Don’t pull the plug. Save the game.

A quiet thought for tonight. No pressure.

Your brain does something important while you sleep.
It’s called memory consolidation.....deciding what today is worth keeping.

Think of today like a video game level.
You made choices. You reacted. You learned things.

But here’s the part most people don’t know:

Your brain hates unfinished loops.

Psychologists call this the Zeigarnik Effect.
In simple terms: unfinished thoughts stick louder than finished ones.

That’s why one awkward moment can replay all night.....while ten normal moments disappear.

While you sleep, your brain replays what feels unresolved and assumes: “This must be important. Let’s keep it active.”

But here’s the quiet power you have.
Before sleep, you can close a few loops on purpose.

Nothing dramatic.
Just name three small things from today that are done.

• Something you handled
• Something you completed
• Something that went “okay enough”

When you do that, you signal:
“This part is finished. You can rest now.”

Efoytaye truth:
Sleep isn’t just rest.........It’s your brain filing the day.

Don’t let it archive stress by default.
Give it a better ending.

Save the game.
Good night

Body vs Mind

Have you ever noticed how your body can be exhausted, yet your mind keeps racing?
Or how your body feels fine, but your mind feels heavy?

The body reacts fast to pain, hunger, fatigue.
The mind reacts deep thoughts, beliefs, fears, hope.

One can be healed with rest.
The other needs awareness.

So here’s the question:
When something feels “wrong”… which one are you really listening to?

Sometimes the body speaks what the mind has been silently carrying all along.

@efoytaye

The Power of Thinking "The Worst"
(Wait, hear us out)

We’ve all heard it: "Just stay positive! Focus on the good vibes!" But let’s be honest....sometimes "positive vibes" feel like trying to put a small Band-Aid on a broken leg.

Actually, there is a much older, scientifically-backed strategy that works better for anxiety. Psychologists call it #Negative_Visualization, and the Stoics called it a Pre-mortem.

We #Ethiopians...,we have a version of this. Before a big event(digis), we don't just say "it will be perfect." We prepare for the rain, the power outage, and the extra 20 guests who weren't invited. We don't panic, because we already expected the chaos

The Science of "Defensive Pessimism": When you are anxious, your brain is stuck in a loop of "What if...?"
🟢"What if I fail the presentation?"
🟢"What if they don't like me?"

When you try to "think positive," you’re just arguing with your brain. But when you do a Negative Visualization, you lean into it. You ask: "Okay, what if I DO fail? What is my actual plan B?"

Why this helps your mental health:

📗The Fear Shrinks: Once you have a plan for the "worst case," the mystery disappears. Your brain stops screaming because the "What if" has an answer.

📗The "Surprise" Tax: Most of our stress comes from being surprised by problems. This technique makes you "un-shockable."

📗Gratitude by Accident: When you realize the "worst case" hasn't actually happened yet, you suddenly feel a genuine, biological rush of relief (a dopamine hit) for your current reality.

Being a "Positive Thinker" blindly, is like driving a car and pretending there are no such things as red lights. It’s exhausting.

Being a Strategic Realist means you know where the brakes are. You can drive faster because you know you can stop if you have to.

Tonight’s Mental Drill: take the ONE thing you are worried about for tomorrow. Stop trying to "hope it goes well." Instead, spend 2 minutes deciding exactly what you’ll do if it goes wrong.

Once you have the plan, the anxiety has nowhere to sit.

Plan for the rain. Then enjoy the sun

አንድ መኪና ሞተሩ ቢሰራና ጎማው ቢጎድል መጓዝ አይችልም፤ የሰው ልጅም አካሉ ጠንክሮ መንፈሱ ከዛለ ሙሉ ሊሆን አይችልም!

አካላዊ ጤንነት እና መንፈሳዊ ጥንካሬ በስነ-ልቦና እይታ ሲታዩ "ተነጣጣይ" ሳይሆኑ የአንድ ሳንቲም ሁለት ገጽታዎች ናቸው።

- የምንበላው፣ የምናደርገው እንቅስቃሴ እና የምንተኛው እንቅልፍ
- የህይወት ትርጉም፣ ተስፋ እና ከከፍተኛ ኃይል ጋር ያለን ግንኙነት
​- ስሜታችንን የምናስተዳድርበት እና የምናስብበት መንገድን ያካትታል

​ጤና ሲባል ደዌ የሌለበት አካል ብቻ ነው ወይስ ሰላም የሰፈነበት መንፈስም ጭምር?

በዛሬ ዝግጅታችን - በአካል እና በመንፈስ መካከል ያለውን ድልድይ እንፈትሻለን

ሀሙስ 9:00 በእፎይታዬ ሬዲዮ ሁላችንንም ይመለከተናል - ጠብቁን!
@efoytaye

Don't let your "Plan B" turn into a horror movie

Following up on our talk about "thinking the worst"....a few of you asked(inboxed us): "Wait, what if thinking about the worst just makes me more scared?"

That’s a fair point. There is a big difference between #Planning and #Worrying.

Worrying is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere. It ends with: "If this goes wrong, my life is over." That’s a dead end.

