Change Your Brain Every Day - Destroying Your Limiting Beliefs – Part 1 of an Interview with Rachele Brooke Smith

Episode Date: June 7, 2017

Often times it is our own limiting beliefs that hold us back in life. In this episode of the Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana are joined by actress, Rachele Brooke Smith, founder of “The Disruptive Movement”. Rachele discusses how she went from a fearful, anxious child to landing the lead role in a major Hollywood film, all by using visualization to see past her limiting beliefs.

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. Here we teach you how to win the fight for your brain to defeat anxiety, depression, memory loss, ADHD, and addictions. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we've transformed lives for three decades using brain spec imaging to better target treatment and natural ways to heal the brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com.

The Brain Warriors Way podcast is also brought to you by BrainMD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceutical products to support the health of your brain and body. For more information, visit brainmdhealth.com. Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. All right, so we are here today with the Brain Warriors Way podcast with someone very special to us, Rachel Brooke Smith. You are very special because not only do we know your parents, and they're great people, but you've actually made your own name

in Hollywood at such a young age. I know you were on Center Stage. You've actually were in The Nice Guys with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. There's like this huge list here. I'm not going to read them all. Cold Moon, lead role, let's see, from the writer of Beetlejuice.

And that one actually comes out in August in theater. So we're really excited about that. And I play a Southern character and it was a big, every single film that I've done has literally been an experience or a story of how you can manifest big goals and dreams. Oh, that's awesome. Especially center stage.

Well, she's got this huge list of roles. She's been in movies that she's been in. She is a ridiculous dancer the control you have over your body is seriously ridiculous like i've never seen a person's body move like that so it's pretty amazing and you are a beautiful girl both inside and out i mean as pretty as you are on the outside i just think it's even more amazing how sweet you are and that at your age you are actually living with an incredible purpose. So talk to us a little bit about your story because I don't want to just read your bio

and all the cool things you've done. Well thank you so much for that amazing introduction and you know you guys really are some of my biggest heroes honestly. You guys have had an incredible effect on my family but also my life from listening to your podcast and learning about the things that you teach and I'm just so honored honestly to here. And I just want to help share your message, especially with the younger generation, because we just don't talk about brain, body, health enough. It all starts here. You know, it's all there. Like what you think, how you eat, you know, and I'm just a big believer in what you consume, you know, just like who you are around, your environment is just as important.

So you have this term that you brought up that I thought was really cool. Yes. Be disruptive. And you talk about being disruptive and creating miracles in your life. So what brought that on? So it really all goes back to, you know, a lot of what I think started my whole purpose and mission in my life was I grew up a really anxious, fearful little girl. Boy, you'd never know it. I know. Well, it's the crazy thing is that I want to share that to people know that it doesn't matter where you are now. You know, you can get to where you want to be and where you want to go,

but so much of it is the personal journey, the personal growth. And so I grew up a very competitive gymnast, like very competitive from a very young age. And I just, I always put, they put a lot of pressure on us to be great, obviously. But I put so much of that on myself, you know, and I created my own world of anxiety and fear in my head so much so that I was almost, I mean, I was sick all the time. It pretty much was. I understand that. That sounds familiar.

I was one of those kids too. I think so. I remember hearing stories of that. And I mean, I was almost throwing up once a week and not because of an eating disorder, but because I was one of those kids too. Yeah, I think so. I remember hearing stories of that. And I mean, I was almost throwing up once a week and not because of an eating disorder, but because I was so scared. I had such anxiety. You know, I really got competitive in gymnastics from, it was like from eight to 13. And, you know, it was also a big part of my mom's life too. I mean, just like as a mom, you know, if your kids in practicing every day for five hours, I mean, it was every day, five hours a day.

Yeah, you're committed. You're committed. And so I knew that I wasn't happy. I knew that I wasn't okay, especially when you're that sick all the time. I missed half the school year. And it was just really hard for me to get the courage to quit

because that was my life. That was my identity. So just like anything else, we know a lot of people are scared of change because that's all they know. So even if you're not happy, you can stay and staying in the same place because you're scared of change. So one thing I want to point out, you actually, I mean, you didn't grow up like without a lot. So I want to point this out. Like I grew up really poor and, you know, I mean, people hear that and they that in in a situation like where i grew up and really kind of ugly background but you had pretty amazing parents and amazing parents i mean my dad was in residency though for most of my life he's a neurosurgeon which love my parents heroes of mine um but you

know so for most of my most of my upbringing like he was in residency and never really got to see him and we didn't they're busy guys yeah well we didn't have that much i mean i didn't have a bad childhood at all i had great parents but um you know it wasn't until my later like teens that it was it was became different after my dad got out of residency okay so he was gone a lot gone a lot i know residents because i'm a nurse and they live at the hospital. So I understand that. Were these things that sort of, were you the only one in your family who struggled with anxiety? Was this sort of a common theme? Well, you know, it's interesting because I don't think it's come out till maybe later. I mean, I'm the second oldest in my family, but definitely I think a

