Clearing your mind by keeping it engaged
Cooking is one of my favorite go-to activities when I need to clear my head.
I’m not a chef, mind you. But I’m pretty good at it and enjoy experimenting without following a recipe. And that’s why I’ve never managed to get good at pastry-making…
Anyway, a couple of Sundays ago, my head was so full of thoughts, chatter, and information that I couldn’t think clearly.
So I decided to make some ravioli for lunch. (I didn’t take any pictures, of course; who am I, an influencer?).
And as I rolled the dough — with intention, care, and effort — I finally felt a breath of fresh air pass through my mind.
Mission accomplished: I had cleared the space, opened a window, and aired the “room”.
A little later, while I was stirring the sauce, I realized this had something to do with the Default Mode Network and the Task Positive Network.
You see, while I am an amateur cook, I’m a professional coach, passionate about the wonders of the human mind, and in the last couple of years I’ve been studying quite a bit of neuroscience.
Getting to know two networks in your brain
What we now know1 about our brain is that it is a system of systems made up of interconnected networks, two of which are the Default Mode Network (DMN) and the Task Positive Network (TPN) I mentioned above.
Bear with me while I tell you a little about these two networks; you’ll find it helpful to understand yourself and what sometimes makes your mind cluttered.
TPN and DMN are anti-correlated: when one is active, the other is not.
TPN activates when we are focused, paying attention to external stimuli, planning, and figuring out how to do something.
DMN is our default state, as you can guess by its name, and is the place where you can have dreams, vision, insight, introspection, find meaning, and get other people’s perspectives.
Both can lead you to an ineffective state: being stuck in the TPN leads to mental exhaustion, while staying too long in the DMN leads to rumination.
The network that can help you clear your head
When I was rolling the dough, I was focusing on the task and so activated the TPN.
Activating the TPN stopped the chatter in my mind — my rumination — and helped me to clear it.
With this insight, I began to think about the activities that usually help me clear my mind: drawing, doing puzzles or crosswords, crocheting, walking, or exercising — but only if I do it mindfully, focusing on my surroundings or bodily sensations or movements.
And it occurred to me that the common denominator of these activities is the activation of the TPN.
As I mentioned earlier, the DMN can be a nice place to hang out, but it is not the ideal spot for clearing our minds.
It’s your turn to self-explore and discover
What do these aspects of the TPN and DMN tell you about yourself?
What do you usually do when you want to clear your mind?
And what activities would you choose now that you know about the DMN and TPN?
Let me know in the comments what you find out!
PS
Mini quiz: What network was active while I was stirring the sauce?
Having the ability to intentionally shift from one network to another significantly impacts our well-being. Schedule a time to chat to explore how we can work on it together.
Neuroscience is a relatively young field that is constantly evolving, so what we know now may be different from what we once knew and will learn next.