What is your worldview? What is your outlook on how life works? What do you believe deeply? How do you answer life’s biggest questions?

We begin to develop a worldview when we are very young. We develop a notion of whether the world is safe and if we can rely on help from others, or if we must do it all alone. We learn if we can trust or if we must be guarded always.

These early developments protect us. We develop coping skills for the hard things that happen, whether we are feeling hungry or whether we are being hurt by those around us. Our bodies are wise. They help us know if we should fight for what we need or run away. Or if we cannot do either, if we should freeze. We learn from the comfort we receive or the lack that we experience.

And from all this, we develop our outlook. New experiences come along through life and impact our worldview. Because of neuroplasticity, the ability of our brains to change and grow, we can reshape that worldview.

There is hope. If we have a painful worldview, one where our brains only sense danger and rarely joy, we can retrain our brains. It is not that danger is unreal or that we learn to ignore danger. Rather, it is that we can learn to notice more of the beautiful and kind moments.

How? One way is to write, physically write with a pen or pencil, moments of the day that are what you would consider good. Be specific and intentional. Some days it may be difficult. That is when it really is a good thing to list that you got out of bed or something else seemingly simple. It isn’t simple on hard days. By noticing, purposefully, the moments during the day that are good, we retrain our brains to see what is good and not only the dangerous times. It takes time. Be patient and gentle with yourself. Look deliberately for good. Find videos of people doing good things. Accept compliments and believe that it is that person’s opinion. Consistency is important because you are in training.

This is hard work. Letting in lightness can be difficult when there is much heaviness. Reach out to others, friends or a therapist. Some people have workout buddies; have a brain training buddy.

What other ways of opening your mind have you tried? How has your worldview changed through your life?