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| image found at redorbit.com |
Don't talk to me about neurons and firing, and try to help me understand what parts of my brain are lighting up when I eat a donut. Grab my hand and help me put down the donut? Its not that I don't find it interesting to hear how it all works, but I would really like a practical solution as opposed to a science class.
There was a counselor that I went to years ago that was great at helping me "get it" when it comes to habits.
As I struggled to help her understand why for the 5th year in a row we were still talking about the same 5 pounds, she gently stopped me and told me this story.
Let's say that you are avid skier. You are so good that you are one of those guys that they drop out of a helicopter to the top of a mountain. The first few times you might hit the mountain and think about the direction and the easiest path, but it doesn't take long until you can safely reach the bottom of the mountain every time. Day after day you are dropped onto this mountain until you have carved a nice groove and sail without thinking down the mountain with style. Then one day you are told you need to find a new path to the bottom because the old path has monster blocking it. You are dropped from the helicopter and "uh oh" you have to stop and think which way to go. You have to forge a new path to the bottom. You fall a few times and it takes you much longer, but you get there. The next day you have to stop and think again. It takes a few days of trial and error, but eventually you find a new path down the mountain. The old path is till there, and you could still go down it pretty easily, but it might not be safe. You miss it, but eventually the new one feels like home.
This is how I learned about habits, neuropath ways and the brain.
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