Building Better Brains
for a Younger, Wiser Life

Janis GRUMMITT

MRI from 2011 showing the damage.

JOIN US AND BECOME A WIRING WARRIOR


What is a Warrior? They...

+  develop discipline, both internally and externally. Without discipline, they could not stay alive long enough to call themselves a warrior.  

+  Learn mental and emotional focus. No one can develop essential skills of dealing with life, protecting one's self or facing a foreboding opponent with an unfocused mind. 
 
  +  have persistence. They need to face difficulty, pain, discomfort, discouragement, fear and the prospect of failure without giving up. All struggle and conflict is settled in the mind before it becomes action.  
 
 +  Train, practice and enquire. Change only comes with new habits and skill requires training. Both are underpinned by curiosity...wanting to know and learn more. 

My Story

I am  a Wiring Warrior. In 2007 I had a benign meningioma (brain tumour) removed from my frontal lobe and was left with considerable brain damage (see left). It was a turning point for me.

Fascinated by the brain and determined to return to normal, I developed a programme to improve my brain. Over the past few years, I have been saddened by how little people know about brain recovery or building better brains in general. I believe everyone needs to know about their most powerful personal 'device'. I decided to encourage as many people as possible to become warriors and help transform awareness in our families and society to give hope and capability for self help.

Even more worrying to me was how few people are interested in learning about their brain. It seems that unless there is damage, we take our brain for granted. Recent research has highlighted two important factors about the brain: you can regrow brain cells throughout your life (neurogenesis) and you can re-wire around damage in the brain because the brain is malleable (neuroplasticity). We can create our own wiring which is a huge opportunity.

I speak, write and run workshops to share inspiration, information and practical action. I curate useful information and translate it into everyday language...I am not a specialist but support those who are. In particular, I support the Neurological Foundation of NZ who do the most remarkable scientific research to underpin our knowledge and potential. As a result of research knowledge and personal practice, I believe my brain functions better than it did before the damage.

Wiring:
The way in which our brains connect neurons and knowledge. Everyone's wiring is unique. The way our brain is wired will determine how well we age and how much we achieve in life. 

We can develop many strong connections or a few weak ones. We can choose to build our wiring over life or let circumstances and other people do it for us by influencing our experiences. Over time, the brain gradually weakens and many connections fade unless we consciously reinforce them and build new ones. Whatever we do, say, feel or think will 'wire' our brain for us. Habits matter. It is out choice to do something or not. Wiring Warriors take control and help others to do the same.

Medical research is critical, but in the meantime there is no doubt that lifestyle factors influence brain development...even dementia. In the end it will be a combination of both that helps us to live better lives and grow mentally younger and wiser  as we age.

           The SPECS Approach to Building an Better Brain

         Social            Build connections with others
         Physical        Eat, drink , exercise and sleep well 
         Emotional     Mind your negative emotions, control your feelings
         Cognitive      Exercise your thinking capability, change routines          
         Spiritual        Have purpose in your life - something greater than you