Rav learns to code

What is neuroplasticity?

The term neuroplasticity refers to our brain's ability to restructure or rewire itself when it recognises the need for adaption. As previously touched on in my post on emotional intelligence, our conception of how the brain works and what it is capable of, notably beyond infancy and after the age of 25, has changed significantly in recent decades.

We now understand that our brain can continue developing and changing throughout the entirety of our lives, and that our thoughts, physical activity, emotions, nutrition, sleep habits and other lifestyle choices are all capable of having an effect on our physical brains.

Certain activities have been scientifically proven to improve the brain's adaptability, and these include:

• Learning a new language
• Playing video games
• Playing word games
• Making music
• Exercising
• Making art
• Meditating

This new information proves that how we choose to respond in a situation is an action with the potential to literally change our brains, both for the better or for the worse, and gives us another area of health, our minds and brains, for which we should all take responsiblity, however challenging that might be for us.

Growth Mindset

Leaning heavily on the concept of neuroplasticity, the growth mindset, as described by American psychologist Carol Dweck, is a theory that proposes that our intelligence can be improved through our efforts and action. Dweck advocates for the benefits of an approach of ongoing learning and development for our physical, mental, and emotional health, and argues that how we respond to and conceptualise situations, even how we talk to ourselves, are relevant and significant factors in determining outcomes, with setbacks being a necessary part of the learning process. This view, places itself in direct opposition to the idea of a "fixed mindset", an essentially deterministic view of the world in which intelligence is considered to be static.

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset