Modern life can estrange us from what truly matters. We chase goals that look like success but feel hollow – and before we know it, we’re overwhelmed, reactive and disconnected from our own internal compass.

In this episode of Super Brain, Sabina Brennan explores meaning and purpose through a neuroscience lens and offers a powerful practical tool: make an appointment with yourself.

You’ll learn why your sense of self is essentially a story your brain constructed from data (some brilliant, some expired), why memory isn’t a recording device and how clarity changes what your brain notices.

By the end, you’ll have a simple, repeatable ritual to audit the story of you, update limiting beliefs and take one small action aligned with what matters most.

In This Episode

• Why meaning and purpose aren’t found by doing more
• How stress pushes your brain into survival mode
• Why your sense of self is a story built from old data
• The myth of memory as a “video file”
• How limiting beliefs are often narrative errors
• A step-by-step “appointment with yourself” ritual
• How clarity becomes a neural filter for what you want next

Call to Action

If this episode landed for you, schedule your appointment with yourself today – even 30 minutes is enough.

For a deeper dive into these ideas, explore The Neuroscience of Manifesting.

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Episode Summary:

Why do some people seem to attract good fortune? In this episode, I explore the neuroscience of serendipity – those chance discoveries and happy accidents that change everything. From Alexander Fleming’s mouldy petri dish to the role of the brain’s default mode network in connecting unrelated ideas, this episode uncovers the science behind what we call “luck.”

You’ll learn how curiosity, openness, and cognitive flexibility make us more likely to notice opportunity when it crosses our path – and how to train your brain to do just that.

In this episode:

• How the term serendipity was born from a Persian fairy tale
• What neuroscience reveals about “accidental” discoveries
• Why “lucky” people simply notice more (Wiseman, 2003)
• How creative insights emerge from brain network interplay (Beaty et al., PNAS, 2018)
• Why our digital lives might be shrinking our chances for serendipity – and how to get it back
• The Three Tools for Your Super Brain Kit to invite more insight, connection, and creative luck into your life

Three Tools for Your Super Brain Kit:

1. Expand your input – curiosity feeds connection.
2. Practise attentive openness – notice what others miss.
3. Reframe setbacks as openings – mistakes can be portals to discovery.

Referenced research:

• Beaty, R. E. et al. (2018). PNAS, “Robust default–executive coupling supports creative cognition.”
• Wiseman, R. (2003). The Luck Factor.
• Busch, C. (2020). The Serendipity Mindset.

Key Quote:

“Serendipity isn’t just luck – it’s the brain’s brilliance at connecting the unconnected.”

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In this episode, Dr Sabina Brennan explores how generative AI changes learning. She looks at why effortful thinking is the engine of mastery, how AI can create an illusion of competence and practical ways to use AI as a tutor rather than a crutch.

Key takeaway: Learning sticks when it’s hard – AI works best when it helps you reach insights, not when it replaces the work.

Source: Brian W. Stone (2025), The Conversation – “How does AI affect how we learn? A cognitive psychologist explains why you learn when the work is hard”.

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If New Year’s resolutions leave you inspired one day and flattened the next, it’s not a willpower problem – it’s a nervous system problem. In this episode, Sabina shares three tiny, science-backed “micromoment” resets that help your brain feel safe enough to begin, plus a menu of quick interventions for common January traps like overthinking, doomscrolling, self-doubt, catastrophising, comparison, over-planning, worry and procrastination

In this episode, you’ll learn

• Why big resolutions can trigger your threat system, even when you want change
• How micromoments build safety and agency, which is how the brain rewires
• A fast sensory reset for spiralling thoughts, plus a 10-minute action that restores control
• A two-minute “toe dip” that breaks procrastination without shame
• A “threat to choice” switch for doomscrolling and catastrophising

Key takeaways

• Your brain is a prediction machine – it prefers the status quo because it’s easier to predict and therefore feels safer.
• When change equals discomfort, uncertainty or not being instantly good at something, the threat system can hijack behaviour into avoidance, scrolling or over-planning.
• The antidote isn’t more pressure – it’s small, repeatable experiences that teach your nervous system: “This is safe. This is enough. I can do the next step.”

The 3 tools (quick reference)

1. Tool 1 – The 3–3–3 reset + 10-minute agency

• Name 3 things you can see, 3 you can hear, 3 you can feel against your skin
• Then do one thing you can influence in the next 10 minutes (single-task timer)
• Finish with: “I didn’t solve everything, but I did choose and complete one thing.”

