What is brain plasticity and how to develop it

What is brain plasticity

Those who are unable to change their thinking cannot change anything.

George Bernard Shaw Irish playwright and novelist, laureate of the Nobel Prize for Literature

Nothing in the world stands still, and we must adapt to this. Every year, changes are progressing more and more rapidly, so now it is especially important for us to have flexible thinking and develop the plasticity of our brain.

Brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity, is the ability of the brain to form new neural connections. It is she who allows neurons - the nerve cells that make up our brain - to adjust their work in response to changes in the environment and adapt to them.

Norman Doidge, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, in his Brain Plasticity. Stunning facts about how thoughts can change the structure and function of our brain”tells about people whose brains have managed to recover from severe disorders, such as a stroke. The author proves that this organ can change, reorganize and form new neural connections throughout life, and not just in childhood, as science has argued earlier.

At any age, a person can improve brain function or maintain it at the same level. Even with the approach of old age, the brain is able to change its structure and work only thanks to the thoughts and actions of a person. To do this, you need to develop the flexibility of your thinking.

Thinking flexibility, or cognitive flexibility, is the ability of the human brain to overcome habitual responses and thought patterns in unfamiliar conditions and create new ones.

That is, the ability to adapt to new situations, break up difficult tasks into small pieces, improvise and apply various strategies depending on the goals he is facing. This property of the brain allows you to switch and think about something from different points of view.

Why is flexible thinking important?

It is human nature to strive for constancy. Change is scary in that it forces you to leave your comfort zone. But the attitude of not accepting changes and the inability to adapt to them prevents us from arranging our lives.

Pay attention to the elderly. Why are they so eager to establish their own order everywhere? Norman Doidge argues that an aging person gradually loses the ability to change, a discrepancy arises between his thinking and the outside world. Imperceptibly, he begins to interfere with every little thing and tries to adjust it to familiar standards.

It is the plasticity of the brain that gives us the ability to overcome those mental barriers that prevent us from going beyond the established order of things.

The more you develop your mind throughout your life, the less you risk facing Alzheimer's and dementia. But the lack of flexibility in thinking affects us not only as we age. If we stop learning, we no longer feel the fullness of life. Our brain begins to get bored without vigorous activity and in decision-making is limited only by the attitudes fixed in it. At first it seems to us that there is nowhere to grow, and then we become sure of this.

The pursuit of new things is one of the character traits that keep you healthy and happy and promote personal growth as you get older.

Robert Cloninger psychiatrist

What Makes Flexible Thinkers Different

A person with a flexible mind constantly rethinks ways to solve a problem and finds new ones in order to cope with a task better, easier and faster.

This ability has been endowed with many successful people we admire. The key to their fruitful activity is the daily pursuit of something new.

It's important not to stop asking questions. Curiosity has its own reason for being. One can only reverently admire the secrets of eternity, existence or the amazing structure of reality. It is enough to try every day at least a little to comprehend this secret.

Albert Einstein theoretical physicist, Nobel laureate

Leonardo da Vinci maintained his curiosity throughout his life, and today he is considered one of the most unique people in history. A passion for knowledge led him to success in a wide variety of fields: da Vinci devoted himself to art, technology, philosophy and natural sciences.

The originality of great people is the result of their own desires and efforts. Vivid imagination, curiosity and observation - these are the qualities that we must adopt.

I always do what I don't know how to do. This is how I can learn it.

Pablo Picasso painter

How to develop mental flexibility

See things from different angles

Consider all phenomena from different angles - this will help you find new paths to development.

Use your imagination: imagine the situation from the point of view of your friends and acquaintances. Chances are, you will find many new ways to solve the problem or see flaws in your work that you can fix.

Get out of your comfort zone

Change the context or environment that surrounds you and you will feel how your mind changes. Step out of your usual role and do what you previously doubted and avoided.

Communicate with people from different circles, be open to their opinions and ideas. Listen to ideas you disagree with and analyze before rejecting them.

Trust emotion and intuition

Thinking logically really helps to deal with familiar problems when it is enough to follow known techniques. But when you have to deal with something new, existing rules and established methods sometimes turn out to be counterproductive.

Typically, the thinking process takes place from top to bottom: from analytics to action. But when faced with a difficult task, try to give freedom of intuition.

Intuition is something that is ahead of accurate knowledge. Our brain has, no doubt, very sensitive nerve cells, which allows us to feel the truth, even when it is not yet available to logical conclusions or other mental efforts.

Nikola Tesla scientist, inventor

Be curious

Ask questions to the whole world and seek answers to them. Take an interest in your surroundings. Write down everything that made you think, all ideas and thoughts.

Don't stop learning and striving for new things. The plasticity of the mind is born of newness, which helps the development of the brain throughout life. And if change scares you, remember: it makes you stronger.