Planning (The Strategy) ends with: "If this goes wrong, here is the first phone call I will make."

Here is the #scientific secret: Your brain’s "Fear Center" (the Amygdala) doesn't care if your plan is perfect. It just wants to know that you are prepared. The second you write down a concrete action step for a disaster, your brain lowers the stress chemicals.

And about "Positive Thinking"? We love it. But we like "Grounded Positivity." It’s the difference between saying "I'm sure it won't rain" (Hope) and saying "It might rain, but I have a high-quality umbrella, so I’ll be fine either way" (Confidence).

Confidence doesn't come from thinking nothing will go wrong. Confidence comes from knowing you can handle it when it does.

Tonight's Tip: If your "Plan B" feels too scary, keep asking "And then what?" until you find a version of you that is still standing. Because you will still be standing.

You aren't fragile. You’re adaptable.

How do you usually respond to certain situations?
@efoytaye

Story credit

Dr Yabsira Amare
Melat Teshome

Why you’ll scroll for 40 mins & watch nothing.

It’s Friday night. You have Netflix(or those types of webpages😉), Telegram, and 500 channels. You are ready to relax.

But honestly: You are about to spend more time scrolling through the menu than actually watching anything.

Why? Psychologists call it Hick’s Law (The Paradox of Choice).

Remember the old days of #ETV? 📡 We had one channel. On #Saturday nights, we watched the one movie they played. And the crazy part? We were happier. We didn't have "FOMO" because there was nothing else to miss. The choice was made for us.

Now, with 5,000 options, your brain enters "Analysis Paralysis." You are so terrified of picking the "wrong" movie that you end up picking nothing.

Tonight’s "Mental Hack": Stop trying to find the "Perfect" choice. It doesn't exist.

The 2-Minute Rule: Give yourself a strict timer.
🍏Scroll for 2 minutes.
🍏Pick the first thing that looks "Okay."

Bring back that ETV energy. The joy comes from turning off your brain’s "searching" mode, not from the movie itself.

Help us out tonight: Drop ONE movie recommendation in the comments👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾 for everyone stuck in the scroll-hole. Help us out!

Have you ever wondered if your brain talks to your gut—literally?
Not with words, of course, but through neurotransmitters, hormones, and neural signals.

And if they are talking… could they also be exchanging emotions?

Science tells us about the brain–gut loop—how our thoughts, stress, safety, fear, and even joy can influence digestion, immunity, and overall wellbeing. But beyond science, there’s something deeper to explore:
• How do our lived experiences settle in the body?
• Can unresolved emotions speak through physical sensations?
• What does healing look like when we listen to both mind and gut?

Tonight, let’s deep dive together—to uncover, understand, and reflect on the brain–gut connection beyond textbooks and lab results.

🧠✨ We want to hear your thoughts, experiences, and perspectives.

Join us.
📅 Date: Saturday, Jan 03
⏰ Time: 3:00 LT Evening [9:00 PM]
📍Google meet: http://meet.google.com/uyn-eyhj-ihu

ለደስታችን ቀጠሮ ?

እንደምን አመሻችሁ የEfoytaye ቤተሰቦች።

እስቲ ቆም ብለን እራሳችንን እንታዘብ። ስንቶቻችን ነን ኑሯችንን በ"ቅድመ-ሁኔታ" (Conditions) ያጠርነው?

"ይሄ ሴሚስተር ይለቅና... በቃ እፎይ እላለሁ።" "ይቺን እድገት ላግኝና... ህይወቴ ይስተካከላል።" "ልጆቹ ይደጉና... ያኔ ለራሴ ጊዜ አገኛለሁ።"

እንዳንዶቻችን "የነገ ሰው" መሆን ይቀናናል። ዛሬን የምንኖረው ለነገ እንደ መሸጋገሪያ ብቻ ነው። ልክ የዛሬ ህይወታችን፣ ወደፊት ለሚመጣው "ትክክለኛው ህይወታችን" መለማመጃ ወይም "የመቆያ ክፍል" (Waiting Room) ይመስለናል።

ግን ሳይንሱ ምን ይላል?
ሳይኮሎጂስቶች ይህንን "Arrival Fallacy" ይሉታል። ባጭሩ የአእምሮ ሽወዳ (?🤷🏿‍♂️)ማለት ነው።

አእምሯችን የሚነዳው "ዶፓሚን" (Dopamine) በተባለ ንጥረ-ነገር ነው። ችግሩ ግን ይሄ ነው፤ ዶፓሚን የሚለቀቀው ለአንድ ነገር ስንጓጓ እና ስንለፋ እንጂ፣ ያገኘነው ነገር ላይ ስንረካ አይደለም። የ"ፍለጋ" ነዳጅ ነው።

ለዚህ ነው የጓጓንለትን መኪና ስንገዛ፣ የጠበቅነውን ዲግሪ ስንጭን፣ ወይም ያሰብንበት ቦታ ስንደርስ... ድንገት ባዶነት የሚሰማን። ያ ሁሉ ጉጉት ይተንና አእምሯችን ወዲያውኑ ሌላ የሩቅ ግብ ቀይሶ "ደስታ ያለው እዛኛው ተራራ ላይ ነው" ብሎ መቀመጫ ያሳጣናል።

እውነታው ግን...