1. Tool 2 – The two-minute toe dip (procrastination reset)

• Set a timer for 2 minutes
• Do only the first step (open the doc, write one line, open the bill, clear one corner)
• Stop with permission – the win is starting, not finishing

1. Tool 3 – The threat to choice switch (doomscrolling + catastrophising)

• Choose a daily cue (kettle, getting into bed, sitting on the loo, waking up)
• Name it: “I’m checking for threat.”
• Flip the action for 2 minutes (stretch, step outside, drink water, slow breaths)
• For catastrophising: Worst case → most realistic → best case (restore range)

If this episode helped, share it with someone whose brain might benefit and follow Super Brain so next week’s episode lands straight in your feed.

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Episode summary

What happens when you close your eyes and try to “see” something in your mind? For some people it’s a full-colour mental movie. For others it’s hazy, fleeting or completely blank. In this episode, Dr Sabina Brennan explores the neuroscience of mental imagery, including eigengrau (that grainy ‘intrinsic grey’ most people notice in darkness), the spectrum from aphantasia to hyperphantasia and why visualisation is less about forcing pictures and more about learning how your brain constructs experience.

In this episode, Sabina covers

Why “seeing nothing” when you visualise doesn’t mean you’re bad at imagination

Eigengrau – what that smoky grey tells us about baseline visual activity

Aphantasia and hyperphantasia – two ends of the imagery vividness spectrum

Mental imagery in brain terms: top-down simulation meeting bottom-up perception

Why worry is often a “mental movie” and how imagery can amplify emotion

How imagery is used in sport, performance, rehab and therapy

Tools in Three: how to work with imagery whatever your baseline

Key takeaways

Imagery varies hugely between people and it’s normal.

Visualisation isn’t just visual – sound, touch, movement, emotion and language can carry imagination too.

The goal isn’t perfect pictures, it’s intentional rehearsal that shapes attention, expectation and behaviour.

The most effective visualisation tends to be process-focused, not just outcome-focused.

Tools in Three

1. Know your baseline – stop forcing a cinema screen. Work with your strongest channel (words, sensation, sound, movement).

2. Build a multisensory practice – start with a real object, then recreate it with eyes closed. Add texture, temperature, weight, sound. Pair calming imagery with slow breathing.

3. Apply imagery intentionally and aim for process – rehearse the steps, the likely wobble moments and how you’ll recover, not just the “trophy scene”.

Memorable lines (pull quotes)

“Imagination isn’t about pictures. It’s about possibility.”

“Worry is often imagery too – the brain running mental movies of what might go wrong.”

“Aphantasia is not an imagination failure. It is a different format for thinking.”

References (as cited in the episode)

Zeman A, Dewar M, Della Sala S. Lives without imagery – Congenital aphantasia. Cortex. 2015.

S6E6 - Visualisation beefed up …

Pearson J. The human imagination: the cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2019.

Milton F, et al. Aphantasia and hyperphantasia: extreme differences in visual imagery vividness. Cortex. 2021.

Tags

visualisation, mental imagery, aphantasia, hyperphantasia, eigengrau, neuroscience of imagination, memory, anxiety, sport psychology, mental rehearsal, guided imagery, manifesting, brain prediction

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Have you ever walked into a room and thought, “Any minute now they’re going to realise I’ve no idea what I’m doing”?

In this episode of Super Brain, psychologist and neuroscientist Sabina Brennan unpacks what’s often called imposter syndrome – and why the original researchers actually called it the impostor phenomenon instead.

Drawing on brain science and real-world examples, Sabina explores what’s happening in your threat circuits, reward system and perfectionist wiring when you’re constantly bracing for the “fraud police” to knock on the door. You’ll hear how early messages about being “the smart one” – or never quite smart enough – can set up a lifelong gap between how others see you and how you see yourself.

Most importantly, you’ll learn three practical tools to add to your Super Brain kit:

– Name it, don’t shame it – shifting from “I am a fraud” to “I’m having an impostor moment”

– Rewire the self-doubt circuits – using neuroplasticity, self-compassion and “good enough” experiments

– Change the context, not just yourself – noticing when your discomfort is data about an exclusionary system

The impostor phenomenon isn’t proof that you’re a con artist. It’s a protective brain story that you can gently update. You’re allowed to be a work in progress – and you’re allowed to be here while you’re learning.

