Here’s our topic: sometimes you have to retrain your brain.
We all have experienced ourselves getting stuck in thinking patterns that don’t serve us well. In fact, often they’re quite unhealthy, limiting our ability to experience a thriving life.
Sometimes drastically limiting it.
I’m guessing you understand what I’m talking about when I say unhealthy or limiting thinking patterns, so I’ll save time and just get to the point–though it’d probably be useful to circle back in the future and detail the specific kinds of patterns I’m talking about.
But here’s the thing: I talk to folks who are looking for a secret technique to make all those thinking patterns that keep them stuck fall away like a giant house of cards that they’ve built over a lifetime.
I get it. And I have a treasure chest filled with special strategies, little known tactics, and next-level hacks. That’s what I’ve spent much of my life studying, and then testing out with clients (and myself). I love this stuff.
But this thinking pattern “stuckness” requires something else. Well, a few other “something elses”. And none of them are very spectacular.
Here’s the main one (and you can ride this horse a long way): you have to retrain your brain. To do what? To stop going down the neural pathway it typically does in your brain, and develop a new neural pathway.
If you grew up with snow, you probably went sledding as a kid. If you did, you and your buddies may have all
sledded down the same path, so that it became a bit icy after all the hundreds of trips down the path. That narrow strip of the hill was where you wanted to sled, because it had a lot less friction and you could go faster.
What if you wanted to cut a new path? It would take some time, right?
That’s how our brains are with these well-rehearsed, automatic thinking patterns.
The good news, based on the finding of science and the neuroplasticity of the brain, you can “cut” new neural pathways–new thinking patterns–and start sledding down a new track, so to speak.
And the cool thing is that your new, healthier “thought path” will eventually become as frictionless as the current unhealthy one is. AND, the unhealthy one will start to “build up a lot of snow” in it from lack of use.
Yes, easier said than done. It requires effort. It’s not easy. And there are some important strategies and tactics to apply. But it’s possible–I witness it all the time, and have experienced it myself.
Those old thinking patterns will not relent and give up control very easily. Just like if you’re overweight and trying to improve your fitness, your appetite and brain won’t give up the status quo very easily.
We must fight for the “brain change”, and do battle in our minds.
That’s the “secret”, if you’re looking for one.
All for now. Have a great week. We’ll come back to this at some point.