Developing New Habits: Are You Ready to Change?
Most of the time, we wait for our thoughts and feelings to push us to act before we move. Sayings like "I don't feel like doing it," "I don't have the motivation," "I don't think I can do it," or "Even if I start, I won't be able to do it" put off actions.
We have thoughts all the time, but not all of them are useful. We think a lot of different things during the day.
Also, you should be able to tell the difference between functional thoughts and automatic ideas. We shouldn't believe every thought that comes to our minds and let it go.
We can tell the difference between automatic and useful ones by asking, "What is the chance that my thought will come true?" or "Why do you think it will come true?"
During the day, we feel a lot of different feelings. We shouldn't try to hide our feelings; instead, we should accept them and try to stay in them. Because it will help us figure out what to do. We can't handle how we feel.
We can, however, control how we act. Making changes to how we act is another way to get out of the mental state we are in.
You did what you normally do when you woke up in the morning. You got ready for work. You took care of most of these on your own. You chose right away which one to do first. How does this take place?
Scientists say that habits form because the brain is always looking for new ways to save power. Just picture having to think about all the steps you take every day on your way to work.
When we learn to do something and make it a habit, it's easy to do everything else. Suppose you learnt how to tie your shoes over and over again every morning, but then forgot when you stopped driving. Wouldn't that be hard to do?
Some researchers at MIT thought in the 1990s that the basal ganglia in the brain might have something to do with habits. It was found that habits formed in this area over time.
When mice were used in studies, they were left behind a screen at the maze's entrance. They tried to get to the chocolate at the end of the maze after the screen was opened. When we look at brain activity, it goes up while we are learning the path.
But once we have learnt the path and it is a habit, brain activity goes down. This means that as movement becomes automatic, so does thought.