Neuroplasticity Pt. 2

Have you ever heard about how hard it can be to initiate change? On a macro level, I have heard people say it’s like turning a ship from moving on western seas to eastern ones. On a micro level, we are dealing less with what feels like physical resistance and oftentimes the resistance is mindset. Resistance can sometimes look like stubbornness, and can therefore be easier to manage. First, I had to help my friend get over his stubbornness in order to learn this technique that I love. Then, we got to work.

I encouraged him to try something different:

“Practice having a NEW experience that you perceive as positive, rewarding and meaningful. Think of what that might be and I want you to try visualizing it in the morning when you wake up and are drinking your coffee, eating your breakfast and brushing your teeth.”

We had fun engaging in our curiosity and wonder of what his workplace could look like.

What we were doing was creating a new brain map for him. When we put our brain on cruise control, it’s easy to find ourselves being guided to the same negative places. We are surrendering to defeat. It’s when we take control of the route that we can rewire our neurons to fire with new neuron friends, not the old, toxic ones that brought us down.

Check out this formula:

Workplace Stimuli + Our Thoughts About It + Our Response To It = Reality

Now watch how it unfolds in my friend's life:

Your Supervisor Ignores You at Work + You Take it Personal; “They must not like me” +

You Clam Up and Isolate at Work =

You Feel Powerless When You’re at Work, You Become Unhappy In Your Everyday Life

OR

Your Supervisor Ignores You + You Assume “They Must Be Busy” +

You Greet Them with a Warm “Hello” Anyway =

You Feel Powerful and Confident Because of Your Integrity and Good Intentions

What's amazing here is how much power we have over our thoughts and circumstances. Enacting this formula for good in our everyday lives is similar to exercising a muscle; at first it can feel laborious but the more you do it, the stronger you become and the better you get at doing it. Pretty soon it's very easy for you. Creating new thought patterns is the same, at first it can be hard to believe our own thoughts and then it becomes habit.

What new thought patterns do you want to create?

Alexandra