Welcome to USE YOUR BRAIN
Did you know that your brain is the command and control centre for everything that makes you, you? How well you use it determines just about every aspect of your life, so it’s a pity your brain didn’t come with a user’s manual… which is why we decided to write one.
And here it is: a practical guide to improving your mental, emotional and physical health, the How To Use Your Brain manual will show you proven tools and techniques for getting more out of life by making the most of your brain.
Oh, and it’s absolutely FREE. So let’s get started!
A manual for
HOW TO USE YOUR BRAIN
First things first: your brain is like a well-engineered car. It’s powerful, compact and extremely energy efficient. Of course, even a supercar can run into trouble or even break down from time to time and that’s ok; with the right tools and techniques you can be up and running again in no time.
The manual comes in five sections, each with their own special purpose: the Owner’s Guide, the Maintenance Record, the Travel Log, the Workshop Manual and Roadside Assist.
Whether you want more out of life or just a better version of the life you’ve already got, the How to Use Your Brain manual has got you covered.
HOW TO USE YOUR BRAIN
The Manual
Owner’s Guide
This is the ideal place to start as it explains how your brain works – and why sometimes it doesn’t – and lays out key ideas and principles you’re bound to need later on.
Maintenance Record
Your brain is so good at its job we tend to ignore it until something goes wrong, so it’s important to have a maintenance plan to keep your brain running smoothly.
Travel Log
Wherever you’re headed in life, it’s a sure bet someone’s been down that road before; fellow travelers who have explored life‘s detours and found some of its shortcuts.
Workshop Manual
Even if you’re doing everything right you might still run into trouble, which is when you’ll want to be familiar with the Workshop Manual to get up and running again.
Roadside Assist
Of course, even if you’ve let your brain get out of condition – or maybe you’ve been running it on empty – there’s always help available. Roadside Assist is a crisis directory of services and groups who can help get you up and running again.
Owner’s Guide
You might not think it, but your brain is a strange and wonderful thing; scientists regard it as the most complex object in the universe. Seriously.
Your brain understands strange and wonderful things by comparing them with simpler, everyday things. So what do we compare your brain to? A computer? A video library? A garden?
The comparisons will always fall short but we need something to get us started and – as you’ve no doubt already noticed – the comparison that works best for our purposes is this:
Your brain is like a car. It requires regular use, care, maintenance and a little understanding: give it what it needs and it’ll take you anywhere you want to go.
Explore all the systems in your car.
Key
Own your key
Wheels
Feel the road
Engine
Powered by needs
Boot
What you packed
Windscreen
Present, Past and Future
Road
In the world
Download Resources
You can download these free resources from How To Use Your Brain
| Item/Name | File Type | Download Link |
|---|---|---|
| Owner's Guide (Print Version) | Download Here |
About the Project
William Glasser MD: A Positive Psychology
Communicate big ideas in words and pictures.
Core ideas in this project are based on the work of William Glasser MD. Dr. Glasser is a world renowned psychiatrist; he developed a transformative, positive psychology called Choice Theory.
This theory explains how and why we behave. His aim was to teach a new model for living to create individual wellbeing, fulfilling relationships, satisfying work and learning environments.
His work is promoted by Glasser Australia, a member of William Glasser International, a globally recognised, collaborative and connecting organisation promoting Dr. Glasser’s Choice Theory, Reality Therapy and Lead Management.
Jump In My Car: Metaphors and Similes
Understanding how your brain works puts you in control.
One of the central ideas we develop in this project is Dr Glasser’s metaphor of a car as it relates to human behavior. Total behavior is made up of four components; acting, thinking, feeling and physiology. All four components are present all the time and we name our current behavior by the most obvious component. Like the wheels of a car, if one wheel changes direction or speed, the others are affected. For this project we have designed and built a model car to help demonstrate principles of human behaviour.
Strategies that Work: Use Your Brain
PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU GET ‘UNSTUCK’ AND LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE.
The car metaphor is simple, yet very powerful. In my experience I’ve found that once people have absorbed and applied the key ideas of the car metaphor they find it helpful and practical to use in their everyday lives.
We want to demonstrate ideas and tools that enable people to effect changes in their behavior.
We want them to practise these ideas and tools to make better choices.
Practice will help people to work free of dysfunctional patterns in their thinking and behavior. This would lead to better emotional states, a greater sense of control and freedom … life would become more enjoyable!
Background
Hello, I’m Dave Hyatt … I could be retired, but I’m not! I’ve worked as a psychologist for many years, I still practice part time and I work on the ‘Use Your Brain’ project. This project is about using the internet to share things I’ve found to be of value; Working out what you want … Choosing what to do with your life … Living your life in a fulfilling way.
Use Your Brain …
Most people don’t think that they can change. They don’t realise that their brain can help them. If you understand how your brain works you can use your amazing brain to make changes for living your best life.
Your Brain Is Like A Car …
We use the idea of how a car works to help explain how your brain works. Once people have absorbed the ideas in this model they find it helpful and practical to use in their everyday lives.
Since May 2021, Andris Pinnis and I have been working on this project to design and produce content for distribution on the internet. We’re adapting content that I’ve successfully delivered to public audiences around Australia. We have plans to produce around 40 episodes on a range of mental health subjects. Our goal is to make these programs available to viewers at no charge.
We’re very grateful to family, friends and colleagues who have generously supported us with the loan of equipment, their time, experience and talent. In particular we thank Robert Brunton, Randall Berger, Cam Butler, Jason Clarke, Tam Connor, Ilze Dulmanis, Skaidris Gunsmith, Alf Kuhlmann, David Rimmer and Johnie Stanley for their valuable contributions. Please donate to support this project
Our Audience
Our primary audience is adults aged 55+, partly because this is the demographic we’ve had most experience with and it’s the one we are more culturally aligned to! As future opportunities unfold we want to develop content for other audience groups using appropriate communication styles and techniques.
Our aim is to communicate powerful ideas in simple language using; demonstrations, drawings, models, videos and music. We plan to offer these programs for distribution in a variety of ways including networks such as community health organisations, U3A, retirement communities and homes.
We’ve started working with the help of supporters and volunteers. We want these programs to be free for everyone to use. If you think this is a worthwhile and valuable project and you would like to support us, please get in touch … we would love to hear from you.
The Team
