Neuroplasticity

[GuestUser8117]

2 years ago, I read the book "The brain that changes itself" by Norman Doidge. I've been interested by behavioral psychology and it's truly a great book about how the mind works, very mind blowing. The idea behind the book is that our brain is plastic, and never stop growing. There is a rule about the mind in the book which is "neurons that fire together wire together". It means that if you stop using your brain, you will be less intelligent, more lazy,etc. On the opposite if you use it wisely, exercise, build new skills, practice different things, your brain will be smarter and new neural pathways will grow. It is truly a great book and the science of neuroplasticity is very ground breaking. Beware with laziness, everytime you don't do something or quit, it reinforces the habit.

It is never too late to change your habits. Neuroplasticity can lead you to greater success in work and life. But you can't change overnight, it takes deliberate practice. Repeated practice. It took years to develop your ways of acting and thought process, so it will take time to form new healthy habits, just as it took time to master the guitar for me. You are your brain, so take good care of it. I highly recommend you read the book. It's a little challenging though.

 

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[SeanKelly]

Thank you for sharing, Omerta.

 

[Alana]

Hey! I read that book a few years ago....one of my favs with regards to the brain. If you're a brain dork like me then you'll also like The Mind and the Brain by Jeffery M Schwartz.

 

[kraze]

The name of the "rule" is Hebb's Law but I would say it makes you sharper and not smarter.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Neuroplasticity can lead you to greater success in work and life. But you can't change overnight, it takes deliberate practice. Repeated practice.

Luminosity.com and MindSparke are some websites that do brain exercises.

Also, the book by Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage was a book I checked-out from the library a few years ago that has some interesting insights regarding this topic, including happiness.

(Ever play a video game for 12 hours straight and have difficulty turning your mind off??)

 

[GuestUser8117]

(Ever play a video game for 12 hours straight and have difficulty turning your mind off??)

8 hours straight once lol. I was zombie after that.

 

[Twiki]

Omerta thanks for bringing this great topic and that great book to attention. I have to quibble with the assertion that "you can't change overnight", however. It's true that deliberate practice is needed for some things, such as practicing musical instruments, but it's also true that many habits and behaviors often can be changed much more rapidly than people might think. I agree it's not smart to promise or expect "instant change" (and in fact people who want that, seem to get it the least), but depending on how things fire together and wire together, then a lot of times, change really can happen in an instant.

 

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