“Better late than to arrive ugly.”
~ Orville, the Oracle
1. Re-listen to one podcast at least three times this year.
(With each re-listening my brain will be different and thus, so will be the learning I take in).
2. Deliver my Reclaiming the Heart of Human Connection presentation (based loosely on The Myth of Normal book) to 100 people this year.
(If you feel called to be one of them, email me at: FloweringBrain@gmail.com)
3. Write a page-a-day on a subject of great interest to me.
(The daily discipline sends a positive message to neural networks operating below consciousness).
4. Inquire daily on ChatGPT (https://platform.openai.com/playground) concerning something I’m curious and want to learn more about.
(Curiosity works on BDNF [Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor] the way Miracle-Gro works on plants).
5. Average making and initiating contact with a new friend a month who feels like I’m curating my social circle upward.
(Exposing the brain regularly to new nouns – people, places and things – is also beneficial for BDNF).
6. Practice refreshing awareness as often as I can remember to, being increasingly open to receiving.
(The capacity to “be here now” strengthens the brain’s Executive Function, q.v.).
7. Pay at least once-daily to those times I’m acting wisely – widening my perspective to be aware of a bigger picture at work in the world.
(Perspective-widening strengthens prefrontal circuitry, especially when it effectively works to override our threat-detection circuitry).
8. Play at cultivating and practicing an innocent state of wonder and appreciation not tethered to utility or survival.
(Safe play frees up neurogenesis and synaptogenesis).
9. Pay attention to any possibility the Universe sends my way for potential collaboration this year.
(Just as the brain works best through the healthy connections it makes, so do you and I).
10. Post these resolutions over – and in front of – the toilet where I can reread them every day.
(Repeated exposure is one way the brain transfers learning into long-term memory).
The Committed Parent 
Mark I appreciate the variety of your list. I’ve only have one item on my list: complete the first draft on my autobiography while living a full life including 2 months of travel.
I have written up to my 14th birthday so far…that’s when I left home and things really get interesting.
As I write my brain produces a cascade of memories I didn’t know I had. Of course, I know these memories are a miss mass of real and imagined life events. In the mean time my short term memory is getting weak, or so it seems.
Good on you, Michael. While I’ve never done a literature search on it, I would hypothesize that getting a narrative of our life from the inside to some form on the outside can serve as some kind of significant integrative function. Let’s start with you as an N = 1! Let us know how that goes, sir.
Best regards, Mark
Hi
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div>I would love to post this list
Feel free to, Ms. Kate. 🙂 Or even better, use some inspiration-generating tools and discover your own list!
Mark, I love how you are tying each of your resolutions to neurobiology. I’d like to know more about your submitting questions to ChatGPT as a philosophical pursuit!
Feel free to go to the “Playground” and experiment, Lara. Here’s a query I put in this morning …
10 creative solutions to address America’s rascism challenges 1. Establish a national conversation about racism, with the aim of creating a shared understanding of the issue and a commitment to change. 3. Increase diversity in executive and leadership positions. 4. Mandate implicit bias training for employers. 5. Develop and implement clear policies and procedures to combat racism in the workplace. 6. Increase access to resources and opportunities for minority communities. 7. Pass laws that protect people from discrimination based on race. 8. Support and fund initiatives that promote racial understanding. 9. Take action to ensure that all people have equal access to resources and opportunities. 10. Encourage companies and organizations to create and sustain diverse cultures.
Later today I plan to query … 10 brain-based creative solutions to address America’s rascism challenges