Life from the Top of the Mind
515 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★ - 21 ratingsThis series of video podcasts is based upon a system for success developed by psychologist, Dr. Bill Crawford, (Ph.D.). The basic premise of this philosophy is that the reason we are less than effective is that the problems in our life trigger the release of certain stress-related chemicals that engage the lower 20% of our brain which is incapable of creative thinking. This results in feelings of stress, frustration, and the desire to either lash out or escape. What makes Dr. Crawford's "Top of the Mind" system unique and powerful is that it shows us how to change the chemical make-up of our body and shift to the upper 80% of our brain where we can access the clarity, confidence, and creativity necessary to bring our best to all aspects of life.
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Episodes
Controlling What We Can
August 22, 2022 12:08“The Brain doesn’t know the difference between a real and imagined event. Therefore, if it is out of your hands, put it our of your mind.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Optimism
August 14, 2022 12:19“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because, unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.” ~ Noam Chomsky (www.billcrawfordphd.com)
The Neuroscience of Trauma
August 07, 2022 12:21“When something reminds us of a traumatic incident in the past, the brain reacts as if the traumatic event is happening in the present.” ~ Adapted from Bessel van der Kolk (www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Getting Others to Change!
July 26, 2022 15:24“You can’t make people better by making them feel worse.” ~ Adapted from Pam Leo (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Out of Control!
July 05, 2022 17:43"Trying to control everything and everyone will almost always result in our feeling ‘out of control.’” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Uncertainty!
June 24, 2022 14:44“If there is one thing that is certain, it’s that we will always be dealing with uncertainty. The challenge, therefore, is to become certain about what we can know and control, which are the qualities and characteristics we are bringing to life.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Questions are the Search Engine for the Brain!
June 19, 2022 14:39"Questions are the search engine for the brain. Make sure you are searching the right data base.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Resilience
June 12, 2022 14:35“When the storms of life hit, the resilient adjust their sails.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Our Frame of Mind = Our Frame of Reference
June 05, 2022 14:31“Our frame of mind is determined by our frame of reference… best to create both of these by choice versus by chance.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
The Neuroscience of Defensiveness & Conflict Resolution
May 29, 2022 14:27"When people are being defensive, they aren’t just defending their position, they are defending their judgement… they are defending themselves!” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
The Most Powerful Part of the Brain is Unconscious!
May 14, 2022 14:19“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will control your life!” ~ Carl Jung (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
The Neuroscience of Influence
May 06, 2022 14:15"While we are not responsible for other people's reactions, we do play a role in how their brain interprets what we do and say, and this will determine our influence." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
The Neuroscience of Self-Righteousness
April 23, 2022 14:08"Self-righteousness isn't about confidence. It's a reaction designed to protect someone from the fear of what it would mean to be wrong." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Why We Let Little Things Bug Us - & What To Do About It!
April 10, 2022 14:02"Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
One More Way to Affect Others
April 02, 2022 13:58"Our 'emotional wake' is how we affect others after we have left the room. Let's make sure we are creating this effect on purpose." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Dealing with Disappointment
March 25, 2022 13:54“There are too many people in the world today who decide to live disappointed rather than risk feeling disappointment.” ~ Brené Brown (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Dealing with Past Mistakes "Golden Repair"
March 05, 2022 14:42“Nothing is meaningless… it’s how we assign meaning to the past that determines how we experience the present, and future.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
What to Do When You Feel Stressed or Anxious
February 19, 2022 14:38“All of life is a cycle of cause and effect. In order to break the cycle of stress and frustration we must do more than just change the cause or change the effect… we must become the cause.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Avoid This At All Costs!
February 12, 2022 14:34"If our goal is to be influential, we must first ensure that those we wish to influence can't put 'You Stupid Idiot' on the end of anything we say." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Using the Brain to Strengthen Our Immune System and Get to Sleep!
February 05, 2022 14:26“Neuroscience tells us that our state of mind affects our body’s ability to fight off illness and get the sleep we need. Therefore, we must be purposeful about the former to be effective in the latter.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Interpersonal Neurobiology - The Key to Being Heard and Understood
January 30, 2022 05:21“While we are not responsible for other people’s reactions, we do play a role in how their brain interprets what we do and say, and this will determine our influence.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Creating A Resistance To Shame
January 23, 2022 05:09“As long as we use shame as a driver for self-improvement, or to learn from the past, we will forever be trying to do good by feeling bad… not a very effective strategy.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
How to Deal with Problematic Triggers
January 16, 2022 04:53“In order to have as much influence as possible in our life and the lives of others, we must be careful (full of care) not to mistake the “what” (or the triggers in our life) for the “why” (the cause, or reason we react the way we do).” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
The Problem with Getting Triggered by Unimportant People
January 08, 2022 23:30“When we give unimportant people the power to trigger us, we make them the most important person in our life!” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Why Are People So Hard Headed?
