♥️♥️🧠 Love Love Brain

Sometimes, we cannot control what another person does.

But we can pay attention to how we respond.

In this video, Adeline shares a personal example from her Jodi House book club and a lesson she took away from a discussion about the law of attraction.

For her, the biggest lesson was about noticing the thoughts and assumptions she carries into an experience.

📅 Why Writing Things Down Helps

Adeline explains that she keeps a written calendar and writes in a program every morning and every night.

Her occupational therapist taught her that having important information written down can be more helpful for her than keeping everything on her phone.

Because of her traumatic brain injury, she sometimes goes to her phone to check her calendar and becomes distracted by something else. By the time she returns to what she originally wanted to do, she may have forgotten why she picked up the phone.

Writing things down gives her something concrete to return to.

This is one example of finding strategies that work for your own brain.

🧠 We Don’t Always Control Other People’s Actions

During the book club, the group discussed the idea that we do not necessarily control other people’s actions, but we can have some influence over our own thoughts and responses.

Adeline gives a personal example.

Imagine having the thought:

“Women in Los Angeles are always late.”

Then a friend comes to visit and happens to arrive 15 minutes late.

If that belief is already in your mind, you might immediately think:

“See? I knew it.”

You could become frustrated before your friend even walks through the door.

💗 What If You Changed the Thought?

Adeline describes another way of approaching the same situation.

Instead of focusing on the fact that her friend is late, she could think:

“I’m so lucky that my girlfriend is coming to visit me.”

For Adeline, this matters because she does not leave the house much and cannot drive.

The same situation can then feel very different.

Her friend arrives 15 minutes late, but instead of beginning the visit with anger or judgment, Adeline can focus on how grateful she is that her friend came to see her.

🌱 A Different Thought Can Create a Different Experience

Adeline describes this as changing the energy she brings into the situation.

If she is already angry and judging her friend for being late, her friend may sense that tension and become defensive.

But if Adeline welcomes her with gratitude, the experience can begin with warmth instead.

This does not mean that we control another person’s feelings or behavior.

It is simply Adeline’s personal reflection on how her own thoughts and attitude can influence her experience of a situation and the way she interacts with another person.

🧩 A Brain Injury Friendly Strategy

After brain injury, it can be helpful to notice the thoughts that automatically appear.

You might ask yourself:

What am I assuming?

Is there another way I can look at this?

What do I want to focus on right now?

Sometimes, changing your perspective does not change the situation itself.

But it may change how you experience that situation.

💗 Love Love Brain Note

You cannot control everything that happens around you.

You cannot control another person’s choices, timing, or behavior.

But you can pause and notice your own thoughts and reactions.

If a situation is upsetting you, try asking yourself:

“Is there another way I can see this?”

For some people, that small pause can create a little more space for gratitude, patience, and peace.

🎥 Watch the Video

Watch Adeline’s video that inspired this blog post:

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Note: Every brain injury is different. This content is for education and support, not medical advice.