2 Reasons Why It Gets Harder To Change
Your brain is optimized to do a couple things..
1) Our brain is optimized for survival, NOT happiness.
2) Our brain, optimizes for caloric efficiency.
Our brain is a million years old, we have the same brain as the cavemen did.
Therefore, our brain still believes there’s a Sabre tooth tiger somewhere we have to fight off,
or survival of the climate,
or the next meal. (still a survival habit of mine😅)
So even in our modern times,
technology takes care of our problems,
if you’re in California like me, the weather is just fine,
and we have Keurigs, and Microwaves, and fully stocked freezers,
Even with all of that, our brain continues to search for problems to protect ourselves from.
It’s simply wired that way, and a common misidentification,
is confusing problems,
with uncomfortable situations.
With our life of little, to no, huge life threatening problems that occur daily, our brain sizzles down to avoiding uncomfortableness.
When it comes to caloric optimization,
our brain wants to work efficiently,
our brain wants to use less calories, than it usually takes, to make separate parts of the brain fire together to produce an action.
so what we do most, becomes easier to continue.
In a process called
• Myelination
Myelination refers to an increase in the fatty sheath surrounding neuronal processes and fibers that increases the efficiency of electrical transmission. From: Fundamentals of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2013.
When two or more parts of your brain fire at the same time,
your brain says “since these two neurons continually and habitually fire together, let me optimize that process”, all to save a couple calories.
A fatty tissue forms(Myelin), bridging those two (or more) neurons together, making it an exclusive back-and-forth highway,
Thus, preserving some of the caloric energy it takes to otherwise perform those tasks.
(🤔)Ever get hungry from studying?
or doing particularly brain heavy activities
Anyways,
“Neurons that fire together, wire together”
So when you run into the difficulty of starting a new habit or routine,
establishing a new identity,
or getting started in a new hobby,
it becomes hard to adapt past the point of motivating yourself to do it.
Anybody, can diet for a couple days,
or workout for a week,
everybody rides the fun feeling of starting a new hobby,
but it’s when you get into the process of establishing this thing as a part of you,
that you can begin the process of Myelination.
This process ties in with muscle memory,
or how you can pick up an old sport in shorter time it took to get good..
SO,
When you continuously tell your brain,
I usually turn on my PS4 at this time,
I watch TV when I get home from work,
I eat ice cream after dinner,
I eat my favorite food for lunch,
Your brain works to make those thoughts, and actions, more and more consistent & easier to perform.
That’s why it always “feels” easier to not do that thing you SAID you were going to do,
Or start that thing you said you would today,
even when you know it’s what’s best for you
Thats why so many preach Consistency,
because you must establish that act as habit, and then over and over and over, rewrite your neurological wiring, to optimize for that new habit.
You must break through that wall.
So what are some bad habits you are continuing to do?
And what beneficial actions would you like to make habit?
Remember, the more you do something, the easier it becomes to continue doing so..
