Mental Stickiness

 

Mental stickiness is a term we use to describe a neuroscience process that happens in the brain when you are trying to make a change of some sort in your life.  Giving you an example may be the easiest way to explain it.  

When I was just a little girl, I would sit in my bedroom next to the window and gaze outside as my father cut the grass.

Here is what I remember about that experience:  the distinct sound of the lawn mower, the lines in the grass as my father made each pass through the backyard, the smell of the freshly cut grass.  I can close my eyes and feel just I was there again.  THAT is mental stickiness!

You see, all of these memories are stored in various parts of my brain but connected together to make the recollection stronger. The degree of connections or "dendrites" depends on how many places I stored that memory.  

So when making a change in your own life, you need not only repetition but it is useful to stick the desired new habit references in several different parts of the brain in order to create new neural pathways and dendrites.  With enough time and pathways, anything is possible.

And, good news, research shows your brain is never too old to create new neural pathways.  So, it is untrue that "you cant teach old dogs new tricks".  Turns out you can!

So next time you want to make a change, be patient with yourself and create some mental stickiness!!