Before I truly understood the power of understanding neuroscience, I thought that the new year was a time for partying and celebration and some reflection upon the previous year, but not much more than that. New Year’s Eve resolutions felt disingenuous after I made them and didn’t achieve them, year after year. Sometimes, like many of us, I could maintain a new good habit or squelch a bad one for a period of time, but too often, I went back to my old ways before long. Once I had experienced this pattern and judged myself for it many times, I gave up on resolutions altogether and did not give the start of the new year much credence at all.
At some point, I realized that I was behaving in response to the wrong pattern. I shouldn’t be focusing on the pattern of not seeing things through; I should be examining the processes of my brain that were causing it. And that changed the entire game.
Our brains are so idiosyncratic. They love change yet resist it. They are highly functional yet also fundamentally lazy. Not in a judgmental way, but in a highly efficient, “Why waste energy rethinking what worked yesterday?” kind of way. If you’re like me (and like most people), you’ve spent much of your life running on autopilot—some of it good, some of it highly questionable, and of course everything in between. But 2024? This was the year you discovered you could hack the system.
Neuroplasticity is your backstage pass to reinvention. Despite its attempts to prove otherwise, your brain isn’t as stubborn as it pretends to be. With every choice, habit, and (admittedly awkward) attempt at self-improvement, you are the electrician, rewiring the system. You stopped telling yourself, “I can’t change,” because, biologically speaking, that’s nonsense. Your neurons were all too happy to play along as long as you gave them a consistent script to follow. You know that if you don’t give it new instructions, it will revert to the information and patterns in its “hard drive.” And knowing that allows you to proactively and intentionally provide it with a new game plan.
I look back on the years I spent thinking that I wasn’t good enough. When I tried to change, it felt like failure after failure when I couldn’t sustain the new habits I so desperately wanted to adopt. Things didn’t happen as fast as I wanted, or in as grand a fashion as I’d like. It took me a long time to fully understand how sustainable transformation happens. It’s rarely in a flash of brilliance or when the stars are perfectly aligned. It’s gritty and often painstaking and uncomfortable.
The real magic is in the small, sustainable habits. These are not dramatic gestures or life-altering decisions. They are the daily acts of self-respect and self-awareness: drinking water before coffee, stepping outside for five minutes of sunlight, and pausing before reacting in a way that will not serve you well. I am hoping you can see that what you built in 2024 wasn’t a new you but a better, more aligned version of yourself. One that you built yourself, brick by brick, tiny habit by tiny habit.
You’re also no longer waiting for the perfect circumstances to begin. Neuroscience taught you that perfectionism is just procrastination wearing a fancy hat. Your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for all that overthinking, loves to tell you, “Wait until everything is just right.” But 2024 showed you that waiting is overrated. Your brain doesn’t need ideal conditions to act; it just needs a nudge and a bit of dopamine. You’re embracing the fact that getting out of your own way often means releasing control. Letting go of the need to have it all figured out can be your gateway to freedom. Progress isn’t linear, but it is unmistakable. It may sound trite, yet it is still true that with each stumble, you reminded yourself to stand back up. And that is what progress and the creation of new neural pathways are made of.
It bears repeating that despite what movies and makeover shows tout, transformation doesn’t come in fireworks—often, it barely comes with even one shed of sparkle. It comes in shifts almost imperceptible to the observer until after time you can look back and see how far you’ve come. It may not even feel like a great distance to you, but it is movement in the right direction. No one overhauls their life in one dramatic sweep. It takes small, unglamorous steps: drinking water, scheduling breaks, resisting the urge to scroll endlessly at 2 a.m. etc., etc., etc. Thankfully, neuroscience backs you up. Tiny actions compound over time, carving new pathways in your brain. It’s called Hebb’s Law: “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” Repetition makes habits stick, so you are learning to lean into the mundane and make it magic
Neuroscience is more than a science lesson; it’s a mirror! You see how your brain can change, not in distant or theoretical ways but in tangible moments of clarity and resilience. The idea of neuroplasticity—your brain’s ability to reshape itself—gives you permission to release the old stories you clung to. The ones that whispered, “This is just who you are.” You recognize those whispers as echoes of your past, not proclamations of your future.
Momentum is your secret weapon, showing that the tiniest push forward matters. There have been (and will continue to be) days when doubt and perfectionism raise their heads, but you know about the power of small steps. A single decision to act—however minor—creates ripples. One healthier choice leads to another; one moment of courage opens the door to a bolder move. The patterns you once thought were set in stone began to shift, not in dramatic bursts but through a steady rhythm of intention. If you have a morning when getting out of bed feels like scaling Everest, you understand how to crack the code of your brain’s resistance. Don’t focus on the mountain, just put on your shoes. Starting something—anything—creates momentum. It’s physics meets psychology. The hardest part of running isn’t the last mile; it’s the first step. Understanding neuroplasticity gives you the gift of knowing that forward motion beats perfection every time.
In 2024, you may have found yourself in the chrysalis stage. If neuroscience could talk, it would tell you that’s where all the magic—and the hard work—happens. There were probably moments when you felt like nothing was happening as if all your effort was for naught. But inside you, things were shifting. Your prefrontal cortex—the seat of decision-making and self-control—was working overtime to override old impulses. Every time you chose patience over frustration or curiosity over self-doubt, you strengthened those neural connections. It didn’t feel dramatic, but it was transformative. Your brain, much like a caterpillar entering metamorphosis, had to break down before it could build something new. That’s the process of neuroplasticity: the ability of your brain to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. In 2024, you weren’t just learning new habits; you were dissolving old ones. And that takes effort and energy too! Much like how the caterpillar’s cells literally liquefy to become something else, your brain had to let go of well-worn pathways to carve new ones.
Now, as 2025 looms, you’re equipped with a neural toolkit. Your brain is more flexible, your habits more sustainable, and your excuses are on shaky ground. The new year isn’t about grand resolutions; it’s about small steps with big implications. My holiday wish is that you feel a sense of quiet confidence and that you are bringing it all full circle. The lessons of 2024 weren’t just for the sake of learning; they were a foundation. They’ve prepared you to move forward with clarity, curiosity, and a belief that you are capable of creating a life aligned with your true desires.
The next chapter is yours to write, but don’t think about writing it all at once. One small step, one mindful choice, one moment of courage—that’s all it takes to start. You’re not starting from scratch; you’re starting from growth. Take it slow. Honor the process. Neuroscience assures you that change is happening, even when it feels invisible. You’re not just emerging from this transformation—you’re embodying it.
The quantum field knows nothing about the passing of time, making it always the right time to harness it. Check out my groundbreaking documentary: https://www.jamesgrayrobinson.com/beyond-physical-matter/ to help you soar into 2025, feeling prepared to make your life truly Grayt!