Have you ever made a list of resolutions before the new year, only to find yourself going back to your “old ways” a few days later?

We have all been there; we simply break our resolutions, play the blame & shame game then run back to being “our good old self” sitting comfortably “where we were”, doing what “we used to do”.

Can you relate? Welcome to the comfort zone!

The comfort zone supports the existing neuroplasticity and biochemistry makeup of the brain.

A change, no matter how small, modifies this makeup by unfiring and unwiring existing neural pathways i.e., the old ways, while wiring and firing new ones i.e., the new ways.

Change is possible but why is it hard to attain and keep a lasting one?
The answer is simply because being who you are and staying where you are i.e., the comfort zone is an addiction.
Yes…you are addicted to who you are!

Hence, change is consequently the result of breaking free from this addiction, whether it is about breaking bad habits, establishing new behavioral patterns, etc.

A good recipe for a lasting change includes many ingredients, among them:

• Gaining non-judgmental awareness of “what is”
• Acknowledging what needs “to be”
• Owning a purposeful motivation and vision
• Choosing to behave consciously
• Forging consistency, perseverance, and patience
• Holding accountability within a support system of reinforcement and maintenance

Dr. Joe Dispenza – Breaking the habit of being you

Duncan Banks – Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences, The Open University

The Neuroscience of Changing Your Behavior- The best brain possible