lot of us more so put so much pressure on ourselves. We've all talked about at different times how we just feel this pressure. And not because I don't think even my parents put on us, but just to do amazing things in the world. Like I've just always had this feeling inside of me, like I just, I have to do big things, whatever that means. I just want to make an impact. And I think I've transformed that, you know, I've transformed that kind of, I've learned how to transform that kind of anxiety or fear into just living it every day. So that's what I'm interested in. Yeah, yeah. How did you go from throwing up a lot and feeling anxious and being unhappy and working really hard

to where you are today? Yeah. So what were the steps for you that you think other people could learn from? Absolutely. Well, I do have to say one of the biggest things after I finally got the courage to say, okay, I'm not happy in this. I have to be done. It was after I actually broke my hand, had surgery and the thought of going back to that life of gymnastics. And I mean, I just, I couldn't do it. finally got the courage to my mom it was very challenging and it was really hard for her to hear that and love my mom to death um but it really you know being a 13 year old girl and have your mom say you know I don't I can't really be around you for a while I don't like you very much right now is

and uh you know but we're best friends now like like I said I have the best mom in the world and I love her so much and we've grown so much through this path but after that I mean I straight cried you know I was super sad you know my whole identity was gone my best friends didn't want to be around me very much and and then I saw a movie that to me I just had this life-changing experience in that film and that film was center stage it was the first center stage and it was so you were the lead role no not in this one i was 13 still i saw the first one oh interesting and that was the film that completely changed me and i had this it was the first time i'd ever felt this uh this overwhelming passion like that is what i want to do because it made me so happy and I was so inspired by these people these girls telling this story on stage and their movement and dance and I'd

always loved dance it was a kind of a part of gymnastics but not really um and so I just I goosebumps chills I couldn't leave my seat and I just felt so overwhelmed by this experience um that I remember my family had like they I stayed after and just closed my eyes and just automatically started visualizing myself doing all of that. Okay, well, I'm a little tripped out right now because you got the lead role. I did. In the next center stage. The second one. So that's very creepy and weird and eerie and cool.

In a cool way. In a cool kind of way. It's awesome. No, it is, but I mean, it's sort of trippy. I think it's what you teach people about visualizing. It's trippy. About, but I mean, it's sort of trippy. I think it's what you teach people about visualization. It's trippy. About finding your bliss. Absolutely.

I'm like the biggest believer. We have the most amazing tool between our ears. The power of visualization can completely create experiences in the future. And it's how much you actually believe in that. And I got told along my path. I'm blown away. Along my path path after i was like okay that's what i'm gonna do i walked out of the theater saying okay mom dad get me into

acting classes get me to dance classes and i just lived it and breathed it was the first time though that i ever experienced what it was like to just feel happy and just so like i so powerful i still do like hours and hours all day long and i never know, whereas maybe some people's passion or mission might be gymnastics. And they might have that same experience, you know, where they just love it. They get to find your thing. Yeah, and I think that's such a powerful thing is like the power in finding that, you know, and trying new things, getting out of your comfort zone. What I say, you know, disrupting limiting beliefs, disrupting your comfort zone.

Because if you never try, you never know. But so many of us stay in this comfort zone's so many interesting i know my brain brain things going going on because i'm actually not a huge fan of gymnastics for for girls yeah or boys because of the head trauma that goes with it and i have a niece that competed at a very high level all the way through college and she had three concussions. And then she had behavior issues. And I mean, it's not a good. But I don't know that many dancers who have concussions. Right?

I mean, I'm sure there are. But not many. But it's those complex motor movements that you learned in gymnastics that made it easier for you to be a dancer. Because you're working your cerebellum. That's the back bottom part of the brain that's involved in coordination. Yeah.

And it just helped your development. Oh, it's so much so. But then switching it to get something you love, something you're passionate about, something that's not work, something you have to do. Yeah. That's what we wish for all of our kids our kids and our patients it's like can you get

connected yeah to what you love to something yeah i think that's well and that's why i mean one i i instead that i do when i started you know disruptive it was all about um through that experience and so many other experiences like along my path when i was like okay i'm going to be an actress i'm going to go to la I'm going to be a movie star you know I've I remember my dreams would be I think the celebrity the movie star but it was like I want to help change people's lives like it changed mine in that moment and just the power of film I mean I start to cry because I every time I go to the theater or I see a movie I think it's one of the most powerful ways to change people,

to take people through an experience. You can share ideas and stories all day long as soon as you can experience something with somebody. It's a totally different game changer. It's interesting. I want to throw something in there as a mom from a different perspective. So we have a 13-year-old. She's amazing.

Like I just have to say, she's actually amazing. But we went through a situation where i actually was frustrated with her for a while because she wouldn't commit to stuff couldn't get her she wasn't passionate about much of anything yeah um and i was frustrated i felt like she was quitting on things and yeah we were pushing her to sort of go into science and you know always talking to her about being a doctor planting that seed and this she had a similar experience. One day she was at a concert and she just got this bug and she just sat there.

