With the arrival of spring, there has been a shift in our daily habits. We’re outdoors more because the sun is warm and the grass is green. We’ve set up seven new square foot gardens, refreshed the bird garden, and started coaxing the grass out of its hibernation.
In moving past my “terror barrier”, I’ve been able to play off the changes in the world and work a new image of myself into my subconscious. It has taken some real effort. I deliberately set a side just a few minutes daily, several times a day to stand in a quiet place and go through my new statement of personal fitness.
To build any new habit, from the most mundane to the most ambitious, two things are required: meaning and repetition. The more each is present, the faster the brain builds new connections to create that habit. (Yes, the brain literally rewires itself. That’s the magic of neuroplasticity.)
Repetition should be an obvious component. If any person desires to improve their ability in an area, practicing (repetitiously doing it correctly) is indispensable. Note that one must practice doing that thing correctly, otherwise one produces a bad habit rather than an improvement in one’s life.
The part that may be most unfamiliar to people is meaning. The more meaningful the practice, in other words, the more that the new habit is done with an emotional connection, the faster the mind will build new connections.
Combine this with what I wrote earlier, that the subconscious mind cannot distinguish between the real and the imagined. The repeated, vivid visualization of the next milestone slowly trains the mind. Progress towards the new milestone slowly become more automatic.
The initial emotional rush is almost two months past, so that energy has pretty much faded. However, I keep the image of “me” + “fitness” fixed in my mind, no matter how many times that little voice on my shoulder has a laughing fit.
Status: 36 pounds (16 kg) lighter
Leave a comment