Stop Whining, Start Winning: How to Rewire Your Brain for Top Performance

Not a lot of successful people whine.

But you may have been there before and find a reminder beneficial...

If only to help others get on their game.

I'm sensitive when I hear it from others because I used to run a talk‑radio show in my head that could easily have been called "Victim AM, 24/7 Radio."

I can hear the scratchy voice of the DJ still:

“Poor me… Why me… What for…?”

But when all your brain knows how to broadcast is complaints...

Your antennae only attract more complaints!

A few years back, I heard a Hollywood war‑story from George Clooney that resembles how I turned things around.

And the technique is 100% science-backed.

Ever since hearing his story, I've started to think about this technique as the "George Clooney Key."

And it's important because often our whining is sourced in real pain.

Just as it was for Clooney.

As you can read in this GQ article, he had to train his brain to think differently in order to deal with chronic pain that almost drove him crazy.

How the Clooney Key Works to Improve Your Identity

As Andy Clark has shown in The Experience Machine, our brain runs predictions 24 / 7.

Clark and other scientists call the process "predictive processing."

Change the content of your mind, and the processing improves.

In other words, when you keep focusing on a negative, your brain goes out of its way to make negative things real.

You can't take ownership of problems because you're literally hiding any other explanation from yourself.

But as we know from neuroscience studies in rewiring the brain (which you can get started with today using this guide), better thoughts can create a better future.

Certainty that things in the future will be better can literally be embodied. And then start to come true.

Steal this Action Plan

Next time you come across an obstacle, rename it.

Write it on paper, scratch it out and give it any positive title you can muster.

As you'll find in Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic for July 3rd, you can "turn have to into get to."

That's a bit abstract, but it's a start.

Next:

Assign a Rapid‑Fire Memory Palace

As I work to improve my own predictive processing by turning the Clooney Key, I'm memorizing as much of The Daily Stoic as I can.

To accomplish this goal, I'm using the Memory Palace technique.

Once you have a new title for your torment that has shifted misery into positivity, here's how to memorize it using the technique yourself:

• Choose a room you know cold.

• Place a couple of Magnetic Stations on the corners and walls using the journey method.

• Encode your new, positive way of describing the obstacle.

• Revisit the message throughout the day to get it installed in long-term memory.

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

Everyone complains that AI, market noise, and algorithms are the villain ruining the human brain.

But that mindset is the real problem.

It's the problem that predictive processing... predicts... will lead to continuing to fret over a future that could be really bright.

And it will be if you're willing to flip the script.

Once you start doing that (or help someone else who needs this change), you'll be able to:

• Think better
• Learn faster (with the ability to concentrate on the tools in this speed learning guide)
• Remember more

Let’s Upgrade Our Collective Memory

If this edition of the Better Memory, Better Life newsletter hits home, forward to one friend who needs it. They’ll thank you when the whining stops and the winning starts.

And if you're new here, I generally release new editions every week. Here's where to sign up on LinkedIn so you're notified when a new edition appears.

Thanks for reading and power to your improved predictive processing!