Who Says You Can't Change Old Habits?

Do you remember the sage advice Benjamin received in the movie The Graduate? One word: Plastics. That advice has been updated by Jordan Grafman in his book One Word:"Plasticity" The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. Reviewed in Cerebrum, the online magazine of The Dana Foundation, this book presents neuroscience research demonstrating the plasticity of the brain. You can change the way you think and behave. It is hard work and takes insight, focus, and practice. If making the change is important to you, you can do it. An experienced, skillful coach can help you with the process. Go for it!

The Dana Foundation - Outstanding Resource for Brain Research Findings

The Dana Foundation is an outstanding resource for findings from research on how the brain works. The Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic organization that supports brain research through grants and educates the public about the successes and potential of brain research. The foundation offers free publications and resources, including its online magazine Cerebrum.

Entrepreneurs Change the World with Help from Elisa Balabram

Elisa Balabram is the founder and editor of WomenandBiz.com and the author of Ask Others, Trust Yourself, a complete business resource guide for the small business owner/entrepreneurial woman. Elisa and I have known each other for years, and she has helped me tremendously in my business development efforts. Every coach needs a coach, and Elisa is the best. Click on the name of her book to learn more.

Three Steps to Change Your Brain - Resources

For a summary of the relationship between neuroscience findings and coaching, I suggest you read "The Neuroscience of Leadership," by David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz, in strategy+business magazine http://www.strategy-business.com You will also find relevant information on David Rock's site http://www.davidrock.net/index.shtml

Three Steps to Change Your Brain - # 3

Step # 3 - Practice. Changing neural pathways takes attention density, the repeated and concentrated attention to a new way of thinking or acting. This takes time. Standard coaching engagements are 6 months or longer, with frequent meetings (usually weekly) at first to identify the new behaviors and begin the arduous work of paying attention and changing. Supported by your coach, you practice desired behaviors during working hours. You then report back to your coach on results. Together, you fine-tune behaviors and maintain the high-level of attention needed to bring about lasting change.

Three Steps to Change Your Brain - # 2

Step # 2 - Focus. Working with your coach, you may identify several areas for improvement but focus on only one. Experience tells us that trying to do too much does not work. Recent research shows that changing the brain's neural pathways - and the behaviors they control - takes concentrated attention, over and over again. Coaching focuses on solutions to imprint new perceptions and actions on the brain.

Three Steps to Change Your Brain - # 1

Effective coaching builds on the links between brain psychology and the change process. Here is the first of three steps used in coaching to change your brain and help promote new ways of thinking and behaving.

Step # 1 - Insight. Change begins when we understand the power of mental models - the structures used to interpret the world. Because these mental maps can strongly influence the reality we see, we need to come up with our own answers to the dilemmas we face in our careers. A coach can help you gain insight and find the solution that is right for you. Personality and leadership assessments, input from colleagues at all organizational levels, and feedback from the coach are useful tools in this process.

Three Steps to Change Your Brain - The Challenge

Why is it so hard to change the way we see situations and how we respond? Why do so many change efforts - personal, professional, organizational - fall short of their goals? We all have answers from experience, theory and intuition. With the help of sophisticated imaging tools like MRI's, we now have answers based on the way the brain works. By integrating psychology and neuroscience, scientists have described the brain's mechanisms for creating neural pathways that underlie new ways of seeing the world and taking action. The research confirms that change is hard but also offers specific methods for overcoming the obstacles. This blog will explore the change process from many perspectives, including the workings of the brain, and provide practical guidance for taking action to improve your performance and meet your business goals.