If you have ever tried to build a certain habit or way of thinking but struggling, then you are not alone. When it comes to personal changes, it is noticed in some areas, we are able to pull it off but in some other areas, we struggle.
Rich people who are so good at money, have bad relationships. People who are good at maintaining relationships struggle with money or health. In different aspects of life, people are challenged and have wrong thinking and habits.
The famous economist Keynes said this.
‘When the facts change, I change my mind – what do you do, sir?
John Maynard Keynes
Economists and politicians are known to change their minds frequently, but when change how think and act in matters of health, money, and relationships the record of success is quite low.
In spite of knowing eating junk food and not doing regular exercise is bad for health, people indulge in the same. Similarly, money-investing people have bad practices.
Information is not an issue anymore. But changing old patterns of thinking seems an issue.
For ages, great thinkers alike have told us, that to bring a change in oneself or others, one must be focused and direct the attention toward the change one seeks.
With focused attention, it is shown habits that have existed for decades, people quit in a day or weeks.
So what defines this anomaly?
Why do some things we can experience change but in other areas, we keep trying forever?
Firstly there is a great deal of misunderstanding about how change works. Though we have a solution, the nature of the problem is not clear.
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
Albert Einstein
We need a clearer understanding of the problem that helps to solve it.
Today, the science of quantum physics and neuroscience provides a much deeper understanding of the problem.
These studies offer new perspectives on how change happens in our brains and why age-old methods of focus, attentiveness, and mindfulness are still key tools to influence change.
In this article, I want to share the same so that you leave with a better understanding of how it is possible to bring any change in your own and others’ lives with the least effort.
Resistance to change is natural
Resistance to change is not a bad thing. It is a natural defensive mechanism, to serve the interests of our brain that seeks certainty.
It is a survival trait. The brain treats views, and habits we have all help us to survive, and indeed many things we do unconsciously protect us from various threats.
But then we are also gaining new knowledge, and experiencing new things, and we want to imbibe these new things in our lives. Now chances are if they are in conflict with what we already hold, there comes resistance to change.
For example, you have a habit of waking up at 8:30 daily. But now one fine day you decide you want to wake up at 6:30 am.
For some, this change happens in a day, whereas for most people, an instruction of our conscious mind to accept this new won’t happen immediately.
The new things if not presented rightly will be perceived by the brain as risky and seen in the light of uncertainty.
This kind of uncertainty that questions our beliefs, and alters habits is not what our brain craves every time.
Same time, overcoming this resistance and embracing uncertainty is what ultimately helps us with the desired change.
Managing this change of uncertainty is critical. And the science of quantum mechanics deals with uncertainty.
So, let’s understand what quantum mechanics offer us in this field
The universe is not all deterministic
For centuries, the commonly held view is the universe is deterministic, meaning that it operates in a predictable way and there is a certainty. Newtonian physics championed this.
The observed particles and objects behave perfectly in accordance with Newtonian laws. If you throw an apple up, it must fall. You travel at a certain speed, you can escape gravity. The laws helped everything from building rockets to radars etc.
But during the early 20th century, a new school emerged that claimed there was a limitation to these laws and turned a deterministic view on its head.
It said the universe is made of visible and non-visible. And the visible part of the universe is a tiny fraction compared to the non-visible part. And Newtonian physics applies to the visible, but in the non-visible it is different and they called it quantum physics.
Quantum mechanics which is part of quantum physics suggests, in the non-visible universe, sub-atomic particles’ exits that have wave-like properties which are quite different.
Some of the key properties are,
Firstly, the particles themselves do not seem to exist. Only they come into existence when being observed.
Secondly, there is no fixed output. 2 people observing the same particles can experience different outcomes in terms of speed, and location. Thirdly, the questions the observer asks influence the outcome.
All in all, it was concluded the behavior of particles in a non-visible universe is uncertain. Here everything is about probability and likelihood.
This principle is known as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which states
We cannot know both the position and speed of a particle, such as a photon or an electron, with perfect accuracy; the more we nail down the particle’s position, the less we know about its speed and vice versa …This applies basically to any object with wave like properties
Caltech
Though there was strong resistance to accepting quantum mechanics during the initial part including from Einstein, later it got accepted and it is now in the mainstream.
How uncertainty is managed in the quantum world?
If everything is probability and likelihood, how does one deal with this kind of uncertainty?
Are there definite ways to influence wave-like particle behavior?
