We might assume that the way our brains work is fixed but there’s been more and more research into the potential of neuroplasticity . It is, in some ways, the best and worst thing about being human. We do have the capacity to change the way we think and it isn't inherent that we function in an anxious, stress-induced, hyperaware state. But we also live in a world where that state is encouraged – in order to be, or at least feel like we could be, a success by current standards, we must put more pressure on work to reflect our performance (and consequently our worth) than ever before. And while it is not impossible to radically change the way the entire world works, it is a much smaller change to find ways to work within that world and not let stress or anxiety or our deteriorating attention spans contort us into the most unhappy, disillusioned, even distraught versions of ourselves.