A Neuroscientist Says We Can Rewire Our Neural Pathways — Here's How

All of these practices will help you to develop metacognition. This skill is characterized by an ability to "think about thinking," enabling you to become "aware of your awareness" rather than functioning on autopilot. Often those who are most troubled by their lives and trapped within dysfunctional thinking find it difficult to develop this sense. Their thoughts feel literal in the sense that it may seem impossible to separate their perception of the world from its actuality. 

In neuroscientific terms, metacognition is a function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The word itself comes from the root of the word meta meaning "beyond"–in other words, "beyond thinking." The PFC monitors sensory signals from other brain regions and uses feedback loops to direct our thinking by constantly updating our brain depending on what is playing out in the outside world. Metacognition encompasses all of our memory-monitoring and self-regulation, all of our consciousness and self-awareness.

Our capacity to engage in metacognition dictates our capacity to effectively regulate our own thinking and maximize our awareness and the potential for learning and change. Admittedly, it is difficult to unlearn something that has been etched into your brain by years of reactivation. If you are serious about setting about a "rewire" of your brain, you need to be patient and persistent.

Creating an action board is a great way to help you focus your brain on the vision of your future that you act on to manifest. Visual images are a powerful way to communicate with your deep subconscious, so focusing on images that act as a visual metaphor for the things you want to manifest will help you find the confidence to seize opportunities when they present themselves. Try to choose imagery that is symbolic when creating your board rather than thinking literally. For example, a loving relationship may be symbolized by a picture of holding hands, a greater sense of personal freedom may be represented by a kite in the sky, and enhanced confidence by a strong tree with deep roots. Make sure you look at your action board a few times a day, and as you look at it, imagine your dreams in the present, as if you have already achieved them. 

Positive affirmations can be a helpful tool to help you replace insecurities and anxieties with encouraging mantras. Whenever one of your habituated self-sabotaging thoughts intrudes, meet it with a calm repetition of a mantra that contradicts it. So, if your internal voice tells you, "I'm weak, so people always take advantage of me," respond by repeating to yourself, "I'm learning to say no more to external requests so that I can say yes more to myself."