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Neural Circuit Training™

Short, consistent pauses with thoughts of goodwill toward yourself or others can reshape your mind. A simple daily habit may be the most practical path to inner peace and lasting well-being.

There is strong scientific evidence that deliberately cultivating thoughts of goodwill can improve well-being and actually change the brain over time.

Short pauses for goodwill practices

Studies on loving-kindness meditation (LKM) and compassion meditation show that even brief, regular practices, such as silently wishing well to yourself and others, can increase positive emotions, empathy, and life satisfaction while reducing stress, anxiety, and self-criticism.

Brain training analogy

Neuroscience backs this up: repeated goodwill/compassion practices strengthen neural circuits associated with positive emotion regulation, empathy, and resilience. Brain imaging studies show structural and functional changes in areas like the prefrontal cortex and insula after regular practice, much like how exercise strengthens muscles.

Dose matters, but even small steps help

Like physical exercise, more consistent practice produces stronger effects, but research suggests that even short, daily practices (sometimes just a few minutes) can start shifting mood and outlook.

For example. Barbara Fredrickson’s work on loving-kindness meditation showed that short daily practices increased positive emotions and built long-term resources like mindfulness, social support, and purpose. Neuroscience studies (e.g., from Richard Davidson’s lab at the University of Wisconsin) show that compassion training alters brain activity in networks related to empathy and emotional regulation.

So it’s not just a metaphor. You really can train your brain toward greater well-being through short goodwill practices, and it works in a way quite parallel to training physical fitness. By creating an assortment of goodwill practices, and then moving from one to the next, you create mental fitness "circuits," just like physical circuit training in a gym.

The Power of Ten Seconds: Matthieu Ricard’s Case for a Mental Fitness Routine

A well-known proponent of this type of mental fitness training is Matthieu Ricard, a former molecular biologist, Buddhist monk, author, and translator for the Dalai Lama. He is one of the subjects of the aforementioned neuroscience study at Richard Davidson’s lab at the University of Wisconsin. Ricard's brain scans show unusually strong gamma wave activity and other neuroscience markers associated with attention, compassion, and emotional balance. His striking results helped spark the popular description of Ricard as “the happiest man in the world,” a label he considers exaggerated, though he has acknowledged performing exceedingly well in those tests.

Ricard frames mental fitness the same way we frame physical fitness: small, consistent practices build and maintain capability. He recommends brief loving-kindness practices throughout the day. Sometimes these are called Metta meditations where "metta" is often translated as "loving-kindness," but it more literally means goodwill. A typical practice might simply repeat phrases such as May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be free from suffering. But there are many other types of goodwill thoughts (see below). Doing this for ten seconds every hour, or as little as six times per day, seems small, yet it accumulates and reshapes habitual patterns of mind.

Ricard offers an analogy: if you open a perfume bottle for ten seconds, the fragrance lingers. Open it regularly throughout the day and soon the scent will be present most of the time. So too with the mind: small, repeated acts of goodwill gradually make the quality of compassion more available.

Consistency matters more than intensity. The plant-care metaphor applies: you would not water a plant with a bucket once a month and expect it to thrive. Short, regular sessions train neural pathways, making peace, positivity, and compassion more available when you need them.

Supporting this practical advice, many thinkers and therapeutic traditions agree that brief, repeated attention to positive or compassionate states alters brain function and emotional life. As David Giwerc of the ADD Coaching Academy explains, pausing to name negative emotions interrupts stress chemistry, and combining that pause with a few deep breaths helps the brain engage its executive functions rather than remain hijacked by limbic reactivity.

Habit Stacking: Piggybacking Goodwill Practices onto Daily Routines

One practical way to ensure consistency is to "piggyback" these short goodwill practices onto habits or routines you already do every day. This idea, known as habit stacking, was popularized by James Clear in his book Atomic Habits (2018). Clear suggests anchoring a new habit to an existing one with the simple formula: "After I [current habit], I will [new habit]." For example, after brushing your teeth, you might take ten seconds to silently wish yourself well, or after pouring your morning coffee, you could pause to send goodwill toward a loved one. This method uses the stability of existing routines to make new practices more automatic, helping goodwill meditation become a natural part of daily life.

Are you ready to prioritize Neural Circuit Training™ in your life?

The evidence is broad and consistent: neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, cultural traditions, and spiritual practices all affirm that this approach works. Just ten seconds to a minute each day, spent sending goodwill to yourself or others—through steady breathing, calming the mind, reflecting on values and purpose, practicing Self-energy, or offering simple metta thoughts like “may you be happy, may you be healthy,” is enough to begin training the brain toward peace, happiness, and compassion.