It seems there is a way and it is called Quantum Zeno Effect. As per Quantum Zeno Effect, the way to overcome uncertainty is by having intense focus and repeated observation.
It was discovered that by repeatedly observing a wave-like particle in a specific state, scientists could stabilize and measure its properties. Rapidly repeated observation of a photon will hold the photon in an almost stable state.
This is a basic principle of quantum physics — the rate of observation has marked measurable effects on the phenomenon being observed.
When this happens, we can use probability and likelihood to express in confidence level the position, and speed and influence its behavior.
Nature of mind & our brain
Now, you may be wondering, this is all well & good but how does this relate to the nature of our mind and brain?
As in quantum physics, there is a visible & non-visible part of the external universe, even in our own existence including the body, and mind, there is a visible and non-visible part.
Take the sense organs, digestive organs, brain, and heart, these are visible and there is a certainty of how these function.
But then, there is the invisible part of our existence. It is about the thoughts, feelings, and emotions we carry. We only experience but we cannot locate them.
We are literally shaped and made up of our thoughts
So neuroscience reveals, that there is a significant relationship between the way the brain, and mind interact & quantum mechanics principles.
Similar to sub-atomic particles, our thoughts exist as a memory. In the brain, there are neurons that control our thoughts.
Neurons communicate with each other through a type of electrochemical signaling.
This signaling requires the actions of individual ions -sodium, potassium, and calcium – traveling along channels that are, at their narrowest point, only a little more than a single ion wide.
All these points that the brain is operating in a quantum environment. And being a quantum environment, the brain is subject to all the laws of quantum mechanics.
Which means our thoughts don’t obey deterministic laws. Instead, the nature of changing the mind is introducing uncertainty and is subject to the probability & likelihood laws.
Overcome uncertainty with focused attention
The quantum mechanics finding of repeated observation and attention is what helps measure wave particles. Now this is what is said when it comes to controlling our minds.
Substitute the concept of ‘attention’ for the phrase “the question you ask,” and you get the statement
“Where you focus your attention, you make new connections.”
Let me explain this, behaviors are driven by either beliefs we hold or survival-driven instincts.
There exist neural pathways in the brain that hold these beliefs and associated actions.
New beliefs and habits mean essentially we are building new neural pathways & connections.
Neuroplasticity says that focused attention plays a critical role in creating physical changes in the brain.
Focused attention under stimulating environments leads to faster nervous system connections being formed.
This is self-directed neuroplasticity, or the ability of an individual to alter his or her own brain activity through the active practice of focusing attention & creating an environment in constructive ways.
Take the case of mastering any new skill such as music, driving, or sports. The only way we could learn is with practice & focused attention.
As we practiced with attention, our skill improves which means the neural pathways starts forming. And over time as the pathway forms, lesser attention is required until we challenge ourselves to the next level.
But again there are areas we need to break some habits or overcome negative beliefs. In these cases, one of the powerful ways to get focus and attention is by being mindful and asking the right questions.
Becoming mindful and asking questions as
“What are my core values?
Who do I need to be to serve these values?
“What I need now to focus on to serve my values”
“What resources do I need to practice my values”
Can profoundly alter the patterns and timings of the connections the brain generates every fraction of a second.
As in the quantum environment, the memory is non-visible. It is observed when we pay attention to it. Right questions pop up beliefs that have been hidden in us deep inside.
The key is to be non-judgemental when thoughts come up. Because, as in the quantum environment, the very observer influences the behavior of particles.
You are the observer. Observing thoughts that surface without judgment. The moment we judge the thoughts, we end up causing a change in thoughts and lose focus.
Instead just repeated observation with attention is enough to alter the behavior. Simple observation will give clarity and help us build new neural pathways.
TL: DR
Changing your mind means dealing with uncertainty. Our survival part brain craves certainty though.
Quantum mechanics a field of quantum physics deals with uncertainty. It says, in the sub-atomic particle’s environment, nothing is deterministic. Everything is probabilistic.
The way to deal here is only with repeated observation you can bring particles to near constant and measure with probability.
Neuroscience reveals our brain is a quantum environment. Here the beliefs are stored as memory and changing the mind means changing memory, which is creating new neural pathways.
Just as in the quantum world, we need to become observers and with focused attention to deal with the uncertainty of changing memory. If we do this, we can alter our memory. This is called neuro-plasticity.
The way to do this is to practice mindfulness and be non-judgemental.
By being an observer and asking the right questions any deeply held views or habits can be altered with the least effort.
