Can We Rewire and Rebuild Our Brain As Adults?
Edition #087
Introduction
Welcome to The ContraMind Code.
The ContraMind Code provides you with a system of principles, signals, and ideas to aid you in your pursuit of excellence.
The Newsletter shares the source code through quick snapshots for a systems thinking approach to be the best in what you do.
The Code helps you reboot and reimagine your thinking by learning from the best and enables you to draw a blueprint on what it takes to get extraordinary things done. Please share your valuable thoughts and comments and start a conversation.
Take a journey to www.contraminds.com. Listen and watch some great minds talking to us about their journey of discovery of what went into making them craftsmen of their profession to drive peak performance.
It’s Time To Pay People To Criticise You.
We keep hearing about why asking and receiving feedback is essential to improve ourselves. But the biggest problem is that many people don’t give us honest feedback as they feel it might hurt us if it is negative, but it may be of enormous value to us to improve ourselves. How do we overcome that?
Amantha Imber is an Organisational Psychologist, Founder of Inventium, Host of the How I Work podcast, and author of Time Wise, and she writes about interesting ways to get genuine and authentic feedback.
Here are some ideas Amantha has shared:
Amantha takes inspiration from Simon Coronel, one of the world’s leading close-up magicians. To break through the politeness, Coronel asked, ‘If I offered you a million dollars to guess how this trick was done, what would you say?’
Simon found that asking audience members this question invited them to reveal whatever was on their minds (even though they were dubious that Coronel had one million dollars to hand over to them).
Simon was willing to pay for negative feedback, and he was willing to pay for the constructive criticism he got.
Amantha shares a great suggestion on how to get constructive feedback. She writes, ‘The next time you really want constructive feedback, consider paying people or offering them a gift.’
Amantha writes, ‘Offer an incentive for honest feedback, ask immediately after the experience, and keep an open mind.’
Read the full article here.
Four Strategies For Tackling The Most Demanding Challenges
In this episode on Masters of Scale, which was recorded live at the Masters of Scale Summit, four scale leaders in Bjarke Ingels, Aurora James, Kathryn Finney, and Scott Harrison, offer their strategies and ideas around taking on society’s most complex and formidable challenges.
Here are some thoughts to reflect on after listening to the episode:
Find your Way - The challenges may be insurmountable and sound impossible, but you can find your way if you have the will. Bjarke talks about this with an example of how they dreamt of a near-impossible dream of powering Maersk’s container ports and converting them into green growth hubs.
Identify your Allies -When you have a big goal and purpose, it is essential to find your allies who can help navigate your goals to achieve the purpose you have gone out to fulfil. Aurora James talks about how she converted this thought with an example by converting her intent to action with the 15 per cent pledge.
Compound Your Contribution - You must find ways with what you do to have a compounding effect on people, business and society. It’s not about what you can achieve but how you can help others achieve their dreams. Kathryn Finney talks about this with an example of how her father’s foundation looks for companies that are not just creating value for themselves or her as an investor but also in their communities.
Be Bigger than the problem - Sometimes, we look at problems narrowly and slot them within certain boundaries. However, if you look at any problem beyond that, opportunities will open up like you may have never imagined. Scott Harrison talks about this with an example of how he set out to solve the world's dirty drinking water problem.
Listen to the entire episode here:
Apple Podcast | Google | Amazon Music
How Every Child Can Thrive By Five
Molly Wright is a student from Queensland, Australia, and is a passionate advocate for early childhood development. She is just seven years old and is the youngest to give a TED Talk.
Here are some points to think about why this is an incredible topic that can ignite our minds:
Often, we don’t give enough thought and focus to understand how children learn rapidly in their very early years - The first five years.
By age five, the child’s brain doubles in volume and is almost the size of an adult’s brain. The brain can create a million neural connections every second!
A healthy brain development at this early age requires the following top 5 things - Connecting, Talking, Playing, a Healthy home and a Community.
Molly urges us as parents to connect, talk and play at this early age with these kids for healthy brain development. Also, not getting distracted by electronic devices, losing attention, and not having broken interactions with kids is essential.
Molly talks about how copycat games build imagination and empathy, naming games build vocabulary and retention, and games like peekaboo help build memory and trust.
Positive relationships with grown-ups help kids gain confidence and explore new things.
Click and watch the entire video.
Can We Rewire and Rebuild Our Brain As Adults?
Not many of your parents or you may have had the privilege of knowing the importance of developing your brain in the first five years. You could do that immediately to your children if you have one. But what about each one of us? So, the question that came up was whether it is the end of the world for adults all over the world to develop, build and rewire their brains continuously.
There is some good news here. Recent research findings published in Nature Magazine found that among adults, there is the birth of new neurons—called neurogenesis— and this is possible in an area of the brain that is responsible for learning and memory. The study stated that there is neurogenesis formation throughout the life of humans. Also, other studies show that brain maturity and development extend beyond teen years. As you get into your 30s, 40s, or 50s, your brain can dynamically change throughout adulthood. Research suggests that older adults who engage in memory training tasks, crossword puzzles, and even video games can improve their cognitive functions.
It is also often advised that adults need to develop ‘Neuroplasticity’ in their brains. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt due to experience. It is the brain's capability to change, reorganize, or grow neural networks. As an adult, building your brain's neuroplasticity creates opportunities to reorganize pathways, create new connections, and, in some cases, even create new neurons.
While people used to believe that the brain became fixed after a certain age, newer research has revealed that the brain never stops changing in response to learning.
So, what does it take to keep developing and improving the plasticity of an adult’s brain like yours? Something which can ensure your brain development never stops.
Keep working on your memory; don’t let it rot or stagnate.
If you are not learning anything new, it is a sign of brain growth stagnation. Therefore, constantly learn new things.
Teach someone else - When you teach someone else, you will start to learn, which impacts your brain development.
Be curious to add new information to your vocabulary and knowledge. Also, connect the new information you learn to things you already know.
When you do something, you get to learn. Therefore, keep striving for hands-on experience all your life.
When mistakes and failures haunt you, you don’t try anything new. Don’t worry about any mistakes or failures, as they are vital ingredients of your success, and they are a part of the process.
Reading keeps improving your brain’s neuroplasticity. Therefore, develop the habit of reading every day.
Keep testing the limits of your potential. Sometimes, your mind and fear is the most significant barrier to realise your true potential. Figure out ways to ‘Test Yourself’.
Try to develop and learn how to focus. Building your attention stamina invigorates brain development as you are constantly putting it to use, and the synapses in the brain, which connect and help neurons communicate with each other, are constantly put to work.
Think for a minute. What amongst these do you do or practice today, and what more from here can you add to your list? Could you draw up a plan and start?
Some of the lessons we learnt from this week’s mission:
Constructive feedback takes a lot of work to get. Find authentic ways to get them to keep improving.
Scaling will happen when you find your why, co-opt your allies, create new ways to compound your contribution to stakeholders, and look at problems more holistically rather than narrowcasting them.
Brain development in adults can happen if you continuously improve its neuroplasticity.