“Neural pathways” is a buzzword these days. But what’s really going on in that brain of yours?

Welcome, and congratulations on taking this huge step toward the habits, beliefs, and impact that will heal you and change your life!

This course is different from other courses and books about building better habits- this course is specially designed to heal your nervous system’s reaction to change, and easily be applied to changing habits, attitudes, beliefs and the like! Beliefs create habits and attitudes, after all.

You can easily use this course for making or breaking habits OR beliefs and attitudes, etc. As you listen, you’ll notice that I use the word “habits” for the most part. If you’re working on beliefs, attitudes or any other aspect, just think of it in terms of that new pattern, belief, attitude, or whatever you’re working on when I refer to all of it as ‘habits” throughout the course. Beliefs and attitudes are actually just silly old habits, too. I’ll remind you of that again throughout the course.

If any of this seems overly simplistic and/or a bit sideways, have faith and excitement!

It’s actually refreshingly simple- isn’t it so much better if it is simple? And the sideways-ness you may perceive is healing your trauma, your nervous system and knee-jerk reactions to situations, so your habit building gets easier and easier. It’s fully worth it.

Your dedication and willingness for loving repetition is what’s really gonna make the change for you. In other words, ya just gotta do it. Just follow the steps.

 

And if it still seems too simple, don’t let your thought process get in the way of you achieving what you want! Get familiar with your “Chain of Fools” bonus, and know who’s calling the shots. And yes, you can assure your brain that all of what you’re about to learn is backed up by science and long-term studies.

This course adds a new spin to the ancient art of building better habits.

This course builds deep, effective nervous system healing into many foundational, tried-and-true habit building techniques. Some of these techniques are cutting edge and of-the-moment. Many are ones that millions have used to great habit building and motivational success in the past century.

Ultimately, in this course you’re going to be doing what many like to call “rewiring your brain” as you follow through with this course and do your homework. This will take some attention, rerouting and repetition, but you’ve got it!

Keeping at it while loving yourself is the most important thing you can do for your long-term success.

Here’s a bit of the neuroscience behind it, and why people call it rewiring:

First of all, I like to think of it as “bridge building” and “bridge collapsing”.

Did you know that when you have a same thought or do a same action over and over, you actually form a bridge of electricity (some call it a wire) in your brain that finishes the thought and decides what you do next? The more you do or think that same thing, the stronger the bridge and reaction gets. After all, practice makes perfect, right?

You can actually visually see this (and more) happening if you’re a neuroscientist looking at a brain creating new thoughts or habits over time.

 

It looks a lot like 2 wires, chains, or bursts of electricity- on either side of a brain wrinkle. Those wires/electrical impulses grow stronger and longer (from both sides of the brain wrinkle) with every repetition of the thought, action, or reaction, and reach out and grab each other as they grow long enough.

When the 2 sides grow long enough to reach each other, the “bridge” is completed.

That’s when a thought or reaction goes automatic, whether or not it actually helps you or makes you feel good. Often, “bad habits” and detrimental thoughts and beliefs have strong bridges in your brain.

And certain bridges to the habits, thoughts, and beliefs you DO want are weak, rickety, and in disrepair. They atrophy and collapse if you don’t use them enough by doing or thinking the things you want, instead of the negative thing that’s on autopilot (that strong, sturdy bridge to your old patterns).

If you had a choice in your actual daily life between walking across a solid bridge, or one that was falling apart right beside it, which one would you choose?

Most people would walk across the sturdy bridge that exists, rather than try to put a few bricks in place each time to fix the other one up over time- even if that broken down bridge actually led to somewhere/something way better. That’s what the electricity that carries thoughts does in your brain- it chooses the easy, safe, strong bridge that leads back to your old patterns.

BUT… bridges to better thoughts in your brain are actually easy to repair and build, and you can let the unwanted ones deteriorate at the same time! It may be a bit uncomfortable at moments because you’re not used to thinking and doing certain things, but very doable with repetition, and the tools and techniques you’ll learn in this course.

We won’t talk about it in these “complex” terms though. The course is much simpler than that. But this is essentially what you are doing by following this course.

It helps immensely to come back to this visual of letting an old bridge deteriorate and building a new one while you’re building a thought or habit.

Especially in the moment, when the going gets tough with your habit (or belief, thought, vibe, reaction, etc.) that you’re upgrading to. You can even meditate on this image. It’s powerful stuff, and can help you grow or shrink these bridges to your thoughts and habits- officially called “neural pathways” as YOU choose!

As mentioned, if you stop thinking a thought, having a specific attitude, or doing an action, the bridge that formed to make it happen starts to deteriorate. This happens with positive and negative thoughts, reactions, and habits. All of this means that you can choose to ignore pesky old thoughts, etc. long enough so that the bridge starts to deteriorate and your brain doesn’t want to “use that bridge anymore.” It just takes some attention and dedication.

 

Meanwhile, you’re building a new preferred bridge to a better habit, action, or attitude, etc. by actively choosing the new thing over the old unwanted one repeatedly (as a habit), even though it feels really weird to keep at it at times. Always focus on the bridge you’re building, not the one you’re trying to shrink. The best way to shrink an unwanted thought or habit is to not think about it.

With repetition, over time the brain naturally ends up building that “positive thought bridge” you’ve been consciously choosing, as it gets stronger than the negative thought or action you’re purposefully neglecting. And the old, unwanted one starts to atrophy and falls into disrepair.

This naturally makes the stronger one you’ve been consciously building become the preferred pathway, leading you to all the habits, beliefs, vibes, etc. that you’re actively building going onto autopilot in your daily experience after a certain amount of time- for the major win! Again, you can actually see this happening if you have the right scientific equipment!

What does this mean for you?

Every thought you could ever want is just waiting for a new bridge to be built to it with your attention and repetition. And by processing and then ignoring the ones you wish would go away, they will atrophy and shrivel up over time, and your mind will automatically choose the bridge to the positive belief or activity you’ve been upgrading to.

 

When changing a thought, belief, or attitude, hold the new desired one for at least 20 seconds at a time, until you reach a minute and a half, or as long as possible. And FEEL it with as much emotion as possible. This speeds up the process.

Holding and feeling the new thought or pattern for a long duration like that is what really forms those bridges to the thoughts you want fast, and deteriorates old, unwanted habitual thought, reaction, and habit bridges. Repeat every time you think of it or catch the old thought or reaction that you don’t want.

Now’s a good time to remind you that your daily vibe is included here. You can treat it as a habit and upgrade to a higher, happier, more peaceful, energetic, or productive one with some dedication!

It will feel weird at times.

It may feel like you’re lying to yourself in moments. But the more you choose your thoughts, the more you get to choose your thoughts! As long as it doesn’t actively feel bad, you’re on the right track. Process all of your resistance to the change through EFT Tapping or Sensational Release, as you’ll learn in the bonuses section.

Thanks for bearing with me through that technical explanation. The rest is much simpler. Even if that was a bit confusing, don’t worry about it. And come back to this lesson anytime.  For more on neural pathways, check out Tapping slideshow #1.

You’re now primed and ready to integrate the rest of this course to your best outcome! I’ll see you in the next lesson…

This is your first daily reminder that you have the power to create your life exactly the way you want it!

XOXO,
Betsy D