Sweat & Smiles: If You Want to Start Changing Your Life You'll First have to Start Changing Your Mind
By Melissa Romano on June 30, 2018 from Sweat & Smiles
When it comes to changing your life, you’ve got to start with changing your mind. The trouble with changing your mind is that it feels more .jpg)
powerful than the rest of you. Changing your habits literally means rewiring your brain.
powerful than the rest of you. Changing your habits literally means rewiring your brain.
The Law of Facilitation states that when an impulse has passed once through a certain set of neurons to the exclusion others, it will tend to take the same course on future occasions. And, each time that impulse traverses this path, on all future occasions, the resistance will be less. This is a fancy way of saying once you do something it becomes easier to keep doing from a neurological standpoint. If you want to change your life you’ve got to use these tools to your advantage instead of repeating the same habits and behaviors over and over and expecting different results.
Imagine that you walk out your front door into two feet of snow. Your options are to either trudge through the two feet of snow or go down the path that you’ve walked so much it’s practically a sliding board.
To get somewhere new you’ll have to trudge through the snow. The first day you may open the door and take three steps through the snow but then go back and slide on down your usual path. The second day you’ll make it six steps before turning back. The third day you’ll have walked so far through the new snow that you’ve started wearing down the path.
This is how rewiring happens. This is how you create a new Law of Facilitation. This is how you get somewhere new.
Rewiring the brain is not easy but just like snowshoes would make trudging through two feet of snow a little bit easier there are tools you can use to help you rewire the brain.
- Set yourself up to win. Too often we create lofty expectations with no plan. Spend some time thinking of the things that will be obstacles for you and how you can get over, around, or through them. Use the tools that you already have: your cell phone calendar, alarm reminders, or apps like ReWi (specifically designed to help the rewiring process)
- Surround yourself with supporters. I am a firm believer that we should through all of our energy towards what we want more of. Instead of focusing on people who are standing in your way, start to surround yourself with those who will support your rewiring growth.
- Do a little daily. When you are rewiring yourself to a healthy lifestyle setting a goal to work out everyday isn’t going to set you up to win. However, you can do something everyday to get there. My usual suggestion is three workouts a week and four days doing 10 minutes of movement whether it’s stretching, walking, dancing, or gardening it’s a little daily.
- Be kind to yourself. Don’t forget that you may take the path of least resistance every now and then but that doesn’t mean you haven’t started a new law of facilitation and it surely doesn’t mean to continue on the old path. Once you’ve recognized you’ve fallen into old habits take a step towards the new one. The day isn’t shot, you don’t have time wait to start over next week, and you don’t need to beat yourself up about it. Put on your snowshoes and start making the new path less resistant.
Sweat & Smiles (and happy rewiring),
Melissa
Melissa Romano is the creator of You First Fitness a revolutionary style of personal training program designed to make you the expert on your life and body. She is also the co-creator of Balanced You Wellness Retreats. After graduating from West Virginia Wesleyan College she completed 200+ hours to obtain her Professional Certificate of Personal Fitness Training from Pierpont Community College. Since 2009 she has worked full-time as a personal trainer, group fitness instructor and wellness coach. She believes in functional fitness, healthy lifestyle changes and a holistic approach to a better, happier, healthier life. In 2015 she welcomed her greatest joy and fiercest life lesson into the world, Cannon Cobb. The two of them can usually be found outside or at one of the local parks. Visit Melissa's Web site at https://youfirst.fitness/ or email her at melissa@youfirst.fitness.
