The Bonus and The Winning Strategy
The Bonus
Building brain habits for cognition and resilience always comes with a bonus: improvements in physical and mental health, vitality, and/or resilience.
The Winning Strategy
When we design new habits to leverage how the brain actually works, when we let go of debunked strategies focused on brute-force willpower and slogans like "Just do it", we step into a world where everything gets more doable and more enjoyable.
AgeSMART Living is anchored in three brain-centric habit building principals:
Protect brain health for mental energy, clarity and cognition - where it all begins.
Tap into the brain's reward systems and efficiency algorithms - work smarter not harder.Â
Recognize the overlapping benefits of brain-health strategies - physical and mental health, vitality and resilience.
A Little More Context
Your Brain vs. Modern Life: A Battle You Can Win
Modern life hijacks our brain's natural survival mechanisms. The executive decision making part of our brain sets great intentions but operates under the illusion the rest of the brain is pre-disposed to cooperate. Telling oneself to Just do it? Not that simple. Recent science reveals the many brain mechanisms beyond our executive function that drive our behaviors - for good or bad. Understanding ourselves (our brain) and our opponent (stealthy modern-day saboteurs) allows us to form strategies for success.
Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster. Sun TzuYour Brain's Secret Power: The Habit Advantage
Our brain has evolved to seek efficiency through habits—automatic behaviors that require minimal energy by removing the need to make a decision. Each successful habit frees up capacity to put our attention on the next new habit or anything else we want to do focus on in life. Habits in action are a true example of multi-tasking!
It's All Interconnected
What's good for the brain is good for the mind and body. Every strategy that protects your brain impacts your overall well-being—energy levels, weight management, mood stability, inflammation, blood pressure, blood sugar, muscle strength, memory, and chronic disease risk.
The basics we discuss for AgeSMART Living are the heavy hitters - the foundations of Health, Vitality and Resilience. Many specifics can be tweaked for special needs or goals, but for most of us, the foundations will yield the biggest return on our investment of time and attention.
Another bonus: Those other things so many of us worry about - like our looks and losing weight - come along for the ride without the judgement that comes with finding faults in who we are.
The Science of Lasting Change: Go Small to GO BIG
The powerful formula of small behavior is simple at its core...
Cue + Action + Reward with a twist: keep it small for doability and repeatability.
No heroic efforts required. Go for the small micro-dopamine hit to reinforce the habit. Do not relay on fickle, high motivation states for enduring change. Like compound interest, micro-improvements lead to outsized results.
This approach has been developed through decades of research and we're seeing much better results in the real world as exemplified by the work of empowering communicators like James Clear and behavior design innovators like B.J. Fogg. We even see inspiring results for blending modern research with ancient wisdom through thought leaders like Dr. Judson Brewer who's work integrates modern psychiatry and neuroscience with mindfulness techniques.
A Final Word
Quality of Mind Shapes Quality of Life - Our Destiny
The word destiny is bit out of vogue and all too often perceived as something we cannot change or influence. But I disagree.
Our quality of mind dictates daily choices that create habits which shape our quality of life. As my Chen Taiji teacher Coach Christopher Pei reminds us students: "Daily habits shape our identity, our identity shapes our destiny."
We all have the potential to shape our destiny - one small repeatable step at a time.
Best safe, be well,Â
Janice
PS
If you decide to tackle some new habits, please don't forget to enjoy your present life while being kind to your future self.
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