“That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased.”
Neuroplasticity: Building the Brain You Want
One of the most important and consistent themes in neuroscience research over the past 25 years is the phenomenon of brain neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to be shaped and “re-wired” by new learning and experiences. In contrast to earlier assumptions, considerable research now shows that both the function and structure of the human brain can change in healthy ways with targeted practice even into late adulthood. Whether it’s learning to play the piano, practicing meditation, or using cognitive-behavioral techniques for healthy thought patterns, deliberate and persistent efforts allow the brain to develop new pathways that facilitate habits for personal growth. An oft-cited neuroscience adage explains it this way: “neurons that fire together, wire together.”
In this fascinating talk, Dr. Lara Boyd describes how neuroplasticity gives you the ability to shape the brain you want:
There are a few important take-home points from this research on neuroplasticity that warrant particular emphasis:
The best driver of neuroplastic change in your brain is your behavior. This has important implications for how you approach your own efforts at personal growth. Just reading about a new skill isn’t enough! Even reading dozens of self-help books about an issue you’re working on is unlikely to produce lasting change (you may already know this from personal experience). This is because the insights and motivation produced by those initial efforts will be short-lived if they are not translated into doing things differently. Sustainable, lasting change comes from trying out new behaviors. This is why the 21-Day Growth Experiments are so important; they give you the scaffolding to experiment with new behaviors, to find what works for you, and allow you to start laying down new neural pathways in the brain that develop into sustainable habits.
Similarly, nothing is more effective than practice at helping you learn, and you need to do the work. Would you expect to become a better tennis player just by watching tennis or reading a book about it? There are no shortcuts! No “5 Easy Steps” to getting the life you want. You already know that, but isn’t it interesting how much we wish for that to be the case? We’re quick to jump at the new, easy, and convenient solutions that don’t require persistent effort. It’s easy to read about making changes in your life. It’s easy to listen to a motivational speaker or a TED talk. It’s even pretty easy to click “buy” for an expensive online training program or weekend seminar. You might take a moment now to think about other “solutions” you have tried and hoped would work in the past that didn’t require persistent effort. How did that turn out? In contrast, can you spend 20 minutes today practicing a new skill or habit you’d like to develop? Because that’s what will be most effective at changing your brain in a healthy direction.
Having periods of struggle and difficulty during practice leads to more learning (and more structural changes in the brain). Almost all meaningful growth requires some struggle and difficulty. It’s ok that it’s hard. We need resistance for growth. Inevitably, there will be plenty of times we fall short of our intentions. But we need to see that every moment of struggle (and even “failure”) contains a seed for further growth. That moment of challenge is the critical juncture for re-shaping the brain’s default response to adversity.
See if this discouraging pattern feels familiar to you: Make Effort→ Encounter Obstacle→ Fall short→ Give up→ Do Nothing for a While→ Feel Guilty→ Recommit due to Guilt. You may have noticed that guilt is usually a poor strategy for long-term change. In contrast, consider the possibility of a different pattern: Make Effort→ Encounter Obstacle→ Fall short→ Learn from Obstacle→ Revise/Refine Approach→ Notice Progress→ Feel Motivated→ Recommit due to Growth. How we respond to an obstacle (both our cognitive appraisal and our behavioral response to it) is the critical point for creating new pathways for personal growth. Make Nietzsche’s famous quote your rallying cry: “What does not kill me makes me stronger” (okay, in point of fact, a traumatic brain injury would not make you stronger, but the quote works for most of the challenges we face). Each time you respond to difficulty by sticking with it, you are shaping your brain in a healthy direction. Stress and obstacles are not problems in and of themselves; understanding this point is important enough that we’ll come back to it in the next section.
Ultimately, everything you do and don’t do shapes your brain. So many research studies have demonstrated neuroplasticity in response to practicing some task that it’s no longer an impressive finding. But don’t let that keep you from paying close attention to how your daily routines and habitual responses may be solidifying both good and bad habits! Rather, take heart in knowing that your deliberate efforts over time will help you shape your brain in positive ways.
So, are you ready to build the brain you want? In the next section, we’ll learn more about what it means to have a growth mindset and how this sets you up for a lifetime of personal growth.