Well, I’ve been working on my prayer habit for 2 weeks now and it’s getting easier to get into the zone and maybe even feels a little more natural do it. The feeling of connecting to something More (in my vernacular I use the word God here) is still there which is what I wanted in the first place. So I’m pretty happy about that.
But after I spoke about prayer, someone sent me a really cool TED talk that I thought applied. In his talk BJ Fogg supports the reading I’ve been doing on neural plasticity and how celebration after a habit helps cement that habit into our brains. In my case, the habit I wanted to cement was prayer. But if this research is correct, instead of a solemn “amen” at the end of my prayer, I should celebrate. Get some excitement into the fact that I did what I wanted to do, I prayed this morning on my commute to work. But I’m honestly wondering, is saying “Amen” getting that neural chemical hit I want to cement that habit? So, following BJ Fogg’s suggestions, I’m planning on ending my prayers this week with one, or a combination of these 3 phrases in place of “amen”:
“Awesome!!!”
“Yeah Vince!!!”
and/or
A little dance. Let’s call it my prayer dance <grin>
What do you think, could this help you cement spiritual habits into your life that you know work for you?
What’s your way of celebrating a behavior consistent with the habit you want to form?
Check out BJ Fogg’s TED talk
And check out this amazing book, The Brain that Changes Itself and mindhack yourself to greater spirituality!!:)