Self-Brain Surgery Saturday: Worry vs. Prepare

Good morning friend, I hope you're doing well and it's just been a hectic week.

So I'm going to take a minute today and just take a breath with you.

It's self brain surgery Saturday and we're going to give you one little outpatient

surgery that you can do anytime, anywhere.

And the thing about surgery is you have a problem that needs to be fixed, right?

And you have a choice. You can either fix it or you can ignore it and not fix

it. You can try to manage it or you can just pretend it's not there.

And if you choose not to fix it, then you need to understand and you need to

acknowledge and give consent to yourself that you are choosing to live with

it and you're understanding the ramifications of that.

If you don't fix it, you're willing to let it continue to grow or get worse

or hurt more or become more cancerous or whatever it is that you're dealing with.

If you don't fix it, you're choosing to keep it and that comes with a whole

set of consequences, right?

So having surgery always comes with some risk, but not having surgery has its own set of risks.

So this is a little outpatient surgery today that's going to be just a mindset

switch about worry, anxiety, preparation, planning, and the things around that concept.

And the good news is it's going to help us clarify one little thing that I think

holds us back a lot in our lives.

But before we get to it, I'm going to let Lisa tell us how we can start today.

Hey, are you ready to change your life? If the answer is yes,

there's only one rule. You have to change your mind first.

And my friend, there's a place where the neuroscience of how your mind works

smashes together with faith and everything starts to make sense.

That place is called self brain surgery.

You can learn it and it will help you become healthier, feel better and be happier.

And the good news is you can start today.

Thanks, Lisa. Hey, so glad to have you listening today. I'm Dr.

Lee Warren and I live in Nebraska in the United States of America with my incredible

wife Lisa My father -in -law Tata and the super pups Harvey and Lewis I'm a

neurosurgeon and an author and I'm here to help you harness neuroscience the

power of your brain Faith the power of your spirit and good old common sense

to help you lead a healthier better happier life.

Listen friend You can't change your life until you change your mind and I'm

here to help you learn the art of self brain surgery to get It done if you'd

like to show please subscribe so you never miss an episode and tell your friends about it.

If you tell two or three friends this podcast was helpful to you,

imagine how much good we can all do around the world together.

I'm Dr. Lee Warren and I'm here to help you change your mind so you can change

your life. Let's get after it.

Okay, are you ready? This is an outpatient surgery. I don't intend to spend

a lot of time today because it's been a long week and it's Saturday,

it's a Sabbath day, I do have to make rounds today, but we try really hard to

have one day of the week where we can just dial back and be a little bit more.

Careful with our time and our commitments and spend a little time connecting

with God and with each other and recollecting for another week.

And so I just want you to just have a moment here, something to think about

if you're gonna work out or ride in the car, if you spend a little time with

me today I'm grateful for and never take for granted the time that you spend,

but today it's gonna be quick.

And I just have one little idea, okay, here it is. I read a newsletter every week from James Clear.

James Clear wrote a book called Atomic Habits. and Atomic Habits is this great

book that's full of these wise ideas about just how you can build better habits for your life.

It's not a spiritual book, but it has a lot of really powerful ideas,

and he writes a newsletter once a week, and each time he gives three little

thoughts that came from the Atomic Habits book.

And this week, he said one that kind of hit right in line with what I was planning

to talk to you about for Self Brain Surgery Saturday.

And here's what he said. There are two competing truths.

First one, the more prepared person usually wins, wins.

But the second is you get credit for action, not preparation.

So it's true that the more prepared person usually wins, but it's also true

that you get credit for action and not for participation, not for preparation.

You get credit for action, not preparation. Now hold that thought for a minute.

A couple of weeks ago, Auburn played LSU in football and Auburn lost,

which is a common theme this year.

And they lost pretty much because of and bad play calling and poor execution

and a couple of unlucky breaks. They lost that game.

And after the game was over, the reporters interviewed Brian Kelly,

who's the head coach at LSU, and he said something that kind of stuck in my

memory and I've been holding on to it to give it to you today on Cell Frame

Surgery Saturday. Here it is, this is what he said.

He said, in golf, there's a

saying that there are no pictures on the scorecard. There's just a score.

In golf, there are no pictures on the scorecard. There's just a score now if

you're not a golfer what he's talking about is there's a little card that golfers

carry and they have To turn in their scorecard at the end of the round and it.

