DECODING THE IKIGAI #1 - TURN OFF THE MENTAL AUTOPILOT, EMBRACE CHANGE

"There is a tension between what is good for someone and what they want to do. This is because people, especially older people, like to do things as they've always done them. The problem is that when the brain develops ingrained habits, it doesn't need to think anymore. Things get done quickly and efficiently on automatic pilot, often in a very advantageous way. This creates a tendency to stick to routines, and the only way of breaking these is to confront the brain with new information."

Establishing new neuronal pathways in the brain is key to delaying the process of ageing. How do you do it? By stepping out of your comfort zone. Is it easy? Nope. It's challenging, but let me remind you, if something comes easy, then it's not worth it.

Your brain tends to adapt to a sequence of events and subsequent actions - an algorithm is created and your brain finds it easier to get things done by this algorithm, which slowly develops into a habit, and before you know it, your system is on autopilot. Crash it, you're gone, your equilibrium is lost. Preserve it, you're happy but something's missing!

Let me give you an example. You've recently moved to a suburb, which, in actuality, is a living breathing maze of people, children, cattle, rickshaws and everything else. The dynamics of the region are such that you tend to lose your way - you want to go to the local market, but you end up discovering the paan shop at the blind end.

But you persevere, find an easier route, a shortcut to reach your destination, the market. And you traverse the same path thereafter. Till one fine morning, the road is closed for maintenance. Back to square one, you're afraid of losing your way again, but this time, you choose to walk around, discover another route in the process - this is exactly how your brain creates new chemical and neuronal pathways, by establishing brand new connections through response modification.

Scientists researching the ikigai state that change is the only constant parameter. And it is always difficult to take the first step. So what do you do? Plunge yourself into the deluge - initially you may grapple, you may gasp and fall - but slowly, change becomes your habit. You learn to adapt - you learn to hold breath, gain a strong foothold, ready to take charge of your life.

If you let your brain do machine learning, you're allowing your capabilities to rust and remain in oblivion. Untapped potential is wasteful and futile, so ikigai researchers recommend these activities to break the code of the mental autopilot:

1. Use your 11 bus for transport - I mean your legs!

2. Reduce your sedentary time, screen time, be it TV or mobilephone - incorporate social activities, forms of leisure, hobbies and similar stuff into your routine.

3. Bring more of nature onto your plate.

4. Stop playing with your delicate circadian rhythm - rest up, recharge and get the right amount of sleep. The melatonin thus produced improves your lifestyle by leaps and bounds.

5. Troubleshoot your daily routine for any lethal habits - replace them with positive and productive ones.

I would like to add some of my thoughts to this list:

6. Falling into the never-ending monotony of a fixed organization can prove to be detrimental - reorder and realign your room once in a month. Do the same to your wardrobe and workspace.

7. Solve a puzzle or two in free time. Participate in debates and discussions. Air your views. Put forth your ideas.

8. Throughout our life, we learn, unlearn, accept, reject, submit and challenge. Learning a new trade is never too late.

Sometimes, all you need is change. And it takes a moment to appreciate all that change has brought to the world. As you persist, you gain momentum and succeed - and the purpose of ikigai is to make you fall in love with the process, the pursuit, that is life.