Hi Everyone,
We’re entering Week 3 and our theme this week is Challenge Habits!
When it comes to challenging or changing habits, neuroplasticity plays a big role.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to new experiences and information. This means that your brain has the ability to reorganise itself and strengthen connections between neurons.
Several studies have shown that neuroplasticity is an important factor in creating or changing habits by repeating actions over and over again. For example doing the same morning routine every day, our brain changes by strengthening the connection between neurons and reinforces these habits.
On the other hand, when we want to change an existing habit we need to consciously and deliberately choose to do things in a new way which in turn will form a new habit.
KEY TIP: Start Tiny 🐭
Research shows that one of the easiest and effective ways to change habits is to start (very!) small. By starting small, it makes it easier to incorporate actions into your current routine by which will turn into a habit.
Behavioural scientist, BJ Fogg (author of Tiny Habits), importantly notes that “We’re not aiming for perfection here, only consistency. Keeping the habit alive means keeping it rooted in your routine no matter how tiny it is.”
Let’s take running, for example. Perhaps you’d like to make a habit of running 1 hour everyday — Instead, consider running for 10 minutes twice a week. Once, you feel more comfortable with the duration spent, you can increase it until you gradually reach your original goal.
The most important thing here is to always be gentle on yourself and remind yourself that starting small is the key to maintaining energy and motivation to change or start new habits
To learn more about Dr. Fogg’s work, you can check out his TED talk HERE
We hope you will find this article helpful and please look forward to Thursday for a short exercise on how to plan creating a new habit.