Top 5 Things I’ve Learned From Brain Blogging

Actually, these might or might not be the *top* things I’ve learned… because really, I’m not sure how to rank them.  But they’re certainly five things I didn’t expect to learn.  Anyway, on with the list!

1.Neuroplasticity Rocks.    

Although there’s no simple way to summarize it,  my deepening understanding of  how the neural pathways in the brain grow, strengthen, change and fade away has made a huge difference in my approach to… well.. everything.   The concepts involved have helped me to understand how both good and bad habits are formed, maintained and changed…   that new things are *supposed* to be hard, and being “smart” doesnt magically make new neural pop into existence without work. 

Neuroplasticity isn’t just an abstract concept to me anymore, it’s become part of how I approach life and learning as a whole, and I don’t think that would have happened if I hadn’t forced myself to look at the concepts more deeply, in order to write about them, and respond to reader comments and emails.

2.My Brain Really Does Work Differently.
(and so does yours)

No, I don’t have a series of scans, readouts or tests to confirm that I’m different than most folks…  But the more I’ve learned about the brain, the more I recognize that my mental function appears to be stoopidly sensitive to both internal and external influences, including allergens, glucose levels, heat, mood (both my own and others) the power of suggestion,  color, and lord knows what else.   I wish I knew how to make it a wee bit less sensitive, but for now, I’ll settle for knowing that it is, and that I need to be especially aware of the impact of environment, and that there are others out there like me, with unspecified, undiagnosed “differences”.

And just so you know I’m not totally self-obsessed -  I’m equally fascinated by how different and unique other people’s brains are, and I regularly try to understand just how some of the more peculiar neural pathways get built.

3.The Brain Fitness Community Is Awesome.

Yes, it’s a young community. Yes, we’re still splintered, scattered, sometimes competitive and sometimes confused. But I have to say that through this medium,  I’ve come into contact with some of the nicest, most supportive, friendly and genuine people I’ve met in 15 years of online activity, with positions ranging from from bloggers to authors to marketers and company CEOs. 

I’d list them, but there are just too many…  and I’d never get this post done.   (so I’ll save that for another day)

4.I Suspect I  Am A Neurogenesis Junkie

I’ve always craved new, in depth, engaging and stimulating environments - the feeling I get from them is akin to a cool fresh breeze on a muggy day.  When my spouse and I used to go for long drives as entertainment, I always wanted to go somewhere *new* and fresh, and if I go too long without something drastically new and fascinating in my world, I get depressed.  I need exposure to things I don’t know, or I get antsy.  

Weird, eh?  My best guess: (and this isn’t really an educated guess) there’s something in the bio-chemical cocktail of neural growth that I crave.  I sometimes wish I had a neuroscientist next door neighbor who would let me borrow all that cool equipment they have, so I could see what really goes on inside my skull.  It’s weird, I’m telling ya!

5.What I Think (and say) Matters.
(but so does what you think and say)

Because it affects the neural pathways, making physical and real changes in my brain… and presumably, the brains of my readers. 

Which is kind of scary.  

Really.

So I’m going to go breathe, now, so I can quit fretting over how I changed your brain today

MindTweak:  “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - that is to have succeeded”  -- Ralph Waldo Emerson