Keeps track of what your score was on every hole,

If it's a par three and you score

four you have to write a four down You don't get to write a three down

Because you felt like you were gonna make a three you have to write a four down

if that's what you made if you hit The ball and it goes an inch that's a stroke

So at the end of the round the scorecard doesn't reflect what those shots looked

like It doesn't reflect how you felt about them,

it doesn't reflect what your plans were, your purposes were for that round,

it just reflects what actually happened.

There are no pictures on the scorecard.

Now, a few years back, there was a golf tournament, I think it was the Masters,

but don't quote me on that because I didn't take the time to go look.

But there was a hole where, it was a par three, there was a hole where the golfers

had to hit the ball over the water. Okay? And this golfer.

Hit a ball that skipped off the water was a bad shot.

It skipped off the water It got up to the bank and it hit a rock and it careened

back onto the green and rolled right into the hole It was a hole -in -one But

that hole -in -one on the scorecard was a one it wasn't a two or three.

It was a one What the scorecard didn't show was that there was a terrible shot and bounced off water.

It had a rocket change directions It was poorly aimed It was not a good shot

But it ended up in the hole and got scored as a one and there might have been

another golfer in that tournament that Had a hole in one I don't know if there was or not,

but often in many golf tournaments There are more than one hole

in one But let's just say for the sake of argument that those two golfers were

on the same hole at the same time and golfer number One hits the shot that bounces

off the water and hits the rock and goes the wrong direction But somehow still

managed manages to land in the hole the other golfer hits a perfect shot It

flies through the air and lands directly in the cup, and it's absolutely,

unimpeachably the perfect golf shot, right?

Both of those guys got a one on the scorecard, and I'm telling you that just to say this.

Wherever you are in your life right now. That's the score, okay?

Whatever happened in the past Whatever you did or

didn't do the plans that you had the purposes that you had

the way things played out whether he was faithful Or not

whether you were wise with your money or not whether you have

a bad diagnosis that you're dealing with currently Whether you live in a country

where things are going the way you want them to the politics or the way you

want them to Be or the election turned out the way you want it Whether or not

you've came through or you were a good parent for your kids or she said no when

you hoped she would say yes, whatever those things are,

the score of your life is what it is today and you can't go back and change it.

So the only thing that we can use the scorecard for is to keep track of what

happened, to keep track of the result that we got.

We can't go back and change the things that we felt about it or intended to

do or the the way that those shots played out that got us to that score.

We just have to deal with the reality of the score. Now, why am I talking about

that? That sounds like I'm focusing on the past. I'm not.

I'm saying that when we prepare, we usually win.

The golfer who hits the most practice shots and is really diligent with their

training and their preparation and their fitness and all of that nutrition and everything,

they usually do better than the golfer that just drinks all night and then rolls

out of bed and shows up at the tournament and smokes and is 100 pounds overweight

and tries to play based on just pure natural talent, the more prepared person usually wins.

But at the same time, it is undeniably true that you don't get credit for how much you prepared.

You only get credit for the actions that you take.

And that's why I'm always telling you in this podcast, let's get after it.

Because at some point, we have to stop thinking about stuff.

We have to stop preparing, we have to stop fretting or worrying or thinking about whatever.

And we have to just get it done We have to get after it and sometimes we hit

ugly shots With our lives and sometimes we get after it and it doesn't go the

way we wanted to But whatever is true about the past for you friend.

Here's what's true about today You can change your mind and if you do you can change your life.

There's a scripture I want to give you Matthew 6 Jesus says this in 25 verse 25.

Therefore I tell you Do not worry About your life.

Do not worry what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear.

Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air.

They don't sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father

feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

And here's what Jesus says in verse 27. Can any of you, by worrying,

add a single hour to your life? Here's the self -brain surgery.

I want you to understand the difference between mental preparation and worry.

Mental preparation is, something pops into my head, I might have cancer,

something pops into my head, I might miss this flight, I'm running behind,

I might not make it, I'm running out of money, my wife is not very happy with

me, whatever it is, okay?

Something pops into your head, you have two choices here.

You can worry about it, you can fret, what if this happens, what if that happens,

what if I don't do this, what if she does that, what if he doesn't come through,

what if? and you can basically just spiral yourself down into this abyss of concern and worry.

And then what's likely to happen? Just think back over the course of your life

about times and seasons in which you've been excessively worried,

and how has that benefited you?

How has it played out? How has it helped you to hit the next shot more effectively

if you spend a lot of time worrying about something?

And then conversely, think about this. What if you had that thought pop into your head?

