Belief, Attitude, and Power of Thoughts on Brain Health

This column has featured content organized around the five pillars of my Brain Health Lifestyle® with specific research-based behaviors and activities highlighted to promote positive structural and functional changes in your brain. Following such a Brain Health Lifestyle® fosters “brain resilience,” helping to not only promote brain health but to delay onset of clinical symptoms of neurodegenerative disease regardless of age. While the types of activities we engage in and the quality of environments we expose our brains to matter regarding our ability to maximize brain health, this article focuses on our thoughts and the neurobiological effects they can have on our brain and overall health. Your thoughts and style of thinking originating in your brain are the trigger and catalyst for the dynamic and systemic reactions that occur in your entire body.

One of the fundamental parts of brain health that I have seen neglected is the importance of a basic understanding of how the body functions. Your body is nothing less than an unexplained miracle that is not random, comprised of over 40 trillion cells working in harmony and capable of greatness. Like any other system in our universe, there is a maestro to the body’s dance, and it is the brain. Your brain is the choreographer and carries the blueprint for the rest of the body. As I like to tell my audiences, “It ain’t the elbow or big toe!” Your very thought has the power to steer the body, so your thoughts and manner of thinking are critical to your health. This has been labeled the “mind-body” interaction since the beginning of recorded history.

We know that “positive attitude” is critical to supporting recovery from cancer, that personality style relates to hypertension and heart disease, and most recently, research has found that optimism helps to defend against dementia (Journal of American Geriatrics Society, 2026)! The “placebo effect,” while not completely understood, is known to affect recovery and it is likely through the mind-body interaction. These are examples of the power of our thinking on our body’s ability to defend against disease, supporting clinical treatments, and most likely through having a direct impact on our immune system, production of cellular responses to disease, anti-inflammation, and perfusion of health promoting hormones and neurochemicals while reducing the presence of damaging hormones such as cortisol and resulting stress.

The power of thought goes even deeper, however, and is specific to what you think of yourself. I am struck by the frequency of people who persist on negative self-appraisal and repeat negative and often inaccurate thoughts of oneself. It is curious why this occurs but may be due to an evolutionary reality that forces us to focus on the negative to survive. It is difficult to be positive, but the practice of optimism carries significant value to our health. Consider how often your thinking is negative towards yourself or how many times you hear others be critical of themselves. This occurs in the home, the company, the boardroom, the field of play, and in the classroom. It is one of the leading reasons most humans do not reach their potential, as they create thought-roadblocks that prevent the brain from doing its magic. Your brain will always reach its potential if you permit it.

My career provides me a unique platform to communicate with hundreds of thousands of people across the planet, and my focus has been on helping people understand they are good, filled with endless potential, and capable of greatness. I challenge all to confront their self-talk that paints a negative and incapable picture of oneself. I understand we are not perfect, but we all are much better than our episodic internal thoughts and negative self-appraisal might indicate. The reason I have such belief in others, including you, is that I will never underestimate the power of the human brain, the miracle that sits between your ears and provides you the opportunity for greatness both in what you do, how you think, and the love and kindness you show others.

The foundation for my conviction that nobody should ever discount or underestimate another person’s ability developed in my childhood. I grew up in a very modest home with a family of seven. We were and remain a close family and one reason for such was my older brother Robby who was challenged with significant neurodevelopmental disorders, seizures, and neuropsychiatric problems. He carried a mental age of three, and doctors told my mother (tough Italian lady) that Robby needed to be institutionalized as he would not amount to much. This feedback is typical of the “no hope” mantra that should never be expressed. I was too young to witness the interaction, but I am told my mother took her index finger and stuck it in the doctor’s face and said, “no way,” as she was famous to say.

As the years went by and I grew older, I saw how difficult it was for Robby to process information, cope with changes in routine, or do many of the things a teenager or adult takes for granted. I was six years younger than Robby and still a child and teenager who knew nothing about the brain or behavior. However, I learned from life experience and being in some difficult situations that required quick and patient responding. We lost a ton of sleep growing up because we did not respond to Robby in the correct way, and I also saw how others can be both helpful and hurtful when Robby and I were in a store or restaurant. Perhaps the most significant thing learned was how much a positive and loving environment with proper encouragement and reinforcement helped Robby. He gained employment in a modest role, he moved into his own apartment under 24/7 supervision, he traveled by train from Pittsburgh to Chicago to watch a Cubs game, he went to the Bahamas on a cruise and attended church each week. Robby became a pillar of our community, attending local sporting events and becoming the top fan of a point guard named John Calipari, who is now one of the top coaches in the NCAA. All this was accomplished with a mental age of three!

Robby recently passed unexpectedly but he lived 10 years longer than those with similar challenges. His life was rich in not only what he did himself, but what he did for others. He probably did more and has a more significant legacy from such a humble position than many others without such challenges. My point with this story is that Robby had a mental age of three and many with significant education believed he had no ability to develop. In short, they gave up on Robby and gave up on his brain! Proper belief, optimism, hope, environmental enrichment that includes love and encouragement, and an unending belief in oneself and in others permits the brain to flourish. You will see greatness emerge.

Brain health is more than what you do; it is how you think not only about things, but about others and yourself. Having a positive, committed, and persistent belief in yourself is important as it drives the health promoting effects across the body. Performance will increase and resilience develop. This is particularly true and important when life presents us real challenges. Leaders will be followed, students will earn A’s and not B’s, athletes will make the critical shot under pressure or the putt on Sunday, and you will not only give yourself grace, mercy, and forgiveness, you will begin to appreciate how important and great you are. You will begin to uncover your potential, remove the negative and potentially toxic self-talk, and allocate your mental energy in positive and productive ways.

My message is that you are empowered and in control of your brain health and identity. Take the time to challenge any negative self-talk you may engage in or the doubts you have about your ability or being. I encourage you to get off your back and move forward in a positive and optimistic direction. Each of you has enormous talents, some of which have not even been tapped yet. Placing your brain in health promoting environments (see brain health lifestyle®) AND practicing a positive and optimistic thought pattern will unleash the power and beauty of the brain that will increase the likelihood of peak health and human performance. Do not ever underestimate your brain or yourself!