Diary of an Executive Coach

Can you permanently delete old, unwanted or unhelpful behaviours?

If you could ‘prune’ and remove the unwanted neurological pathways and replace them with new ones, that would be incredible.

?You could choose to permanently delete any thought, feeling or behaviour you felt was holding you back, getting in your way of success, or making you miserable right?

Hmmmm, I think we all know it ‘isn’t that simple.

In a recent article posted in fastcompany.com 'Your Brain Has a Delete Button', the authors of this article suggest that your brain is busily pruning unwanted pathways associated with behaviours we no longer desire, to make space for new ones that you want instead.

?I would love this to be true but from what I have learnt, experienced and seen, I don’t think it is 100% possible, and here’s why.

Yes, pruning is a thing without a doubt, and yes, sleep plays an important part in our ability to reset our brains and learn new patterns of behaviour.

However, I wrote a post on LinkedIn about this last year using an example of driving in a manual car and then moving to an automatic which is at odds with the claims in the article.

I learnt to drive at an early age in a manual transmission car. At 17 our brains are more 'Neuroplastic' and open to change and growth.....this gets harder the older we get (but not impossible!!)

I practised and practised and then spent 13 years mastering this art and building refined and strong neurological pathways that allowed me to drive without too much conscious effort…..I had learnt a new, hard-wired habit.

I then moved into an automatic car which was so easy to drive it took a matter of hours to feel totally at ease with it. I loved it and decided I would never go back to a manual ever again.

This suggests moving to something easier that requires less effort and is desirable to us is incredibly simple.

?So, what happens when I go on holiday and hire a car that has a manual gear box??

According to the article, my brain will have pruned all the unwanted neurological pathways I no longer need or want, so getting into the manual car and being able to drive it should be almost impossible.

Which it isn’t.?

Alright, yes, there was a few bumpy moments slamming on breaks instead of using the clutch ??, but in a matter of minutes, all the old pathways and neurones I need to drive a manual car have fired up and are in full working order.

The neurological pathways that allowed me to drive a manual transmission car hadn’t died off completely, maybe they had been pruned back, but not to an extent that made them ‘dead and buried’.

In my line of work, helping others develop new helpful and positive behaviour patterns is commonplace. Be it taking control of low-level self-limiting beliefs and anxiety, or chronic Imposter Syndrome.

One thing is common for all my clients, they can learn to take control of unwanted behaviours and replace them with a new ‘narrative’, that drives new behaviour patterns that lead to more productive outcomes and greater success.

However, every single one of them proves my point above that all the older, unwanted thinking and feelings associated to the behaviours they want to rid themselves of, still very much exists.?

What changes however is this????

They can dramatically turn down the ‘volume' of the behaviours they don’t want and get their new thoughts, feelings, and beliefs on replay via an internal megaphone in their brains, which allows them to access them more and more until they become the preferred behaviour ‘route’.

?The old route appears to die back and lie low but can be activated at any time we choose to go 'looking' for it.

Whatever your opinion is on this, we will undoubtedly agree on one thing……if you are plagued by behaviours that are holding you back in some shape or form, there is something you can do about it if you want to.

For more details on the 5 step system, I use to help all my clients, quickly and effectively move towards the life they really want and deserve, by taking control of the self-limiting and self-sabotage behaviours associated with Imposter Syndrome, get in touch via the website www.emr-consulting.co.uk?and let’s see what might be possible for you.

We have one life, be courageous, have more fun and see what happens next!

Sarah x