Think Again

The remarkably beautiful artwork of Dr. Greg Dunn

Neuroplasticity is the mind’s ability to change your brain. The truth is everything we think, do and believe affects our mind, nervous system, and body. When we experience them repeatedly, we create patterns, habits, and well-worn pathways. I think about this in terms of my well-worn habit of picking up my phone to do something specific; twenty minutes later, I find myself scrolling mindlessly through images on Instagram. I created that habit ages ago. When I was a child, that habit looked like this: peering out the window of my second-grade classroom at the birds in the trees and daydreaming about what it would be like to be sitting on the branches with them, chatting. That habit is one of escape, and it has taken on many forms over my lifetime. I learned to escape uncomfortable feelings when I was a child because I didn’t know what else to do with them, and it was how I saw other people managing their feelings.

I’ve deleted Instagram from my phone. This is helpful in making space to do more constructive things with my time and energy. However, I noticed that the habit is still with me. I’m engaging in the habit right now. I’m writing a blog post when, in reality, I am meant to be working on a difficult project for my math class. Math makes me uncomfortable and frustrated.

Go do something uncomfortable today that you’ve been avoiding. I’m finishing up this post now in order to do my math project. My mind is resistant, but I’ll do it anyhow. And my brain will make some new connections because of it.