Why is it So Hard to Change Our Brains?

Do you remember learning to ride a bike? Do you remember how frustrating it was to simply not be able to stay upright? And how even though it looked so easy, for some reason it was the hardest thing ever?

And then, all at once, in a distinguishable instance, it happened… everything seemed to come together. The balance, the momentum, the ability to correct the steering when we started falling off balance. All of a sudden, our brain got it. We were able to stay upright on two thin wheels, while moving, pedalling and steering. Sheer exhilaration. For me, the exhilaration lasted about ten seconds until I realised I hadn’t mastered the art of stopping, and used a fence and my face to slow my inertia.

One of my favourite YouTube channels is “Smarter Every Day” where Dustin presents us with a unique and personal brand of his life, his engineering and his insatiable appetite for understanding.

I’d like to share with you one of his videos that very clearly provides an example of what we have been discussing recently – changing our brain. This eight minute video is one of my favourite learnings of all time. Enjoy it, and I’ll see you the other side of the video.

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There is a common saying I have heard regularly since about the age of twenty – “We are the sum of our experiences”, and this video provides a strong example of how this is so very, very true. But even though this is the case, we CAN CHANGE OUR BRAINS.

It just takes work and patience. And, like Dustin’s son, the younger we are, the less in-grained the wiring is in our brain, and relatively speaking, the easier it is to change our mind.

By the time we have had an opportunity to undertake activities and beliefs hundreds (if not thousands) of times, it is so structured in that brain, that it does take some time and effort to change. Yet for some reason, most of us tend to give up relatively quickly – “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”! The fact is, the older we are, or the more times we have thought or done something, the harder it is to re-wire that process. Dustin proves however, that although it does take longer to break down the current wiring with older dogs, all dogs can learn new tricks.

For me, the take-away from all of this though, is two-fold…

• that things worth doing take time. Our big goals and dreams requiring us to change (exercise, activity, phone calls, leadership etc.) are generally harder because the current wiring we have is what has bought us to wanting to make this change in the first place, and
• that time is going to pass anyway. Dustin spent eight months learning to ride the backwards bike, but if he decided not to and gave up, the time would have passed anyway!

So why not go for your goals with all you’ve got, and never give up. The wiring in your brain can be achieved, it’s just going to take a bit of time and practice.

Change is sometimes hard, especially if the change is to something you have done or had for a long time. However, the effort is always worth it when the change is making you more like the person you want to be.

Until next time,

Live Your Ultimate Life.