Good Habits

Every human being has the ability and choice to formulate good habits including turning inward to look into their higher conscious inner self and connect with the Universal Intelligent mind in order to draw strength and guidance to find solutions so that we can move forward and achieve our goals with positivity. If you truly believe in yourself, then this habit becomes a powerful tool for the human being to use in their everyday life and helps to overcome any outer difficulties which we may face during our lifetime. This outlook can make a big difference to what we can accomplish in our life time.

The science of neuroplasticity

Dr. Michael Merzenich is one of the world’s top neuroscientists on brain plasticity. He proves by way of actual experiments with a scientifically endorsed training program how the brain rewires itself across the lifespan, and how you can take control of that process to improve your life. Under his supervision he mentored Todd Sampson an Australian television personality in the documentary Redesign My Brain, during which Todd confirms: “The best way to do that is to train your brain and build a cognitive reserve through training and agility of the mind.” (np) To make the mind stronger and faster takes dedication, and this was achieved over a three month period by creating a gym for the brain. The first task that they targeted was Todd’s thinking speed which is called the recognition speed exercise. This is a visual game that measures two things: the speed to make a decision and accuracy. It’s called “the what’s this test” and it measures the thinking speed of how quickly he can categorise an object. Sampson practised many times which resulted in him becoming much faster due to brain plasticity. The science of neuroplasticity has found that with specific training anyone can become smarter, increase their memory capacity, and reverse mental aging.  The results from the brain training resulted in Sampson improving his mental speed, attention and memory. This documentary confirms that a human being can learn to master mental skills if they apply consistent practice which results in the transcendence of consciousness to a higher level.

Positive Attitude and good habits within a daily plan

Further evidence supporting a positive attitude and good habits within a daily plan is outlined in his book Mind Power where James Borg states “changing your internal self-talk will have an effect on your mood and physiology” (11).  He elaborates on this point by using the example of flicking a switch from a pessimistic to a more positive outlook which results in you feeling better. You are what you think and therefore your thoughts determine how you feel. He goes on to discuss that your brain is like a pharmacy because the mind and body are inextricably linked. Your thinking generates emotions that generate chemicals some of which help and some harm you and therefore it is important to control the mind during stressful events. According to Borg, “changing your thinking changes your life” (86) and “Our thinking creates our feelings and our feelings affect our behaviour” (89).

Borg prescribes a therapeutic approach which he calls the ABC model which is based upon the fact that it is not people or events that make a person feel good or bad about a situation; it is their thinking that drives the feeling of emotion.

Borg explains the outline of the ABC model:

“A represents the activating event or antecedent (the “trigger” so to speak)

B represents your beliefs (your thoughts about A)

C represents consequences (how you feel, the resultant behaviour, also physical bodily effects)” (91).