Shane Parrish

Rewire Your Brain Series: Break Doom Loops

by John Centofanti | Aug 13, 2026 | Anxiety, Depression, Emotions, Mental Health, Mindset, Movement Disorders, Neuroplasticity, Rewire Your Brain Series

Doom loops aren’t a willpower problem or a weakness. They are caused by a brain trying to close a loop it can’t close. Try this five-second trick that actually breaks a negative thought spiral fast.

Rewire Your Brain Series: Write it Out, On Paper

by John Centofanti | Aug 3, 2026 | Mental Health, Neurological, Neuroplasticity, Rewire Your Brain Series, Writing

My speech therapist gave me a strange assignment after brain injury: keep a written log of my day. I didn’t know it would become the thing that rewired how I process my emotions. There’s a saying and principle in the worlds of neurology and psychology: Neurons that fire together, wire together. Writing makes things in our brain fire together. It can change your brain, and change your life. It’s not an overstatement.

Rewire Your Brain Series: Speak Different Words

by John Centofanti | Jul 22, 2026 | Anger, Belief, Emotions, Mindset, Neurological, Neuroplasticity, Rewire Your Brain Series

My neurologists gave me one piece of advice that sounded like fluff until he explained the neuroscience behind it — the words I speak after I fail are literally rewiring my brain, for better or worse.

Rewire Your Brain Series: Endless Possibilities

by John Centofanti | Jul 15, 2026 | Anxiety, Belief, Depression, Emotions, Mindset, Neurological, Neuroplasticity, Rewire Your Brain Series

This is first in a series on rewiring your brain. My neurologist told me that some “roads” my brain previously took to help me function were now closed. They would never reopen. That was bad news. The good news, however difficult to hear, was that I could build new roads, or neural pathways.

The Only Time Average Can Be Heroic

by John Centofanti | Jul 10, 2026 | Cardiac Arrest

Life can be frustrating for a person who has a brain injury. Living with someone who does isn’t easy, either. I can’t eliminate those situations, I can only try to manage them consistently.

GPS. Apple Pay. Brain Delay.

by John Centofanti | Jul 3, 2026 | Authenticity, Mindset

Life can be frustrating for a person who has a brain injury. Living with someone who does isn’t easy, either. I can’t eliminate those situations, I can only try to manage them consistently.

Anxiety & Depression: 2 Stages. Same Struggle.

Anxiety and Depression: 2 Stages of the Same Struggle

by John Centofanti | Jun 30, 2026 | Anxiety, Depression, Doctor Visits, Emotions, Mental Health, Mindset, Neurological

If you’ve ever cared about everything and nothing at the same time, you already know what anxiety and depression feel like. Here’s what nobody tells you.

Anoxic Brain Injury is Like an F5 Tornado

by John Centofanti | Jun 23, 2026 | Brain Injury, Cardiac Arrest, Doctor Visits, Healthcare, Neurological

Anoxic brain injury is like an F5 tornado. Imagine yourself standing in a pile of rubble.

Imagine someone picking up a piece of wood from the rubble, and asking if you know where it belongs. It’s nearly impossible.

The Gift of Unexpected Compassion

by John Centofanti | Jun 9, 2026 | Brain Injury, Doctor Visits, Mental Health, Mindset, Neurological

The friendly young man behind the counter asked if I wanted my tuna to be on a wheat, tomato, or a spinach wrap. That’s when things turned south for me.

Who doesn’t understand a wheat wrap? At that moment, I didn’t.

“I apologize. I had a brain injury, and I don’t understand any of this.”

I Believe It. I Need You to Believe It.

by John Centofanti | Jun 1, 2026 | Belief, Doctor Visits, Emotions, Mental Health, Mindset

I explained to my neurologist how a previous doctor told me I reached my cognitive limit. There could be no more improvement.

My neurologist looked at me and said, “That’s a terrible diagnosis. You’re going to get better.”

He said words that have stuck with me since: “I believe it. I need you to believe it. When you believe it, your brain will put itself in a position to heal, and it will begin to heal.”