And the first biopsy, is it a true thought? Is it something that's really actually

worthy of my mental energy and if it's not then you move on to something else

But if it is something that's actually a valid concern,

then here's what you can do You spend some time in between your ears Thinking

about the path that you need to take to make that outcome what it needs to be right?

Sometimes obviously there's some things you can't control at all If you're if

you're in the air and the plane is running behind and you're worried about making

the connection and you can't do anything about that in the air,

whether or not that plane's gonna get there on time, but you can make a decision.

Okay, if we don't make the flight, here's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna rent a car, I'm gonna drive, I'm gonna get a hotel and spend the night

and take the flight the next day.

You can make a decision, and then you can spend the rest of the flight doing

whatever you need to do, reading something, praying, writing a letter to someone,

doing something to relax, other than just worrying about whether or not you're

gonna make the connection, right? Because you can't control that.

So Jesus says, do not worry about stuff you can't control.

And why is he telling you that? Is he beating you up for worrying? No.

He's telling you, I want you to have an abundant life. That's what he said in

John 10 10. And you can't have abundance and worry at the same time.

They're mutually exclusive.

You can't have an abundant life and a worry -filled, stressed -out,

anxious life at the same time.

But Jesus says, it is possible in in this world full of troubles for you to

have an abundant life, friend. And so the question is, will you take it?

The question for Self -Friend Surgery Saturday is, are we going to be willing

to be those people who are prepared, but also, when it's time, get after it?

Because we want credit for action, since we never get credit just for preparation.

So are we going to use our mental energy worrying in a way that keeps us from

ever taking action and keeps us from ever getting the things that we need or

have opportunity to have that Jesus's plan for us or are we going to just.

Worry are we gonna just get after it there's a question for today,

Remembering that there are no pictures in the scorecard Remembering that

we are where we are and we got here somehow God if

you hit the shot that bounced off the water and hit a rock and turn left and

somehow still found it in the Hole that wasn't because of your preparation was

because Jesus took care of you in that moment Jesus got you there So instead

of looking at your scorecard and thinking about all the bad shots you hit but think maybe,

switch your brain on to gratitude and say I'm so glad that somehow,

even though I didn't come through like I intended to or needed to or wanted

to or didn't prepare like I should have, God still got me to where I am today. So I'm still here.

And so the next thing is I'm going to try to do a little better next time.

I'm going to prepare more, practice more, get my brain right more and stop worrying

so much just because I'm ready at that moment to take action.

There's a scripture, Tommy Walker wrote a great song out of 1 Corinthians 9, 24 through 26.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?

Run in such a way as to get the prize.

So I want you, friend, to get the prize. I want your life to be abundant.

I want you to stop worrying.

I want you to be able to prepare and then get after it and not just stay stuck

in the endless loop of worry and stress and anxiety and fear.

I want you to have the abundance of being a good self -brain surgeon.

Relentlessly refuse to participate in your own demise, and it is participating

in your own demise if you choose, rather than to prepare and get after it if

you choose to worry and be stressed.

It's you're participating in your own demise, and that's not what I want for you.

It's not what God wants for you. It's not what you want for you either,

but it's a decision that you can make.

So today on Cell Brain Surgery Saturday, pick up the scalpel and make a decision

to slice through the worry,

to sever those anxious synapses that you built over years of worrying about

things, and prepare instead, and then at some point, when it's time,

to take action and get after it. The scorecard will look better.

And there are no pictures there, but the numbers will start to look better if

you start preparing and taking action instead of just worrying.

And that's the self -brain surgery for today.

I'm gonna play Tommy Walker's song, I'm Runnin' the Race, give you this 15 or

17 minutes, and just think about making that one little mental switch,

the difference between worry and preparation.

And then, we're gonna get after it. And the good news is, we can start today.

First Corinthians 9 24 to 26 says, do you not know that in the race all the

runners run, but only one gets the prize?

Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.

They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly. I do not fight like a Boxer.

Music.

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every week for my best prescriptions for becoming healthier Feeling better and

being happier through the power of faith and neuroscience smashing together

via self -brain -serving.

Dr Lee warren dot substack dot com and if you need prayer go to the prayer wall

at w1md .com slash prayer The theme music for the show is Make Us One by Tommy

Walker, graciously provided for free by the great folks over at TommyWalkerMinistries .org.

Check it out and consider supporting them, TommyWalkerMinistries .org.

Remember, you can't change your life until you change your mind,

and the good news is you can start today.

I'm Dr. Lee Warren, I'll talk to you soon. God bless you, friend. Have a great day.

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