Remember how determined you were when you made your New Year’s Resolution? You had every intention of sticking to it. Now, two weeks into the month you’ve found yourself slipping up and making excuses. Is this motivated-not motivated pendulum a reoccurring theme in your life?  Don’t worry; motivation deficiency is not an existing disease. So, why is this happening? Well, it could be your brain chemistry; a carefully orchestrated interplay of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.

If your brain was a symphony orchestra, your neurotransmitters are the musicians. These neurotransmitters, similar to musicians, relay information. Musicians relay music to an audience and neurotransmitters relay information to your brain and body. Now, imagine how the music would sound if part of the orchestra started playing extremely loud, another part completely stopped playing, and a third part started to play a completely different song. Do you think you would recognize the song? This calamity is the message your brain and body hears when neurotransmitters are out of balance. All life functions such as heartbeat and breath are controlled by these chemical messengers. They effect concentration, mood, appetite, hormone regulation and have a profound influence on health and well-being. Scientists estimate that 86% of Americans have unhealthy brain chemistry.

Wouldn’t you like to know if yours are functioning properly?

Causes of Neurotransmitter Imbalance
Unfortunately, the typical American lifestyle is all it takes to wreck havoc on brain chemistry.

• Stress – depletes neurotransmitters
• Poor Diet – We need amino acids from protein, vitamins, and minerals to make neurotransmitters. Nutrasweet, caffeine, and alcohol deplete neurotransmitters.
• Poor Digestion – If we can’t break it down or absorb what we need, we can’t make neurotransmitters.
• Pesticides, Heavy Metals, and Drugs (prescription and recreational) – damage receptor cells that take up neurotransmitters.
• Medical Conditions – including blood sugar imbalance, allergies,  inflammatory conditions thyroid, adrenal, and gonadal dysfunction

More Than Missing Motivation
A growing number of common health complaints can be attributed to neurotransmitter imbalance.

EXCITATORY NEUROTRANSMITTERS		INHIBITORY NEUROTRANSMITTERS
Function: Stimulate the brain		Function: Calm the Brain
Neurotransmitter	Action on the body	Neurotransmitter	Action on the body
Dopamine	Focus, Attention Motivation Mood Addictive Disorders	Serotonin	Sleep Cycle Happy NT- Prevents Depression/Anxiety Carbohydrate Cravings PMS
Norepinephrine	Wakefulness/Arousal Metabolism High levels à anxiety Low levelsà decreased focus and sleep cycle problems	GABA	Signifigant Mood Modulator Released to balance excessive excitatory neurotransmitters Inhibits motor neurons
Epinephrine	Metabolism/Energy Anxiety Focus Mood Controls heart rate and blood pressure Low levels à fatigue, difficulty losing weight High levels à anxiety, sleep difficulties	Dopamine	Excitatory and Inhibitory Stimulants initially increase dopamine availability but eventually deplete it, leaving one forgetful and lazy. Associated with positive stress states (being in love, listening to music)

If you want to achieve a goal and feel like you aer constantly hitting roadblocks when trying to achieve it, what follows is a virtually guaranteed way of achieving your most desired goals:

1. Gather Supplies - Your goal, a small notebook, scotch tape, camera, pen/pencil
2. Write down your goal. Write in bold and in the present tense. Be specific and concise.
3. Write down your three most compelling personal rewards.
4. Now time for the fun part: 100 Mantra Meditation. Find a quiet space, and read or say aloud your goal 100 times. If this sounds horrible, or if you get to #5 and want to stop, one of two things are occurring:
1. You need to rewrite your goal because you don’t truly want what you have constructed.
2. You have a subconscious block that is keeping you from achieving your goal.
5. Take or find powerful pictures of your three most compelling rewards.
6. Tape your pictures to your notebook pages.
7. Write down your step by step action plan. Write something small everyday that you can do to work towards achieving your goal. Write down something larger that you can work on once a week. Write down something even more significant that you can work towards during the month to work towards your goal.
8. Review your goal, pictures, and plan in the morning before getting out of bed and in the evening before going to sleep.
9. Journal about your thoughts and progress daily.