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Episode summary:

“Brain rot” was named the Oxford Word of the Year 2024 – a tongue-in-cheek term for that fried feeling after too much scrolling or streaming. But what’s really going on in the brain when constant digital stimulation leaves us feeling empty and unfocused?

In this episode, Dr Sabina Brennan unpacks the neuroscience of brain rot – how dopamine loops, cognitive overload and attention fatigue are reshaping our mental landscape – and what you can do to reclaim your focus and creativity.

You’ll learn:

• Why “brain rot” isn’t just slang – it reflects a real neurological tug-of-war
• How dopamine drives endless scrolling and decision fatigue
• Why your attention and memory pay the price for multitasking
• The difference between brain fog (physiological) and brain rot (behavioural)
• Why daydreaming and mental white space are the healthiest “apps” on your mental home screen

Three Tools for Your Super Brain Kit:

1. 🧩 The Friction Rule – add small barriers to scrolling and let your brain catch up.
2. ⚡ Dopamine Reset – replace passive hits with active rewards like learning or movement.
3. 🌿 Stillness Practice – schedule unstructured thinking time to reboot your focus.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Beating Brain Fog by Dr Sabina Brennan – for deeper insights into how clarity and focus are restored in the brain.
• Oxford University Press Word of the Year 2024: “Brain Rot”.
• Research on dopamine, attention fatigue and the Default Mode Network.

Connect:

💬 Share your thoughts and experiences with #SuperBrain

📚 Read more: www.sabinabrennan.ie

🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/superbrain.

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pisodic-like memory

• How dog ageing helps us understand human dementia

• Why your dog is a genuine co-regulator of your nervous system

Tools in Three

1. Micro-moments matter — a glance, a rub, a kind word
2. Stress buffer — swap doom-scrolling for a dog cuddle
3. Shared routines — walk, play, repeat

Takeaway:

Every pat, cuddle, and walk is brain medicine — for both of you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/superbrain.

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Summary (short version):

Why does winter feel heavier for some of us? In this episode, we explore the neuroscience of Seasonal Affective Disorder — from circadian rhythms and serotonin pathways to evolutionary quirks and the strange possibility that humans may still carry traces of ancient hibernation biology. Learn why your brain struggles with short days, how morning light acts as a natural antidepressant, and practical strategies to help your winter self thrive.

I share my own experience with winter mood shifts, what the science says about why they happen, and — most importantly — the tools we can use to reclaim our energy and wellbeing during darker months.

Three Tools for Your Super Brain Kit:

1. Light before screens — Get bright light within 30 minutes of waking (10–20 minutes outdoors or a 10,000-lux lamp).
2. Anchor your day — Keep wake and sleep times consistent to stabilise your circadian rhythm.
3. Reverse-winter habits — Add small dopamine-rich rewards before difficult tasks, not after, to counter low motivation.

Each episode explores what’s really going on inside your brain when you do the things you do — from the everyday to the extraordinary — and gives you three tools for your Super Brain kit.

Sabina's books

The Neuroscience of Manifesting

Still Me

100 Days to a Younger

Brain Beating Brain Fog

Brain Gym in a Box

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/superbrain.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are we so much harsher on ourselves than we are on others? In this episode of Super Brain, I explore the neuroscience of self-compassion — what it is, what it isn’t, and why it’s the antidote to self-criticism.

Drawing on the work of Dr Kristin Neff and Buddhist philosophy, we’ll look at self-compassion as a three-part skill: self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connection. I’ll share research showing how self-compassion reduces stress, quiets the amygdala, and activates brain regions linked to empathy and emotional regulation.

I’ll also explain why self-criticism is a form of self-harm, and why self-compassion is a foundation for flourishing and manifesting happiness, resilience, and contentment.

• As always, I’ll wrap up with my Tools in Three — simple ways you can start turning up your brain’s kindness switch today.

Each episode explores what’s really going on inside your brain when you do the things you do — from the everyday to the extraordinary — and gives you three tools for your Super Brain kit.

Sabina's books

The Neuroscience of Manifesting

Still Me

100 Days to a Younger

Brain Beating Brain Fog

Brain Gym in a Box

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/superbrain.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.