You’ve likely heard how the brain builds and stores stubborn habits … based on what we do on a daily basis. Soon old habits become like comfortable old shoes because the brain creates neuron pathways to do habits without much effort.
But what happens when you want to shift out of one pattern into a new neuron pathway for better results. How does the brain handle lasting changes? Let’s say you’d like to show more kindness at work to replace your grumpy mornings? Or maybe you’d rather rather be enthused than bored at work.
Whenever you spot a switch you’d like to achieve … you are already well on your way to nailing it. That’s because the brain moves toward clearly stated targets – with amazing speed. Do you remember the group at Yale who got richer when they spotted and went after stated targets? 
Here are five tips that may help with a change you hope to make today….
1. It’s usually better to create change in bite sized pieces … so that the brain can manage and adjust to the shifts.
2. Build in benchmarks where you reward the changes you see and you will also motivate further change until you reach a target and cultivate new patterns for the brain to follow. Hoping to lose weight, for instance? Offer yourself a small token after each 5 pounds and you’ll shed that fat faster. Motivation works as a fuel when you get side-tracked to return to old and stubborn eating habits, and can replace rewards that came from fatty foods.
3. When you run into challenges, simply start again at the exact place you left off. If needed … jot down a revised plan in slightly smaller steps. Your brain requires time and a plan to change habits set into your basal ganglia like poles in cement, into successful new neuron pathways for more success.
4. Be careful to reflect on your growth daily - rather than to blame people, work problems, health, or stressors that tend to slow down your progress. Why is this so important? Because when you fall into victim mode – through blaming others – you obstruct your brain’s pathways toward the change you desire.
5. Observe any results you get when you try out any new tactics, and especially take note of positive returns for your effort. For example if you decide to use fewer meta messages – jot down specific results you noticed in peer responses. That daily record of steady results provides a motivator for ongoing change … because the brain creates serotonin from seeing successful growth in any area.
Now that you see the brain’s amazing plasticity for change and growth – all that’s left if your decision about one area to change in bite sized pieces this week. Your plan and your brain will do the rest! What do you think?
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