Mix it up to spark personal growth and innovation

Here’s an illuminating snippet from today’s IHT about the importance of forging new habits to foster personal growth and innovation:

“… Brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try — the more we step outside our comfort zone — the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.”

Most of us find it hard to shake old habits, let alone create new ones, even if we grudgingly realize the steep cost of inaction in today’s fast-moving world: a degree of personal and professional stagnation.

The alternative - finding challenging work, moving overseas for a year, signing up for continuing education - though daunting (can I do it? should I do it? is it the right time to make a change?), holds more promise.

If nothing else, the fear of atrophy should be enough motivation to take a different route home tonight…

Here’s the full article (’Can you become a creature of habit?’ by Janet Rae-Dupree) - it’s a good read.

Photo credit: Oliver S. (blackboard in lobby of Pompei AD’s former office)