Neuroplasticity and the Growth Mindset
by Christelle Quilang 4 May 2022
"Human beings are creatures of habit. The more we behave in a certain way today, the more we’ll behave that way in the future."
- Brent Kessel, It's Not About the Money
Discuss how understanding the principles of neuroplasticity benefits people.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt. Understanding the principles of neuroplasticity benefits people by giving them a framework for how they can change their brains to improve their lives. It gives them hope.
Below is a list of the ten principles of neuroplasticity.
Discuss how you might engage with the principles of neuroplasticity for your benefit.
I could engage with the principles of neuroplasticity by first of all, reminding myself of this concept. Especially when I want to eat a bar of chocolate, or go on YouTube, or think of something negative and unhelpful. In these moments, I can remember that the less I do these things, the less these behaviours will be grooved in my brain, and the easier it will be to resist these undesirable habits in the future. On the flip side, when I’m establishing a healthy habit, like meditation, I can remember that the more I do this, the easier it will be to do in the future! Also, that the more I meditate, the more mindful, calm, and happy I’ll be!
What are some of the ways to increase your neuroplasticity?
- Sleep.
- Exercise.
- Intermittent Fasting.
- Get enough magnesium.
- Take omega-3.
- Eat turmeric or take curcumin.
- Cultivate a growth mindset.
- Practice mindfulness.
Link to a resource that you found particularly useful or engaging.
16 Ways to Increase Neuroplasticity (and Why That’s Important) by Mark Sisson
Discuss what Growth Mindset is and why it is relevant.
Growth Mindset is the belief that you can improve your abilities through effort over time. The Growth Mindset is relevant because it increases motivation and academic performance, and reduces burnout, psychological problems and behavioural problems.
In this exploration, did anything surprise you? Change for you?
I was surprised to have read that the growth mindset can also be used to treat addictions. On this line of thought I started thinking of all these compulsive behaviours I’ve been finding hard to eliminate or minimise:
- eating added sugar (my family has left chocolate bars in the house, out in the open and they’ve been tempting me all week)
- compulsive spending (not worth it)
- getting caught up in the YouTube rabbit hole (especially since we use it for Dev Academy)
This was an exciting revelation to me because I realised I could apply the growth mindset not just to my education, but also in my personal development!
How will you integrate growth mindset into your learning journey?
I will integrate growth mindset into my learning journey by:
- putting in more effort and time into my work
- putting in more practice when I’m not satisfied with a skill level
- putting in more effort and time to understand concepts I don’t understand at a satisfactory level
- reminding myself of the growth mindset and its benefits
- overcoming my writing anxiety by remembering that I can grow to write as well as I'd like, that I can write better blog posts with more time and effort, and that (to overcome the tyranny of 'now') to think of what I post now as just a draft that I can edit and polish later
Link to a resource that you found particularly useful or engaging.
It motivates me to go for walks (with my dog sometimes) when I have a good audiobook to listen to. Carol Dweck’s audiobook Mindset is easy to listen to. Here is a link to her audiobook.
Reflect and discuss how these understandings may shape or influence your learning plan and strategy.
These understandings may shape my learning journey by helping me be more patient, hardworking, and disciplined. Patient with the time it takes me to understand concepts and acquire skills, knowing that effort over time will help me get there. Hardwork by being aiming to reach higher standards, and be more engaged and have more intense focus when I study, knowing that effort matters for growth. Turning up the intensity, pushing myself a little more to produce better, faster, or more. Discipline, especially with sticking to my schedule and avoiding unimportant activities, so that I can put in the hours for Dev Academy, as well as get optimal sleep, exercise, meditate, and spend time with loved ones.
I would like to spend more time learning about neuroplasticity and the growth mindset. Recent reflections and learning about the growth mindset have made me realise that my growth mindset is only just budding and needs nurturance. I would like to cultivate and utilise my neuroplasticity more, this topic is quite interesting to me. I'm inspired by Carol Dweck's story of the thirteen year old kid who applied effort into every part of their life and saw improvements in every part of their life they put more effort into.
I'll leave you with the quote I started this article with, in context:
“The mind lures us into [unhealthy financial patterns] by telling us that the more we want, the more we’ll get, and the more we get, the happier we’ll be. The truth is that the more we want now, the more we’ll want in the future. Human beings are creatures of habit. The more we behave in a certain way today, the more we’ll behave that way in the future. So if we water the seeds of desire now, we won’t magically wake up at some point and say, “Wow! Look at that. I suddenly have fewer desires.” In reality, the amount we water the seeds of desire today will dictate how much larger and thirstier the plants of desire will be tomorrow.”
- Brent Kessel, It's Not About the Money
This is a promising book on applying mindfulness and Buddhist ideas to personal finances.