Did you know that you can change your habits and your life in as little as 20 seconds a day?
As it relates to neuroplasticity, neurons that fire together wire together. This means that the things that we do day in and day out, and the thoughts that we have will feed into more behaviors and more thoughts — that can work for us…or against us.
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Our thoughts and behaviors can be what we refer to as habitualized or automatic. The habitualized mind is often the suffering and struggling mind. It’s when we are comparing, contrasting, condemning, complaining, or competing with ourselves and other people.
The concept of ‘habitualized’
Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is move from this habitualization to cultivating calmness, clarity, creativity, and compassion. To do this, we have to think about how these neurons are firing and wiring together.
So, now for the fun part. Our neuronal pathways are not our destiny. We can make such profound differences in our lives because our nervous system is plastic, meaning we can make changes.
No matter where you are in life, whether you are trying to make healthier habits, pursue a different career, and/or improve your relationships, you can make small tangible habits that will change your wiring.
It only takes 20 seconds of focus on a new habit or some type of change to release brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is what helps us to create new wiring.
Let’s say, for example, you want to begin to work out. You believe that you “should” work out at least four times a week: strength training, cardiovascular activity, and stretching. That task seems very overwhelming for the nervous system because that means that your conscious mind, 1% of your total mind, is suggesting a specific goal. However, your subconscious mind — filled with all of your behaviors, thoughts, beliefs, and daily activities — is the other 99% that is not quite ready.
How you can change your life in 20 seconds by increasing your BDNF
If you want to make this successful, start with doing 20 seconds of activity per day, like 20 seconds of squats for example. Now, to make it a habit, do this for 30 days. Do you really want to make it stick? Do it for 45 days. So, 20 seconds a day for 45 days to build new neural pathways. To me, that sounds like a win.
If we can begin to look at our health and our life from a different lens and realize that we all can change and these neuronal pathways are not our destiny, we can create new wiring. Whether we have experienced trauma in the past, we have stressful lives, or unhealthy habits, we can make a difference. If we think of this from a neuroscience perspective, we have the power within us and can do so in as little as 20 seconds a day for 45 days. I think that we can all be much happier and healthier.
Give this a shot. Let me know how it goes. If this was helpful, make sure you give it a share. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel The Movement Paradigm for weekly tips on mindset, nutrition, and movement.