How to Upgrade the Operating System That Runs Your Brain

Are you still running the old You 1.0 operating system? Does your operating system need an upgrade to the You 2.0 operating system (or some greater version) to be able to run the new “Brand You” program?

If your old “You 1.0” operating system doesn’t produce the results that you need it to, if it doesn’t allow you to run the latest and greatest Brand You 2.0 program, you are need of an upgrade. Here’s how to upgrade.

Beliefs Inside

The operating system that runs underneath all of the programs you run is your belief system. The great results you produce are driven by your underlying beliefs. Those beliefs lead you to take a certain set of actions, and those actions produce results. This is true for all of the not-so-great results you produce too; they are running on some part of your belief system.

If you want to run better programs and produce better results, you have to upgrade to a better operating system. This isn’t as easy at it sounds. Before you can upgrade, you have to uninstall the beliefs that are already running on your brain. It’s likely these beliefs have been there a long time, and they aren’t very easy to uninstall.

You have to be willing to shut off old belief systems that no longer work for you. You have to shut down the belief systems that never served you—and that probably weren’t even yours to begin with. You have to uninstall the malware that was installed when you came into contact with negative people, the cynics, the critics, and the naysayers.

You have to be willing to give up what you believe. Are ready to take the red pill?

Expose Your Brain to New Ideas

If you want new beliefs, you have to explore new ideas. If you are going to upgrade your belief system to the latest and greatest version of the You 2.0 Operating System, you have to seek out ideas that make you uncomfortable. You have to explore ideas that you reflexively disagree with, and you have to seek the truth.

If you only believe what you have always believed, you will always run the same programs you have always run (and always produce the same results). Unless and until you are willing to have those beliefs challenged, you won’t take new actions. The new operating system is installed when you shed an old belief and install a new, more effective belief in its place.

If you aren’t uncomfortable, you aren’t growing. If you aren’t shedding old beliefs for new beliefs, you aren’t growing. If you aren’t seeking the truth, you are running the same old You 1.0 operating system, and you are stagnating.

You install the new operating system when you allow new ideas to provide you with new beliefs.

Expose Your Brain to New People

Charlie “Tremendous” Jones once said, “You’re the same today as you’ll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read.” You will find the new ideas in the books you read, for sure. You will also find those new ideas by bringing new people into your life.

The people you meet have a different set of experiences than you. They have developed different beliefs because of their experiences. They have also been exposed to a lot of different ideas. When you bring new people into your life, you get the great benefit of sharing their experiences and their beliefs. But you have to be open to their beliefs—even the beliefs you have always disagreed with.

The broader and more diverse the people you bring into your life, the more you are exposed to new ideas and potential new beliefs. It’s shocking how small your worldview seems when someone shares an experience that shatters all you think you know.

Upgrading your operating system to You 2.0 means seeking out new relationships with people with a different set of experiences and different beliefs, especially people with whom you disagree.

New Beliefs, New Actions, New Results

Running the You 2.0 operating systems means installing the new beliefs that allow you to take new actions. You won’t take new actions until you have new beliefs. New results require new programs.

Stop and think about it. When you try some new activity, when you run a new program, it is always because some part of the blueprint that it is your belief system has changed. I’ll wait while you think this one out . . .

If you want new results, you have to run new programs. Those new programs require a new operating system. You have to install a new belief system if you want better results.

Go ahead and shut down the old You 1.0 Operating System. You are eligible for an upgrade.

Questions

What beliefs make up your existing operating system?

How easy is it for you to shed old, unhealthy beliefs and adopt new beliefs?

Where do you encounter the ideas that change your beliefs?

How open are you to ideas that you reflexively disagree with?

Do you have freaky friends with whom you disagree? Have you learned from them?