Joanne Smith explains why your brain rejects forced positive thinking: it detects inauthenticity and resists impossible expectations. Instead, set tiny, believable goals like 1% improvement or a slightly calmer reaction to stress. Small wins build real confidence.
So the brain loves actual evidence. It, like, likes things that are actually genuinely legitimately, like, deeply believable, not just, like, false kind of herp, like, it can sense in— is inauthenticity a word? I think it is. It can sense something that is not authentic, So if we're just wishful, trying to force some kind of positive thinking, the brain is able to sense that, nah, no chance, no chance. Tomorrow's not going to be a brilliant day because look at all the other days where you've had this for the last 16 years. So instead of, like, expecting It— to believe something that feels impossible. It's about doing it in maybe a much smaller step. So the expectation that maybe tomorrow could just even be just a 1% easier, like I can just do a little bit better, a tiny bit better. I'm just— I can actually feel slightly calmer if something flares up. It's just setting an expectation that doesn't feel out of reach. So maybe I can be a bit less scared, a tiny bit.
