The "Acorn Brain"

Author, speaker, and executive coach Steve Lentini speaks to us about our “acorn brain,” which is the smaller minded, more automatic thought process. Lentini explains that after about the age of 35 years, our unconscious minds are locked into the same automatic thought patterns, which then lead to the same feelings and actions approximately 95 percent of the time. Though the unconscious is a powerful driving force, he then discusses how real the possibility is to actually rewire the brain for new, more open-minded and positive experiences. To do so; however, we need to be hypervigilant gate-keepers of the thoughts we allow to circle through our minds. We must first notice these old patterns of thinking and challenge them before we can rewrite the script for our new narrative. Lastly, Lentini emphasizes that when we “decide to be happy,” there is a fundamental shift that occurs where we cease to be externally focused and learn how to live more from the inside.