Personal Growth is an intentional activity. It is the type of thing one achieves only through active engagement. In order to do it well, we must choose to engage often and with regularity. In other words, we must practice.  The best type of practice is one that is both focused and consistent.

Practice should be focused because cognitive science is clear regarding the difficulty human beings have multitasking.  This is the same regarding ostensible activities or mental pursuits.  Desired outcome is best achieved when we set our intention on one activity and pursue it without distraction.  Research also shows the result of focus to be much greater efficacy in the development of neuropathway’s for that particular activity.  

Practice should be consistent because what we focus on in the mind generates dendrites in the brain which lead to the development of new neuropathway’s.  If we are consistent in our practice, we develop stronger and richer pathways as a result of that practice.  Any repetitive activity has this effect on the brain. 

Thinking to Empower Change is no different.  For herein lies the glorious intersection of Personal Development and neuropsychology.  The older and habituated thought processes we focus on changing can be circumvented through awareness and intention and replaced with new thought processes that become habituated in their place.  As autonomic responses are brought into awareness and shifted to new veridical thoughts, we develop tiny new pathways for the thoughts we want to habituate in response to the same or similar situations.  Eventually, with practice, these pathways grow into superhighways and we can experience “paradigm shifts” that completely change our frame of mind!  

Learn.  Grow.  Repeat!
XOXO Toni