The question, then, is how much you are willing to prioritize it as part of your life. Mental training is perhaps our greatest untapped potential, and it is easier than any physical fitness routine, yet it can also awaken the motivation to care for the body as well. What often stands in the way is not the practice itself but disbelief or the mind’s natural resistance to change. Overcoming that resistance means stepping forward with courage, much like the hero’s journey: expect challenges, accept setbacks, and choose to try again until the practice takes root.

A companion resource, Mental Fitness Trainer, provides guided topics for meditation based on who you are, how you feel, and what you hope for in the week ahead.

The tools are simple. The benefits are profound. The choice is yours.

Reducing Stress by Matthieu Ricard

Matthieu Ricard is a French writer, humanitarian, and Buddhist monk who has lived and worked in the Himalayas for over 50 years. Often called “the happiest man in the world” by the media, he holds a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and left a promising scientific career to pursue a life of study and service. He has served as the French interpreter for His Holiness the Dalai Lama for decades, and is the author of several international bestsellers on altruism, compassion, and the science of happiness. Ricard teaches that brief, regular moments of benevolent thinking, even just 10 seconds to 1 minute at a time, repeated several times a day, can profoundly transform our mental and emotional state. Over time, this simple practice nurtures a more stable, compassionate, and joyful mind. He believes this capacity for inner transformation is one of humanity’s greatest untapped potentials, lying dormant within each of us, ready to be awakened through consistent, intentional practice.

Points of Agreement from Other Thinkers and Traditions

Below are therapies, philosophers, scientists, and spiritual traditions that share common ground with Ricard’s emphasis on short, consistent practices of goodwill and attention.

Gabor Maté — Emphasizes that healing begins with compassion; consistent self-compassion helps interrupt trauma-driven patterns.
Richard Schwartz (Internal Family Systems) — Regular, compassionate attention to inner parts creates harmony and healing within the psyche.
Viktor Frankl — Argues that meaning is found in every moment; intentional small acts foster resilience and purpose.
Andrew Huberman — Neuroscience shows repeated short practices reshape neural circuits and behavioral responses over time.
Martin Seligman (Positive Psychology) — Repeated cultivation of positive emotions builds durable well-being.
The Christian Bible — Encourages persistent prayer, gratitude, and attention to what is good and true as means to shape the heart and mind.
Other religious traditions — Many forms of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism all promote regular practices of compassion, remembrance, and goodwill.
Carl Jung — Small, conscious engagements over time with the unconscious and symbolic life support the process of individuation.
Kristin Neff — Empirical research on self-compassion shows brief exercises reduce suffering and increase resilience.
Tara Brach — Teaches that mindful pausing and compassionate presence interrupt reactive cycles and open space for healing.
Stoic Philosophy (Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus) — Frequent reflection on virtue and perspective trains character and emotional steadiness.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — Repeatedly shifting thought patterns changes emotional outcomes and habits over time.
Jon Kabat-Zinn (MBSR) — Pioneered clinical mindfulness training showing that regular, brief practices improve stress, mood, and well-being; mindfulness cultivates a non-judgmental, kind stance toward experience.
Kristin Neff — Foundational researcher on self-compassion; shows that practicing self-kindness, common humanity, and mindful awareness is linked to greater psychological well-being and reduced self-criticism.
Rick Hanson — Popularizes “positive neuroplasticity”: repeatedly internalizing brief moments of goodwill and gratitude can “hardwire” resilient, pro-social traits into the brain.
Barbara Fredrickson — Her broaden-and-build research shows that short daily loving-kindness practices increase positive emotions and build durable resources like mindfulness and social connection.
Richard J. Davidson — Neuroscience studies demonstrate that compassion/loving-kindness training alters brain activity in networks for empathy and emotion regulation, supporting the trainability of goodwill.
Daniel Goleman & Richard J. Davidson (“Altered Traits”) — Synthesize decades of evidence that sustained mindfulness/compassion practice can shift traits (not just states), including increased compassion and emotional balance.
Tania Singer — Large-scale ReSource Project shows that compassion is trainable; compassion practice engages positive-affect systems and can prevent empathy-related burnout.
Thupten Jinpa / Stanford CCARE (Compassion Cultivation Training) — Randomized trial data indicate that structured compassion training reduces fear of compassion and increases self-compassion, suggesting real-world trainability.
Paul Gilbert (Compassion-Focused Therapy) — Developed an evidence-based therapy showing that practicing compassion toward self/others reduces shame and distress and improves well-being across clinical groups.
Dacher Keltner — UC Berkeley psychologist whose work and outreach highlight that humans are wired for compassion; training and norms that emphasize kindness can strengthen prosocial tendencies.
Sharon Salzberg — Long-time teacher of loving-kindness; popularizes brief, consistent goodwill practices that research links to increased positive emotions and connection.
Helen Weng and colleagues — Experimental studies show that short-term compassion training increases altruistic behavior and modifies neural responses to others’ suffering.