So glad you're here with me, First name / friend!

We are at the close of February and the point where the final few who started strong in January with new year resolutions drop off and return to the life they led previously. At one point or another we have all fallen into this category: excited and committed to making positive changes (always the last time you will need to because you are done falling away, right) only to find yourself once again doing the things that keep you from progressing in life. Are you currently in this situation? 

 

Whether you are struggling to enforce those good habits you swore would be the last time you needed to promise to change, or whether you have succeeded in changing some but not all the habits, knowing why they are created and why they can be difficult to overcome will help you to make peace with yourself at the same time continue to work towards improving your life. 

Habits are controlled in the brain, as you know, but specifically in the basal ganglia. 

 

Anyway, the basal ganglia is located in the fore-brain and indicated in movement disorders as well as behavior and emotions. It contains neurons that get wrapped in fatty myelin whenever you perform an action, and: 

 

“As you repeat an action, the neurons associated with that action will have their axons wrapped in myelin. So every time you put in an hour of practice, you earn yourself another wrap of myelin around the neurons used for that activity. More myelin means nerve impulses can travel more quickly and efficiently across the axons. This means the action can be done more easily, skillfully, and will require less concentration. A bare, un-myelinated neuron will have a signal speed of 2 miles an hour. The signal speed of a fully myelinated neuron is about 200 miles an hour. Practice makes perfect because practice makes myelin and myelin makes perfect.”

 

What this means is that in order to change a habit you are working against a well myelated neuron that is so ingrained into your central nervous system (CNS) you don't even know you are doing it sometimes! (Like the time I drove home instead of stopping at the store…)

 

While this sounds more like a trout trying to swim upstream like a salmon, only to give up in frustration, know that you CAN change your habits. It takes a LOT of conscious, consistent thought to do so though. 

 

Which brings me to desire (not the streetcar type). 

Due to the highly consistent, repetitive nature of overriding the CNS it is not for the faint of heart. IF you do not honestly want to make the change, are completely done with the old habit then chances are you may “fall off the wagon”. Which brings us back to the ol' new years resolution crowd. Every year Uncle Sal makes the same resolution and every year he only makes it a couple of weeks and goes right back to life the way it was leaving you wondering why he bothers in the first place. The intent is there. The desire is minimal. Often it takes true discomfort of something severe like an illness or injury to generate enough disgust with a habit to make it through the process. One thing that can help is to set a cue. Say you want to move more throughout your day, get away from the computer and move. Setting a cue such as a timer or finishing a task of some sort can help you rewire your tendency to sit and work through without any movement variety. “Once the cue is set, just… do it. And then do it again. All you really need is the right cue and the right mindset when building the habit.”

 

Key right there is the right cue + right mindset = success!

You can do it. 

We can help you.

Schedule a one on one and let's get you started on changing those habits.

In the meantime you can read/watch this excellent presentation on Why Habits Form & How to Build Them from WIL.