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In the MindSweep this week:

1. Curated Conversation with curated GIF’s & puns (for your entertainment).

2. Jamie’s Second Brain Corner: Links to references. Need a map? I’ve got you!

3. A fun survey for your feedback!

4. What’s I’m Reading - Storyworthy - Matthew Dicks

5. Collaborations with Terri Hamilton (Thursday) & Shannon Giordano and the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce.

6. My face 💜 and a link to schedule your free consultation.

Navigating the Mind: Inside Out and the Journey of Introspection

You've likely experienced moments where you've paused to reflect on something important:

• a conversation with a client or friend,

• a decision you made for your business or your family,

• or a challenging situation that you navigated.

This is your brain at work! Specifically, this is your medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in action. But sometimes, it's not working for you—it's getting stuck in a loop. [1]

Imagine your mind has a control room like in Pixar's movie Inside Out 2. In this room, you have all the tools you need to reflect on your thoughts, decisions, and emotions. Instead of a team of emotions pulling levers, it's actually your medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) making the moves. This critical part of your brain helps you make sense of your experiences and guides you through introspection. [2]

It helps you think critically about your experiences and form judgments to make informed decisions.

In Inside Out 2, the main character, Riley's control room, helps her manage her emotions and make sense of her experiences. Similarly, your brain uses introspection to gain deeper insights into your feelings, motivations, and actions. It's where you examine your actions and think about:

• what went well,

• what you could improve,

• and how you might approach things differently next time.

Reflecting on your choices is your brain's way of processing what's happened, considering adjustments, and planning for the future.

Just like Riley's emotional team grows stronger by working together and understanding her better, introspection can enhance your decision-making, emotional intelligence, and personal growth.

In the control room of your mind, your medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) acts as the captain of this ship, just like the film's character, Joy, ensuring that all of your emotions and thoughts work together to navigate life. Your posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus help you process your past, create a sense of self, integrate memories, and make decisions based on your inner wisdom. [3]

This process is crucial for understanding how past experiences influence present behavior and helps you navigate life and business with a clearer sense of purpose.

However, when they take too much control, they can make the entire process feel overwhelming—keeping you trapped in a loop of self-doubt and second-guessing.

Sometimes, the control room gets a little too focused. The brain, especially for those of us with ADHD, can get caught up in deep self-reflection, often digging into every.tiny.detail of a situation. This is where your introspection can become less helpful and more overwhelming. You might catch yourself going over a conversation, again and again, asking yourself,

• "Did I say the right thing?" or

• "What if they didn't understand my point?"

When the control room gets a little too focused on one thing, it loops through certain emotions and thoughts like a stuck button. This is where you end up replaying a negative thought or event over and over again, unable to escape.

When this happens, introspection can turn into rumination. [4]

Like Inside Out's character Sadness, who pulls all of Riley's focus into one feeling and refuses to let go, the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus can become overactive, making it harder to break free from this loop and move forward with confidence.

When you're caught in this loop, it's like being trapped in a maze with no exit. Every path leads back to the same thought:

• “Did I mess up that meeting?” or

• “Was that the wrong decision for my business?”

These questions are not genuine introspection anymore—it's the brain getting stuck in unnecessary self-questioning.

But, just as the character Riley's emotions can learn to adapt and grow, you, too, can learn to recognize when you're veering too far into rumination. That's the moment to hit the "reset" button, just like Joy and Sadness do when they guide Riley's emotions back on track.

When you notice rumination taking over, remember that introspection is meant to help, not hinder.

This moment is your chance to reset and regain control. It's not about pushing through—it's about giving yourself the space to process and then move forward with a clear mind. Being aware of the difference between rumination and intrusive thoughts can ease guilt, shame, or fear by clarifying these experiences' nature and origin.

You can regain control over the process by acknowledging when you're spiraling.

Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is pause and reset. Give yourself permission to:

• Power of the Pause: Pause to notice the feelings you are experiencing in your mind and body. Use breathwork to calm your nervous system down from fight-or-flight.

• Set a mental time limit for your reflection: Only reflect on a thought for a set amount of time—maybe five minutes—before you move on to something else. Scheduling time to feel anxious about something can help you focus on your task.

• To help reset your focus: step away and engage in a grounding activity, such as a short walk, brief meditation, or even a creative break.

Remember, it's not about pushing through.

You can find balance by taking a moment to recalibrate, allowing yourself to return to your control room with a fresh perspective.

You can learn to use introspection to your advantage. Instead of letting your thoughts control you, you can take charge and steer the ship back on course.

After all, introspection isn't meant to trap you—it's meant to guide you. Helping you make better decisions, understand your feelings, and grow both personally and professionally.

My questions for you this week :

• How do you distinguish between healthy introspection that drives growth and rumination that keeps you stuck?

• When your brain gets stuck replaying a negative thought, how do you regain control over your focus? What tools or strategies do you use to avoid getting caught in an endless cycle of 'what-ifs'?

Reply and share with me!

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Jamie’s Second Brain Corner:

[1] Brain regions and neuroscience. Also note: In the past, psychologists relied on humans to self-report introspection. Now, scientists can see consistent patterns of neural activity that correspond to these subjective reports by matching what people say they experience (introspection) with brain scans (like fMRI) under controlled experimental conditions.

[2] Pixar's Inside Out 2

[3] Default Mode Network (DMN). Medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus. ( pre·​cu·​ne·​us -ˈkyü-nē-əs)

[4] Rumination

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