HABITS AND OTHER MATTERS OF THE BRAIN

A Habitual Brain

JoAnna Bennett

JoAnna Bennett, O’Brien Communications Group

22 Februrary 2018

I have always had a fascination with the human brain. We all have the same basic brain tissue. But depending on about one hundred billion different things, the outcomes of our thinking is almost always different. No two humans are alike. We are motivated and demotivated differently. We make choices that may seem completely insane to other humans. And our opinions can be more varied than the shades of green in the summer trees.

When habits are formed in the human brain, they are hard to break. It could be addiction or something as simple as tying your shoes. For some people, it could even be driving! Have you ever driven home and had no memory of the ride? Our brains are pretty powerful if they are able to autopilot an entire car ride safely.

I’m back

Our family has adjusted to becoming a party of four quite nicely over the last six weeks. We have developed a strong bond and are now transitioning into normal life again. And while my brain was in Mommy mode for quite some time, things already seem to be flowing like normal on the business front. Thanks to my brain and its love of habits, I was able to jump right in like no time was lost.

I will look back on this time fondly. I was able to watch my daughter become a loving, goofy, and gentle big sister. I was able to watch my son gain ten pounds in less than two months. And my husband and I have crossed off eight of the eleven items on our to-do list. While we needed to have this time to welcome the new life we created and adjust to sleeplessness, it does feel good to be back into my old habits. Checking email, juggling task lists, and having conference calls to name a few.