Change Your Brain

It’s easy to become set in your ways. Deciding that the way you see the world, do your work, or even relax at weekends is fine the way it is. But your brain is anything but fixed in its ways. It’s a dynamic, evolving structure that uses neurons (electro-chemical impulses) to connect your thoughts. It also has a remarkable ability to reshape itself, called Neuroplasticity. Plasticity means the ability to be moulded.

Science has long overturned the belief that the brain becomes static after childhood. We now understand that it remains flexible, capable of rewiring itself to support new behaviours and thoughts. Neurons, the nerve cells of the brain, form intricate networks. Each neuron can have up to a thousand links to others, creating an immense web of neural pathways.

Imagine your brain as a grassy field. Walking the same path across that field repeatedly creates a visible trail. The more you use it, the clearer and more permanent the trail becomes. Abandon that path, however, and it eventually becomes overgrown, fading into the background. In the same way, when we consciously redirect our focus to new patterns of thought, we can weaken old, unhelpful neural pathways and create new, positive ones. Donald Hebb, a pioneering neuropsychologist, famously summarised this discovery with the phrase: “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

The key takeaway is simple but powerful: we can reshape our brains. By consciously choosing where to focus our awareness, we can reinforce the networks we want and weaken those we don’t. So, as you begin a new year, don’t settle for how you thought or felt in 2024. Seek out new experiences that stimulate new connections in your brain. Here are three of the changes I decided to make in January.

1. Remove clutter from electronic devices. I intentionally went to my Settings and switched off the banners, badges, and other intrusive notifications that used to flash across my screens. Now, my lock screen only shows calendar alerts.

2. Read different stuff. I have exchanged my traditional interest in history for reading as wide a selection of themes as possible. I use the Blinkest app to read a serious book in under 30 minutes. Today, I did just that with ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear.

3. Try a new exercise routine. This was an accidental win: I went to a gym instructor looking for a variation on my usual theme and tried Boxing! Interestingly, I find I enjoy it more for coordination and agility than for the ability to punch something hard.

What are you doing that is truly different this year? Your brain is waiting for suggestions.