Neuroplasticity and Growth Mind-set Learning.

Neuroplasticity

Principles and benefits to people

Neuroplasticity is based around the belief that the brain can be moulded over time and indeed even new skills be learnt.


Previously it was believed that individuals were unable to learn new skills and grow parts of their brain and that a skill was something a person was ‘born with’. However, studies in this filed has shown that this is not the case and that with effort and training an individual can develop parts of their brain and learn new skills.


As one can imagine this comes with a number of benefits such as:


  1. The ability to learn new skills
  2. Enhance exisiting cognitive capabilities
  3. Improve brain fitness
  4. If a person has suffered a stroke or other significant brain injury they will be able to recover from this to a degree


How can I engage with and use it to benefit myself.

It is refreshing to hear that all is not lost when it comes to turning ones hand to learning a new skill. Given that I am in the middle of trying to change careers into a pathway I have never been down before it is good to know that the parts of my brain that will help with this can be worked on and developed.


From research there are a number of activities one can engage in to enhance neuroplasticity (which I will discuss later) which are all attainable and not anything out of the ordinary and I can incorporate into my day.



Ways to increase neuroplasticity

There are a number of different ways you can increase your neuroplasticity - these are a few that i thought were relevant to me and my situation:


  1. Reading - especially fiction books
  2. Creating art and other creative pursuits
  3. Being active.

I also found this to be a great succinct resource on the topic



Growth Mindset.

What is it and why is it relevant?

Growth mindset believes that everyones basic qualities are things that can be cultivated, that our talents and aptitudes, interests and temperaments can change and grow through our experiences and application.


This is important when it comes to learning or changing a career path (as I am doing here) as it means that I am not pre-determined to a specific route and that new disciplines, such as coding asn web development, are beyond my reach.


Integrating growth mindset into the learning journey

Through out the course of this research it has become apparent that there are a number of ways I can introduce the growth mindset into my learning journey to help enhance it. In no particular order these are:


  1. Embrace challenges, there will be many but they should not be seen as insurmountable.
  2. Persist even in the event of setback, as above I should not let speed bumps hold me back.
  3. Learn from any criticism - try not and take criticism as a personal slight, rather as an opportunity to learn and grow, perhaps even see things in a different light.
  4. Enjoy the success of others and see what has helped them and if it can apply to me.

I believe by keeping the above mentioned points foremost in the mind will help push me along this learning journey and achieve my goals.


For further reading I found this article to be particularly useful.