Change Your Brain
Neural Plasticity is a revolutionary breakthrough with huge implications for people seeking better brain health and those looking to change stubborn patterns. Given that you have the capacity to change your brain, why do you keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results? Why do you like most people make the same New Years resolutions year after year? The answer is simple, you are recycling the same neural pathways. Neural pathways are the biological result of your habits of thinking, feeling and acting. If you want to change your brain you have to train new habits of mind. You don’t BREAK habits you REPLACE habits. When you practice new habits you naturally weaken old ones. Similar to strengthening new muscle groups by going to the gym and working out, new neural pathways can be formed and strengthened into new habits of thinking, feeling and acting. This is a foundational part of neural plasticity.
Solving Problems vs. Finding Solutions
It was Einstein who said ‘You can’t solve a problem with the same level of thinking you were at when you created it.’ Said in another way, you can’t expect to get what you want by focusing on what you don’t want. Most people focus on what they don’t want most often. By focusing on what you don’t want such as ‘I will to stop eating chocolate’ you inadvertently ask your brain to engage the neural pathway of eating chocolate. Your brain is that literal. In order not to think about something you have to think about it. Additionally most people focus on solving problems vs. finding solutions. You can only expect to get more problems this way. SOLUTION: Identify what you want and spell it out specifically and clearly. For example, ‘I choose healthy foods.’
Coaching and Counseling
Hilary Stokes Ph.D. and Kim Ward Ph.D. have been a team for 20 years, specializing in mind, body, spirit psychology. They are the authors of the bestselling books The Happy Map: Your roadmap to the habit of happiness and Manifesting Mindset: The 6-step formula for attracting your goals and dreams and founders of Authenticity Associates Coaching and Counseling. They are passionate about combining the best of holistic and traditional approaches to health and happiness. If you are interested in learning the answers to the most frequently asked questions on how to decrease stress and increase happiness sign up for their free video series.