And I remember I was with her because she was young. And so she just, she left there and she was really quiet instead of being really excited like outwardly. And I could tell something had shifted. And she told me, this is what I want to do. And I was like, what? What happened to being a doctor, right?

And so she, but when she really, I could see it. I could see there was going to be no talking her out of it. And she was so passionate and so driven. And when I asked her why, she said, because I want to make a difference. I want to be inspiring. And this is a way I can do it. This is a platform.

She goes, I just can't think of another way. And I thought to be inspiring and this is a way I can do it. This is a platform. She goes, I just can't think of another way. And I thought to myself for a minute, you know, I could push her to go the doctor route and she'd probably not be happy. Yeah. Who am I to squash her dreams? And so since we've been doing that, we've been really supporting her. Yeah. This kid is amazing. She is, she just blossomed and you know, she's such a good kid. And people say to me, your kid's so good. But we're trying to do our part to sort of foster those dreams. Thank you for that. Yes. Yeah. I think that's so important. And something I learned too, I mean, I got told I was crazy all along the way. And trust me, my dad, one, I had all these other,

my plans of how I was going to accomplish this goal and dream and none of that worked. And thank goodness it didn't. Right. Because, you know, I really learned through that how sometimes the things that we were talking about before, the things that you think are the worst things could actually and usually are the very best. So for you, what were those things that worked? So, um, well, we'll say, you know, before we get into that, I just do want to say on

what you were talking about. Like my dad was not happy about me moving to LA when I was 18. He's like, what about, what about the college route? What about going to, you know, cause I had, uh, an amazing GPA. I got, the only reason why I didn't get into my dream college was my test scores weren't, you know, I wanted to get into a ridiculously hard college. And, um, but I was devastated when I didn't because I was like caps of the dance line. I mean, overachiever, like crazy to get this goal and dream. I didn't get in, was devastated when I didn't because I was like, caps the dance line. I mean, overachiever, like crazy to get this goal and dream.

I didn't get in, was devastated. And then last minute found this audition or heard this audition in LA for a performing arts scholarship program. Did that for a year. Best thing I ever did. I got, as soon as I got out, I actually have an agent. I got actually auditioned again. I got turned down by a bunch of

acting agents and they're like, no, you're not ready. The only thing I knew to do was to dance. And so I would just keep going back and I'd keep dancing. I would keep going to classes. I had that whole year I'd been in LA. I had never seen anything on the wall for like an audition anytime. This is the first time I could actually have the chance to audition again. I saw they signed the wall, said auditions for the lead girl in center stage two. Almost didn't go because I had just got turned down so many times by acting agents. So good point. Yeah. But, and I almost didn't go. I justified, I felt my mind creating all the ants,

the automatic negative thoughts that you talk about, which is really, we'll get to that. The big reason why I started Disruptive was to help disrupt those and have an actionable thing and a reminder on a shirt or apparel that helps you be like, oh, wait, no, that's just a, like I'm stronger, I'm more powerful than my thoughts. So that's similar to what we would call a pattern interrupt.

Yes, exactly. Really, that is what Disruptive is, is in a fun, creative, kind of rebellious way using pattern interrupts to help people rethink or reframe situations. And rebellious against yourself. Yes. Against the limiting beliefs in yourself.

Against what I call the negative. I mean, I feel like, I mean, I'm an actress, so I feel like I have so many people inside of me. But we all do. We all have these different characters that we could be or can be. It's just like, who are you, what character are you deciding to be today right you know um sometimes some days i wake up and i feel a little whiny and i'm like no we're going to be warrior today yes exactly and having even names for that i think getting the more creative and that when you say when were the things that did work it was when i mixed my create my creative mind into my personal growth side, you know, into my goal achieving.

And so, you know, even with clients that I work on or like my online programs with Disruptive, it's all about gamifying goals. And, you know, one of my big missions is to make personal growth and brain body health like a fun, cool, sexy thing to do for our younger generation. And for your generation,

it has to be sort of fun and sexy. And sexy doesn't have to necessarily mean sexy in that way, but like, like that sort of exciting, fresh and fun. And, and I've seen your clothing line for your workout.

Apparently it's super cute. I ordered some for Chloe. It's like really cute. Yeah. That's really awesome. So when we come back, we are going to talk about the practical things you're doing now to keep your brain and your body in top shape and how you're sharing it with the world. Stay with us, everyone.

Thank you for listening to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. We have a special gift for you. It's an opportunity to win an evaluation at the Amen Clinics. All you have to do is subscribe to this podcast, leave a review, and rate us on iTunes. To learn more the Amen Clinics. All you have to do is subscribe to this podcast, leave a review, and rate us on iTunes. To learn more about Amen Clinics and the work we do, go to amenclinics.com. You can also learn about our nutraceutical products at brainmdhealth.com. Thanks for listening.