Blog | Dr. Amy Johnson

To Speed Up or To Slow Down?

I once heard that humans are the only living creatures that speed up when we’re lost. All other animals in nature slow down. Non-human animals instinctively stop and regain their bearings if they aren’t sure where they are or where they are going. They slow way down, letting their mind settle and allowing clarity—and perhaps

Getting in Front of the Pull

The image to the right is my new favorite way of thinking about how the machine-that-is your-brain will lead you through life, if you let it. Your brain is brilliant. It’s capable of incredible feats of intellect, memory, and logic. It keeps your body humming along and it has successfully kept you alive long enough

How to Break a Habit

I have a video to share with you this week!It’s a conversation I had with my friend, colleague, and almost-fellow author, Lisa Esile (her book Whose Mind is It Anyway? co-authored with her husband Franco, is coming out in June) about breaking habits and seeing life new ways.Lisa is a “mind expert” in her own

What does Inside-Out Really mean, Anyway?

At first glance, it looks like the world around us determines how we feel. It looks like: Your cat runs away = you feel sad. If your cat hadn’t run away = you’d feel better.And that’s probably true about the cat. I mean, it’s not true for everyone, always, across the board. But in general, when

Happy Holidays!

How my Mind Tried to Drag me Back into a Funk — and How I Didn’t Go

I recently had a pretty “off” few days. There was a lot going on around me that I was taking on internally; replaying, rehashing, batting around in my mind.After what felt like a long funk, there was a moment in the car with the kids one morning when it lifted.The steady stream of thoughts that had

Are you Going Through Life Putting Stakes in the Ground?

We humans love to put metaphorical stakes in the ground.Our minds crave certainty and efficiency. As a way of feeling more certain, we love to label, classify, decide, and generally believe that we know what’s what.Here’s how this can look:Liz was struggling with a binge eating habit. To help her move past her habit, we talked

Back to Basics

Every article I write points at the same basic truths. Each article is a different way of looking at how our human experience is created moment to moment by our own thinking.This week, I wanted to take a step back and revisit the basics that I’ve seen be so helpful for so many people.Enjoy the

Are you Life’s Annoying Backseat Driver?

My husband is a major backseat driver. To his credit, he tries hard not to be. He is quiet while I’m driving. It’s not like he’s screaming directions or barking orders at me–at least not since that last mid-trip “discussion”…But he definitely tries to drive from the passenger’s seat. Every time I pull into traffic he’s

Is Your Mind Playing Servant or Master?

(Read this on Huffington Post or comment there, if you want!)You’ve heard, “The mind is a wonderful servant but terrible master,” right?Or, “Use your mind; don’t let it use you”?Over the past few years in my own life, I’ve seen that these are not only cute sayings people toss around when they are trying to