice at this time. So, what would you say the first couple of steps people could take to really kind of take in this information, to titrate it to be like, okay. I'm curious. Okay. You know, this makes sense. Okay. It's not just that I'm bad at something, so I shouldn't do it or I'll never be good at it. What would you say to my listeners that are, like, maybe thinking that inside their head right now?
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. So, first off, have you ever heard of Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck?
Diane Schroeder [:I have not. I'm familiar with Growth Mindset, but not that book.
ST Rappaport [:Okay. So, that’s like where it originated from. Carol Dweck was from the college in Stanford University. She wanted to know what makes a person successful. Through all her research, sports, academics, business, like everything. She's like, it comes down to this. Not talent, not IQ, not where you'll come from. Comes down to whether you have a fixed or a growth mindset.
ST Rappaport [:Fixed is just like it sounds like where you are is the way you will always be. And a growth mindset is always learning, always growing, focus on the process, talking about what you said before. Obviously, they have their goal, but they're focused on the process. They're open to feedback, and they see mistakes as learning experiences. Now all of us within us, we have both a fixed and a growth mindset. Anything that you're good at, you became good at it because you have a growth mindset. Anything that you are bad at or say I can't do this or whatever. Right? Like, that is a growth mindset.
ST Rappaport [:Literally, your language is one of the best signs to see whether you have a fixed or a growth mindset better. So, first step, like, step number 1 is literally change it into a growth mindset, which you could do with your language. So, instead of saying, like, I can't do this or I'm horrible at this, it's like, I can't do this yet or I'm learning how to do it or things like that. That's step number 1. Almost like a prerequisite. Right? We need that growth mindset to make the change. But when you have this task, so you have your growth mindset and you're looking at this task that you really want to delegate, can't right now or just, like, super overwhelming. Think about what specific part of the task you don't like, because most tasks have many parts to it.
ST Rappaport [:Let's say sending an email. If I have to send an email, I have to read the email that person sent me before. I have to think about what I'm going to say. I have to actually write it. I have to spell check it. Right? Like, there's so many little details to this simple task of sending a 2-sentence email. What part of that task do I not like? Okay. Now that is the problem.
ST Rappaport [:That is where that is connected to the thinking skill. So, for example, if it is formulating their response, it would be connected to the thinking skill of giving a thoughtful response. If it is checking for spelling and grammar, it'd be related to precision. But it's okay if you don't know what the 28 thinking skills are. The point is for you to identify the point of the task that is a challenge. And that is what you want to work on. You could just come up with some creative idea to how you can improve that. If you need help, feel free to DM me.
ST Rappaport [:Like, I love geeking out on this with people, so, like, DM me on social and, like, just help you come up with some sort of answer, but that is the part you want to be able to figure it out. So, you're struggling with expressing yourself in the email, I'm sure that is not just in emails. Or any single time you're writing some sort of copy. It's any single time that you're writing a text. It's any time that, like, you have to formulate a response that matters. Your brain doesn't like doing it. So, as soon as you improve that, anything related to it will be a lot easier.
Diane Schroeder [:This is so fascinating, and I'm so grateful that you're sharing your passion. Because I can hear and see your passion. It just comes out of you, your energy, and it's such a great gift. I've never heard of this process before, so I love that I'm expanding my horizons for sure. And I would love to know why is this such an important foundation for humans? Why do humans need to improve their thinking skills? I feel like it's an easy answer, but I'm curious to hear what you have to say.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. So, thinking skills are essentially the skills behind every single task that you're doing. By you listening to this episode, you're using your thinking skills. By you washing your dishes, you're using your thinking skills. Okay. Beating your heart doesn't use your thinking skills because it's like, subconscious. We don't think about that. But any activity that you're actually doing uses your thinking skills, and it affects basically your life 24/7.
ST Rappaport [:And so, it’s so important. It's the foundations to everything else that you're doing, first of all. Like, it's the big thing. The second thing is so many times we try to solve a problem, that very often, we're just putting on a band-aid instead of actually solving what that problem is. Right? So, we're procrastinating on something and we're like, okay, I am going to make a race with myself to finish it on time. I'm going to reward myself when I finish this, and or even, like, we take a course to learn how to do something, but we're not actually solving the root issue as to why we're struggling with it. Every root issue boils down to 1 of 2 things, either thinking skills or emotions, like from an emotional traumatic, like, perspective. Those 2 are very highly related and extremely connected, but that's why thinking skills are so important because it's, like, connected to basically everything.
Diane Schroeder [:It's a perfect lead in because my next question is, how are they connected to your emotions. And I think sometimes it gets messy between your emotions and your thinking skills, like your brain and your heart or whatever you choose to use to describe how your, you know, emotional and, you know, logical feelings intertwined. How can improving your thinking skills relate to your emotional state, and what does it do for your emotions?
ST Rappaport [:So, they're literally two sides of the same coin. When you improve your thinking skills, you literally improve your emotions and vice versa. When your thinking skills, like, go down, your emotions go down, or when you improve your emotions, then your thinking skills go up. Right? When someone has a traumatic experience, then they're, like, not acting in ways that they shouldn't that, like, they were before because their thinking skills have literally gone down. Or we could look about it from, like, another way. The example I gave in the beginning of the 5 senses, right, and looking for things, which, by the way, is a very popular, like, therapeutic tool of, like, 5 things that you see and 4 things that you hear. But the reason why that works is because it's connected to that thinking skill. Right? Like, why are we having that overwhelming feeling? Why are we having these anxiety attacks? Because it is connected to those thinking skills.
ST Rappaport [:So, you could enter it from 1 or 2 ways. You could enter it from the thinking skill, like, improve that thinking skill and then improving your emotions will be easier. You could enter it from the emotions and then improving your thinking skills. I usually like to say when you work on both to get out of there at the same time, then, like, that skyrockets.
Diane Schroeder [:I love that so much. And, essentially, you can't have one without the other. So, if you do all this work on your emotions, whether it's managing them, whether it's through therapy, whether it's processing previous trauma, current trauma, you know, wanting emotionally to be better or improve, you got to do the thinking skills as well.
ST Rappaport [:Yeah. Let's say someone has gone through a lot of therapy and has seen a lot of results, they'll say they have, like, less brain fog, and they're able to think clearer because while they improve that, they improve the thinking skill. But then it works the other way also. People who say they improve their thinking skill all of a sudden have less emotional outbursts and can better emotional regulation. So, they're, like, literally, literally connected.
Diane Schroeder [:I love it. I love it so much. That is wonderful information that you have shared with us, ST. And I'm so grateful that you took the time to talk about it, and I cannot wait to share this episode. And I've got questions. I'm going to hop on to your website and definitely take the assessment. And I hope that all of you listening will do the same, and reach out for more information on this very powerful way to give yourself the gift of improvement and development.
Diane Schroeder [:Another great conversation. Thank you for giving the valuable gift of your time and listening to The Fire Inside Her podcast. Speaking of value. One of the most common potholes we fall into on the journey to authenticity is not recognizing our value. So, I created a workbook. It's all about value. Head on over to thefireinsideher.com/value to get your free workbook that will help you remember your value. Until next time, my friend.