“Positive change and growth comes from creating new habits and patterns that in turn create alternate brain circuits.”
- Dr. Brian K. Nichols, clinical psychologist
Repetitive use of a cart path in Pompeii, Italy carved a channel into the stone. Around 2,000 years later, the groove remains. We form our own grooves in life—the way we are used to doing things: what we eat, what we do after work, who we spend time with, the way we react to certain people or situations. According to Dr. Nichols, “It’s as though these patterns, which consist of how we think, feel, and act, cut a groove in our brains and form circuits that get easier to access and move faster each time we repeat the pattern.”
Some grooves are like ruts or potholes; others are so ingrained that they may feel like trenches. Whatever the case may be, if we’re always doing things the same way, how can we grow? Forming new grooves—new habits—promotes growth. Cutting new grooves establishes new circuits in the brain, creating new neural pathways we can reinforce by repeating new, positive habits.
What new grooves would you like to develop? What would be a first step?
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