To fight terrorism is to engage in winning wars. Myth or reality?
If you believe that violence leads to freedom you tend to focus on wars. You share stories of courage at war, and compare battle strategies. You hail war heroes, promote war ammunitions, motivate warrior careers. You go after hostility funds, and listen to battle songs and even condone violent games.
Plasticity wires nation for war or peace
The media affirms a war focus with angry accounts of confrontation. Industries profit from war, and people without jobs sign into armies to feed their families.
Sadly, because of the brain’s proclivity to wire for what we do, an entire nations’ collective brainpower now leans toward war’s legitimacy, as if combat’s the only resort to resolve conflicts. We’ve wired to act as if combat’s the only resort to resolve conflicts.
Have we wired an entire nation for war myths?
Or – if you believe that mind-bending peace plans lead to freedom, your focus will spotlight courageous stories of peacemakers. You’ll boldly applaud peace heroes, share peace strategies, and foster peace-building careers.
You’ll seek peace generating foundations, write chapters in texts of peace-loving leaders, and promote songs of serenity to play harmony’s wonder. Your favorite games will build stronger relationships, and likely depict brilliant solutions with more mutual benefits that outsmart toxic antics of bullies or cynics.
Could plasticity rewire you for peace that wins?
Either way – war or peace – the brain changes its plasticity by remapping itself to vehemently follow your focus. How so?
To go after peaceful solutions, you not only increase your potential as peacemaker, but you change the very structure and operation of your brain itself. Simply stated, whenever you avoid violence and emphasize peace, plasticity increases your brain’s capacity to roll out peaceful solutions.
It works both ways. Because of plasticity, you believe and act your brain’s focus – even on flawed conclusions. To change focus is to change what you do, and with repetition, to remap your brain for the difference.
Sound too good to be true?
Plasticity’s magical fluidity – opens life-changing pathways to resolve conflicts, each time you use a peaceful tactic to subdue violence. The brain literally rewires itself daily – based on what you do.
Hope for finer peaceful solutions? Then simply model peacemaking in one trouble spot at work today, and as you sleep tonight your brain rewires for the next peaceful win.
What will you do differently this week to optimize your brain’s plasticity? I plan to lay a few more caring cornerstones to sustain robust peace plans that reboots my work community weekly.
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Love the notion of renting rather than buying! Would you agree that war leads to violence and the brain buys into outmoded notions that wire into our mental networks! No wonder we screw uo daily! Yikes!
Thanks. This has caused me to do a little self-examination and I have realized that I too often buy (or at least rent) the notion that war leads to peace and that complaining leads to solutions.
I raise my brush in a toast to that! 🙂
Thanks Conrad — It’s been a long time. Still, I am so grateful for the peace and blessing you spread.
When we look at events such as war – through the brain’s view – we begin to see very different images that those we’ve been engaging:-)
Peace likely comes best – one stroke at a time, and yet we owe it to the next generation to step up and stroke if we hold a different brush. 🙂 Hopefully others will too:-)
Timely, authoritative and well-presented. I am glad, because the message here is so important!