By the time we are 35 years old, 95% of who we are functions like a computer program consisting of hardwired behaviours, emotional reactions, beliefs, habits, thoughts, and perceptions. That means 95% of our day is practically on autopilot! Leaving only 5% of our conscious mind to think, act and feel in a different way. (As explained by Dr Joe Dispenza).
When we attempt to enhance our life by making certain changes that will serve our vision of the future, we are doing this from the conscious mind, the 5% capacity we have available to think, feel and act differently – see why it is so hard to change? We may break through for a while and then just fall back into whatever our old pattern was.
“We are who we practice to be” – Dr Joe Dispenza.
Our bodies are wired to protect us, to create a comfort zone, and then to keep us there. And when I say wired, it refers to hardwired. Neurons that fire together, wire together – literally. This video shows you what that looks like in reality: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Rvmvt7gscIM
To change then, takes more than just making a choice. Old neural networks need to be rewired to build new networks supporting the new you. How do we overcome this challenge? The first step to changing is becoming aware of our current patterns – habits, thoughts, beliefs, actions, behaviours. Awareness empowers us to challenge these old patterns and evaluate whether it is still serving us in this moment. We may have formed certain habits as a defence mechanism at some point in our past where it served us in that moment. When these habits no longer serve our current space, and we have the awareness of them, we can make different choices and create new habits and strategies to implement them.
The next question might be, how do we become aware of our patterns? There are, off course, multiple answers to this question and one of them is mindfulness – going through our day mindfully, in the moment, being present. When we bring our attention back to the present moment instead of wandering to events in the past and worrying about future moments, we have the ability to be aware of our reactions, triggers, and patterns. Again, many tools and techniques can offer assistance in bringing us back to the present moment – breathing exercises, yoga, exercise, gardening, meditation.
We explore this and more in the Rewire for Wellness workshop – read more here.