A New Path

By ALICE O’BRIEN Alice O’Brien Counselling, Newmarket

On a recent trip to the Island Wood, we discovered the new river path. My four- legged companion was delighted with the new adventure, as was I. A beautiful new way to enjoy the woods and the river that is accessible to all. I highly recommend it.

New paths can be compared to new habits. When we decide to take up a new habit, maybe a new nutrition plan, or a new habit to replace an old unhelpful one, it can be like walking a new path. New habits are not as easy to navigate as new paths however.

In terms of our brain and neuroplasticity, old habits die hard. Think about it like this- you go to the wood for a walk, it is obvious that you will walk on the path that is already formed there. That path is trodden from use, is easy to see and is familiar- it’s what we’ve always done. We don’t need to think very much about it and we know it is safe, we’ve walked it hundreds of times. We might not even think about where the path takes us, we just follow it.

Now, imagine you decide to walk a new path, you’d like to try another way, see what lies ahead for you. So, you begin a new path through the woods, but it is not trodden from use, it is overgrown and unfamiliar, there is more work in navigating this new path, it takes effort and energy. It would be very tempting to return to the old, familiar path. But, with persistence and patience, your new path will become worn and easier to use, more familiar even.

So, keep this in mind if trying to form new habits, new food plans, new exercise regimes, dropping unhelpful behaviours, whatever your new habit is. It will be hard initially, it will be unfamiliar, and it will be very tempting to return to old paths. But, stick with it and eventually it will become a new path for you.