Frustrated by your lack of progress ?

We have probably all been there, we want to attain a goal, but seem to be thwarted by something and end up giving up too early.

If you are actively trying to create a new positive habit such as:

o   Going to the gym 4x per week

o   Learning a new language

o   Running a 7 min mile

o   Improving your batting average

o   Losing 25 lbs

o   Eating/drinking a clean diet for enhanced energy/focus

And you are not seeing the results you expected, you’ve probably reached a

plateau

Never fear, there are great things happening in the plateaus.

What does Neuroscience tell us?

As we are creating habits in our brains, a myelin sheath (a fatty insulating layer surrounding nerve fibers) is forming around neurons to allow them to communicate more quickly and reliably. The myelin sheath enables the consolidation of new neural pathways, which is a key aspect of habit formation. The more a neural pathway is used, neuronal activity triggers the production of myelin by oligodendrocytes, specialized glial cells, which is known as activity-dependent myelination. The myelin sheath’s role in rapid neural transmission enables the consolidation of new habits by facilitating the reorganization of neural circuits. This is synaptic plasticity and is essential for learning and memory. It allows habituated neural pathways to be strengthened and reinforced.

As we practice new positive habits and build physical and mental skills, we are building neural pathways so that we can execute those skills without thinking about them, and to make that possible, our brains need to coat those neurons so that the myelin sheath helps those signals to travel up to 100 times faster.

Those plateaus can feel so frustrating because we don't see noticeable improvement. Now that we have a glimpse of what is happening in our brains during those plateaus, and we know that our brains are building the necessary connections, remember to:

Embrace the plateaus!

Keep going with your practice and repetition, and know that the progress you see will be inconsistent and even uneven for a few months. See the plateaus as necessary improvement cycles that the brain has to accomplish to cement the learning loops.

We tend to think that skill acquisition should be linear and, of course, we want it to happen quickly. In reality, however, the results of our efforts are usually delayed.

What is the take away?

KEEP GOING and don’t get discouraged. Depending on the complexity of the skill that you are trying to learn and create a habit for, the average time it takes to create a habit is ~66 days.

As James Clear reminds us in his groundbreaking book, “Atomic Habits”,

Forget about goals and focus on systems instead.

Focus on doing the consistent work:

·       intentional practice of a new technique on the field or court

·       buying the right foods

·       going to the gym/exercising as scheduled weekly

·       reading/studying for the correct amount of time daily

These positive habits will add up!

REMEMBER to EMBRACE THE PLATEAUS

If you are not consistently getting the work done, ask yourself why:

Might there be something that you need to incorporate into your routine so that you can prioritize correctly? For a 15 minute Discovery call to learn more, please sign up:

https://mentallytoughedge.com/#calendar-2h2Q77URil

Photo by: @vecstock