December 31, 2021 23:27"When convincing others, unless what you are saying resonates with how they see the world, what they care about, and how they see themselves, the only thing you are convincing them of is that you don’t know anything about them." ~ Adapted from Lisa Cron (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
The Neuroscience of Self-Determination
December 18, 2021 22:59"Regardless of the problem, as long as our solution requires someone else to change, we will never know the power and promise of self-determination." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
How to Break the Cycle of Stress and Frustration
December 10, 2021 22:53"All of life is a cycle of cause and effect. In order to break the cycle of stress and frustration we must do more than just change the cause or change the effect… we must become the cause." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
When We Aren't Willing To Be Wrong
November 28, 2021 22:43"We must be willing to be wrong in order to trust what we believe to be right." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Dealing With Unwanted Negative Emotions
November 06, 2021 21:40“It’s not what we feel, but what we feed, that creates our experience of life.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
How to Stop an Argument
November 06, 2021 21:34“The question that will stop any argument is, ‘Do you really want to understand my position, or do you just want to convince me that I’m wrong?’” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Anger Management vs. Anger Mastery!
October 29, 2021 21:32“Anger can be a signal that something needs to change… however, it is often not the most effective energy to trust in making the change.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
How to Maximize Our Influence
October 27, 2021 22:04"The first key in being able to influence others, is to ensure that our insistence isn't creating more resistance." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Forgiving Ourselves
October 23, 2021 21:24"Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn't know before you learned it." ~ Maya Angelou (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com)
Don't Let People Live In Your Head - Rent Free!
October 12, 2021 19:56"In order to become more influential in our experience of life, we must become more selective to whom we allow inside our heads." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
A New Tool For Creating a More Purposeful Life
September 30, 2021 19:51"Every thought, emotion, and action is a statement about who we are, and who we are becoming. Why not make this statement 'On Purpose'?" ~ Neale Walsch (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
Stress Versus Distress
September 25, 2021 19:48"Until we know the difference between stress and distress, we won't know what and when to change." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
Parenting in the "Never Enough" World
September 18, 2021 19:43"In terms of teaching our children to be successful in the never-enough world, the question isn't "are we parenting the right way," as it is: "Are we the adult that we want our child to grow up to be?" Adapted from Brené Brown, Ph.D. (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
The Neuroscience of Social Anxiety
September 11, 2021 19:40"When our purpose becomes avoidance, our life becomes a void." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
When Simply Listening Isn't Enough
September 04, 2021 19:37“When feelings run deep and positions are entrenched, then just listening often isn’t enough to move the conversation forward.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
When Insight Isn't Enough
August 23, 2021 14:27"When the alarm bell of the emotional brain keeps signaling that you are in danger, no amount of insight will silence it." ~ From The Body Keeps Score by Bessel van der Kolk (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
Dealing with Defensive People
August 14, 2021 19:33"The reason some people get so defensive is not because they are defending their position…they are defending their judgment… they are defending themselves!” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
The "Magic Question" for Successful Conflict Resolution
August 07, 2021 19:30:Solution-focused questions about the future, that combine what is important to the other person with what is important to us, are the key to successful conflict resolution.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
Teaching Kids to Calm Themselves Down
July 24, 2021 14:47"The truth is that kids don’t like to feel bad. It goes against what they love which is to have fun and experience joy. Therefore, the key to helping them manage their emotions is first showing them how we manage ours and then making the process of influencing how we feel enjoyable.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
Two More Tools for Life!
July 17, 2021 14:41"In order to become more influential in our life and the lives of others, we must not only become clear about why we think and feel a certain way, but how to change those thoughts and emotions to ones that are more congruent with the life we want to create." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
How & When to Say Enough! - The Neuroscience of Healthy Boundaries
July 10, 2021 14:38"We have to believe we are enough in order to say, "Enough!" ~ Brené Brown (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
The Difference Between Worry & Anxiety
July 03, 2021 14:36"When our worry is feeding our anxiety, or our anxiety is feeding our worry, we need to stop the feeding frenzy and shift our focus from the problem to the solution, because it's not what we feel, but what we feed that will create our experience of life." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
Using Brainscience to Enhance Communication
June 29, 2021 15:38“While we are not responsible for other people’s reactions, we do play a role in how their brain interprets what we do and say, and this will determine our influence.” ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
The Importance of Confidence in Conflict
June 22, 2021 15:16"Confidence is the ability to understand another's perspective without needing to accept or reject it in order to move from conflict to consensus." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
The Power of Resilience
June 15, 2021 15:12"When the storms of life hit, the resilient adjust their sails." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)
The Power of Focus or Attention
June 08, 2021 14:25"If we don't pay attention to our focus, or what we are paying attention to… we will never know if the payment is worth the cost." ~ Bill Crawford (https://www.billcrawfordphd.com/quote-video-blog/)