በያዝነው የህይወት ትርምስ ውስጥ "እፎይታን" ማግኘት ካልተለማመድን፣ የፈለግነው ቦታ ብንደርስም አናገኘውም።

ለምን? ምክንያቱም ይዘን የምንሄደው ይሄንኑ አእምሮ ነውና።

የዛሬን ቡና ጠጥተን የነገን ጭንቀት ማሰብ የለመደ አእምሯችን፣ ነገ የሚመጣውን ትልቅ ድግስ መጣጣም አይችልም። ሁሌም ወደፊት ለመሮጥ ስንጣደፍ፣ "መኖርን" እንረሳዋለን።

የዛሬው ልምምድ:
ለደስታችን ቀጠሮ መስጠት እናቁም። ያ የምንጠብቀው "ትልቅ ቀን"፣ ልክ ስንደርስበት ቦታውን ይቀይራል።

ስለዚህ ይሄን እንሞክር፥ አሁን ባለንበት ሰአት፣ በዚህችው ደቂቃ ውስጥ... መልካም የሆነ አንድ ነገር ልብ እንበል።
🟢ምናልባት አሁን ያለንበት ክፍል ጸጥታ ሊሆን ይችላል።
🟢ምናልባት በእጃችን ያለው ቡና መዓዛ ሊሆን ይችላል።
🟢ወይም ደግሞ የከባድ ቀንን ድካም በፅናት ማለፋችን ሊሆን ይችላል።

ህይወታችንን በሙሉ "መቆያ ክፍል" ውስጥ አናሳልፍ። አሁን ያለንበትን ቅጽበት እናድምቀው።

👇🏾 እስቲ እናውራ: ሰሞኑን ለራሳችን የሰጠነው "ይሄ ሲሆን... ያኔ..." ቀጠሮ ምንድን ነው?

🎄 Christmas is nearing… any plans? ✨

Christmas invites us to slow down, reflect, and reconnect — with ourselves and with the people who matter most.

- Maybe your plan is a family gathering filled with laughter.
- Maybe it’s rest after a long year of showing up for everyone else.
- Maybe it’s quiet reflection, prayer, or setting intentions for the year ahead.

Whatever your plan looks like, remember this:
🌿 Rest is productive.
🧠 Your mind deserves warmth too.
❤️ Presence is the greatest gift.

Tell us — how are you planning to care for your mind and heart this Christmas?

✨ Efoytaye — Mind Matters

🎄 የገና በዓል እየተቃረበ ነው… እቅዳቹ ምንድነው? ✨

የገና በዓል ፍጥነት እንድንቀንስ፣ እንድናሰላስል እና እንደገና እንድንገናኝ እየጋበዘን ነው!

- ከራሳችን እና በጣም አስፈላጊ ከሆኑ ሰዎች ጋር ጊዜ የምናሳልፍበት
- ምናልባትም እቅድዎ በሳቅ የተሞላ የቤተሰብ ስብስብ ሊሆን ይችላል.
- ምናልባት ጸጥ ያለ ነጸብራቅ፣ ጸሎት ወይም ለቀጣዩ ወራት ዓላማዎችን ማዘጋጀት ሊሆን ይችላል።

እቅዳቹ ምንም ይሁን ምን ይህን አስታውሱ፡-

🌿 እረፍት ፍሬያማ ያረጋል።

🧠 አእምሯቹ ከሰው ብቻ ሳይሆን ከናንተም ፍቅር ይፈልጋል።

❤️ አሁን ላይ መገኘትና ዛሬን መኖር ትልቁ ስጦታ ነው።

ንገሩን እስኪ - በዚህ የገና በዓል አእምሮዎን እና ልብዎን ለመንከባከብ እንዴት እያሰቡ ነው? ✨

እፎይታዬ

Holiday gatherings are full of love....and also full of noise, food pressure, questions, and overlapping conversations that never end.

It’s warmth.
It’s connection.
And for some of us… it’s sensory overload.

If you find yourself exhausted, irritable, or strangely angry at nothing... that’s not ingratitude.
That’s your nervous system asking for a pause.

Here are a few gentle ways people survive without snapping:

1. The “Busy Plate” Rule
An empty plate invites concern.
A half-full plate signals: “I am okay.”
You don’t need to finish. You just need visual peace.

2. The Conversation Redirect
When the personal questions start, shift the spotlight outward.
Inflation. Teff. Transport. Rent.
Suddenly, the room debates....and you get a break.

3. The Quiet Reset
Step into the bathroom. Lock the door.
Stand still. Breathe slowly. Look at nothing.
You’re not avoiding people ....you’re resetting so you don’t resent them.

The Efoytaye Truth:
Protecting your energy isn’t being anti-social.
It’s how you stay kind in a loud world.

A Question for you:
When your social battery runs out, what do you usually do?
(A) Irish Goodbye
(B) Headache excuse
(C) Smile and mentally disappear