It's funny how life can be sometimes. The things you think you need the least you actually need the most. And the things you want so desperately you may not quite be ready for.
I was hours from cancelling this vacation in favour of taking action in my life at home. What I didn't realize is that it takes longer than a few days of reflection for me to re tune my strings. Mentally I accomplished so much this trip- and accessed parts of my mind that could not have been found on just a few days off.
What I learned about myself this week is that I have taken the shortcut to relieving the loss of so many people I love. What I felt when my dad died I never wanted to feel again. So I buried it deep down and dropped all of the passions I had that reminded me of him. Now in the last few months my love for photography and writing resurfaced, and I felt alive again. But there was one glue that tied those together that I forgot I even forgot. My love for all things Country.
As the proud new owner of a pair of cowboy boots and hat travels back to the city, I feel reconnected somehow. Rejuvenated. I am more clear of what I need to do to be balanced. The problem is that I know I will fall back into old habits. So I have decided to set myself up with a structure to retrain my subconscious.
I have long been interested in neuroplasticity, and the notion that we can re-wire our brains (so to speak) to cause us to act a different way. A few days ago I sat in my favorite cafe in Vancouver, fresh off of a 4-day cowboy, beer, and rodeo binge and read an article on the frontal lobe of our brain. It identified this part of our brain as the part that indicates 'maturity', since it is the region known to curb impulses as it develops through our early 20's. The notion of long-term impact is registered in this part of the brain. Given that I had just spent the weekend avoiding all things healthy in favour of fried food, beer, and cowboy-admiring, I was feeling some frontal-lobe inadequacy.
That's when it hit me. I often find it difficult to choose the 'right thing' to do over what I 'feel' like doing. A classic problem for someone in their early 20's, but something I felt I should be over as I near the dreaded dirty 30's. If I really want to have a serious life for myself, I have to stop acting like a child. But where before I would just get frustrated with myself and wish I could change, I now had a new perspective. According to the notion of neuroplasticity and what I learned from this article, all I have to do is ‘re-train' my frontal lobe to firmly consider the long-term impact of all of my decisions.
I was hours from cancelling this vacation in favour of taking action in my life at home. What I didn't realize is that it takes longer than a few days of reflection for me to re tune my strings. Mentally I accomplished so much this trip- and accessed parts of my mind that could not have been found on just a few days off.
What I learned about myself this week is that I have taken the shortcut to relieving the loss of so many people I love. What I felt when my dad died I never wanted to feel again. So I buried it deep down and dropped all of the passions I had that reminded me of him. Now in the last few months my love for photography and writing resurfaced, and I felt alive again. But there was one glue that tied those together that I forgot I even forgot. My love for all things Country.
As the proud new owner of a pair of cowboy boots and hat travels back to the city, I feel reconnected somehow. Rejuvenated. I am more clear of what I need to do to be balanced. The problem is that I know I will fall back into old habits. So I have decided to set myself up with a structure to retrain my subconscious.
I have long been interested in neuroplasticity, and the notion that we can re-wire our brains (so to speak) to cause us to act a different way. A few days ago I sat in my favorite cafe in Vancouver, fresh off of a 4-day cowboy, beer, and rodeo binge and read an article on the frontal lobe of our brain. It identified this part of our brain as the part that indicates 'maturity', since it is the region known to curb impulses as it develops through our early 20's. The notion of long-term impact is registered in this part of the brain. Given that I had just spent the weekend avoiding all things healthy in favour of fried food, beer, and cowboy-admiring, I was feeling some frontal-lobe inadequacy.
That's when it hit me. I often find it difficult to choose the 'right thing' to do over what I 'feel' like doing. A classic problem for someone in their early 20's, but something I felt I should be over as I near the dreaded dirty 30's. If I really want to have a serious life for myself, I have to stop acting like a child. But where before I would just get frustrated with myself and wish I could change, I now had a new perspective. According to the notion of neuroplasticity and what I learned from this article, all I have to do is ‘re-train' my frontal lobe to firmly consider the long-term impact of all of my decisions.
Easy enough right? The next five months will tell...
No comments:
Post a Comment