Understanding Your Nervous System: The Key to Unlocking Your Potential

What's the word I Xavier Savage, and I have a question for you.

Do you want to grow? Start with your nervous system. This isn’t about just lifting weights or eating clean—it’s about mastering the control center of your entire life.

Your nervous system is the most powerful tool you’ve got. When you understand how it works, you stop reacting and start responding. You stop hoping and start building. You stop surviving and start leading.

Let’s break it down.

What Is the Nervous System?

Think of your nervous system as your body’s master control unit. It’s made up of your brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves that run throughout your body. Every move you make, every emotion you feel, every decision you take—it’s all driven by this system.

This system processes:

• Thoughts

• Emotions

• Sensations

• Perceptions

• Actions

Your nervous system tells your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, your muscles to move. It’s behind your gut instincts and emotional reactions. It’s the bridge between your body and mind.

How History Shaped Neuroscience

Here’s some real talk: most of what we know about the brain came from war.

In World War I, brain injuries from combat helped doctors pinpoint what different brain areas actually do. Soldiers would survive with injuries that made them speak nonsense but still understand language—or recognize a face but not remember who it was.

Later, researchers found single neurons that only fired when someone saw a specific person—like the famous “Jennifer Aniston neuron.” That means your brain is wired by what matters to you.

You shape your brain through what you focus on. That’s power.

The 5 Functions of Your Nervous System

If you want control, master these five pillars:

1. Sensation: Your Input System

Everything starts here. Touch, sight, sound, smell, taste—these are the raw signals.

But remember: you don’t sense everything. Some animals see heat. Others feel magnetic fields. Your senses are limited, but what you do sense becomes your data.

2. Perception: What You Focus On

This is attention. You don’t feel the bottoms of your feet until I tell you to. That’s perception—what your mind decides is worth noticing.

You can train this spotlight. Focus builds awareness. Awareness builds skill.

3. Feelings: The Chemical Mix

Your emotions are shaped by chemicals like:

• Dopamine: Motivation and drive

• Serotonin: Contentment and stability

• Epinephrine: Energy and readiness

You don’t just “feel” randomly. Your nervous system creates emotional states based on how you live. The good news? You can shift the mix.

4. Thoughts: Your Internal Dialogue

Thoughts can be distractions or decisions. You can choose to direct your thinking or let it run wild.

Learning to control your thoughts is key to rewiring your nervous system.

5. Actions: Your Output

This is how the world sees you. Your words, your habits, your legacy—it all starts here.

You act based on the signals your nervous system processes. Train those signals and you change your behavior.

Neuroplasticity: Change Is Always Possible

Your brain can rewire itself. This is neuroplasticity.

Kids do it fast. Adults can still do it—it just takes more focus.

You need two things:

• Alertness

• Deep focus

After that, rest is where the magic happens. Sleep and deep rest reinforce the changes you’ve made during effort. Studies even show that rest after hard work can lock in what you’ve learned.

Autonomic Nervous System: The Hidden Rhythm

This system runs in the background. It controls:

• Wakefulness and sleep

• Calm and stress

• Energy highs and lows

You cycle through 90-minute rhythms every day. These are windows of deep focus, creativity, or rest.

Track your rhythms. Figure out when you focus best, and schedule your hardest tasks then.

5 Ways to Take Control of Your Nervous System

1. Direct Your Attention

Control where your focus goes. Ignore distractions. Choose what matters.

2. Lean Into the Struggle

Struggle is the signal of growth. That mental resistance? It means you're rewiring.

3. Prioritize Sleep and Rest

Sleep is when your nervous system upgrades. Aim for 7–8 hours. Add deep rest breaks during the day.

4. Use 90-Minute Focus Blocks

Start working. First 10 minutes feel tough—push through. You’ll hit a flow state where learning and performance peak.

5. Reflect and Adjust

Track your energy and emotions. When are you most sharp? Most creative? Most reactive? Use that info to train smarter.

Final Thought: You Are the Architect

Your nervous system can work for you or against you. But you’re the one in control.

This isn’t just science. This is strategy. Train your nervous system, and you unlock your potential in:

• Fitness

• Focus

• Leadership

• Relationships

• Performance

This is the blueprint for living better.

Next up: I’m diving deep into sleep, rest, and how to unlock more focus and emotional power through recovery. You don’t want to miss that.

Until then, stay focused, stay disciplined, and stay dangerously informed.