Recently I have been discussing how I have found myself addicted to sugar and how that has become a bad habit for me. Well this week I have been reading an amazing book called “The Brain that Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, M.D. (2007) This has led me to understand and appreciate how we form habits and to understand that with consistency it is possible to change an old habit or create a new one.

To understand this more it is best if you imagine the brain as a road map. Each movement, habit, behaviour etc has a specific location and takes up a certain amount of space on the map. Previously it was considered that after a certain age this map was set and for the most part could not be altered. What modern research has shown is that the map is actually dynamic and changes as we change. So what does this mean for the person who is trying to create new patterns in their life? Doidge puts it like this “when we learn a bad habit it takes over a brain map, and each time we repeat it, it claims more control of that map and prevents the use of that space for good habits. That is why unlearning is often harder than learning” In other words every time you repeat a behavior pattern you are reinforcing that behaviour in your brain.

So what can we conclude from this information. Simply that consistency is the key to changing behaviour. It is only when we cease to repeat a bad habit that that it will lose its space on in our brain and allow other good habits to take over. Conversely if we are trying to build a new behaviour in to our life such as exercise, we must repeat the behaviour often and consistently for it to inhabit a larger space in our brain and eventually become a habit. This also explains why, when people who may have done something habitually for a long time stop for an extended period, they often find it hard to get back into it. For example I often talk to people who have been habitual exercises in the past but have stopped for some time and they will usually say it is so hard to get back into it. However if we keep it in our mind, that each time we repeat the behavior it will reinforce it in our brain making it easier to continue, then we should find it easier to change.

My challenge today, should you chose to accept, is this. Chose one thing that you want to change in your life, either a good habit that you are trying to create or a bad habit that you are trying to break. Commit do this every day for 3 months consistently and see if it becomes easier. I would love to hear what your thoughts are and if you are going to take up the challenge so please leave a comment and let us know.


Reference

Doidge, Norman. (2007), "The Brain that Changes Itself", Carlton North, Vic. Scribe Publications.