How does neuroplasticity benefit people

Neuroplasticity is defined as not static by its very name. It can always change and my molded. This is its main benefit for people with enough effort and constiency people have the propensity to learn anything they want. Early research suggested that once your reach a certain age your brain is hard wired and can't be changed. This has been proven to be incorrect and at any age your neurons can be retrained and moulded for a new skill.

I think it's a very interesting topic. I feel like if you showed this to me 10 years ago I would have said something "These teachers just trying to trick us" (slight Euphemism). I identify with the ISTJ profile and a big thing for me is sensing, its only later on in my life have I realized my propensity to learn when I care about it. I stuck to what I was good at, I never ventured outside my comfort range. I was good at Business and Economics so that's what I focused on in school and did well. I could score perfect on a business essay but could barely pass literacy my second time around. Learning about this points me to points in my career where I had a desire to learn. I bought E-books on SQL and listened to them on my hour drive to work. I had never experienced something like this before. I really believe this is connect to this ideology that I was "not there yet" but I wanted to be. If I told my 15 year old self that I would listen to E-book on programming in my car or attend web development course after UNI I would said you're crazy.

Engaging with neuroplasticity for your own benefit

I have the desire to learn this and that's the first step for me, I need a passion for it. One thing that really resonated with me was the idea of not yet. In the past I tried to learn some CSS and genuinely hated it. It was very alien to me and I gave up after a while, just said I can't. One thing I have done differently with Dev A is focus on small things, small challenges in CSS. Creating a Flex box gird display. It was very challenging for me but after a while I started to get the idea. Then I started to notice I had built the neuro pathway, I started instinctively knowing that the parent needs have the display flex with the inner elements being whatever they want.

The other and most important one is that things are and will be tough. In the video bellow with Mark Rober he said we have these images of what a pathway should look like this gradual incline of knowledge sort of thing. But that's not true, in reality there are many dips and spikes in that path to knowledge. Its about meeting that challenging and re trying it again and again. All whilst building those neuro pathways. The idea of small challanges of a larger goal gives that confidence boost of achieving something along the way.

How to increase you neuroplasticity

One way is to try and strengthen the neuropathways connected to what your end goal is. If its programming, it's practicing every day and just building that connection. You may not succeed but in trying you’re a building and strengthening those neurons connected to that process.

One important concept taught with this is the struggle to build these pathways. It's all good knowing that the brain can be re molded to learn something new but if you fall at the first hurdle it will never change. Neurons take time to re train and build. This is where the idea of "Not yet" comes in. If it challenges you, you're on the right path. The mindset here is the important part. You need to be in the growth mindset for this to work otherwise challanges may force you to give up.

What is a growth mindset and why it is important

Growth Mindset: The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it's not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset.

I watched a Ted Talk and the first thing she said was raise your right hand high in the air. Then after she said raise your right hand again but higher this time. The question is why was your hand not at highest point the first time around. But it also showed that even with something so simple there is still the propensity to grow in that situation.

The polar oposite of a Growth mindset is the fixed mindset, here are some of the differences:

• Challanges: Growth mindset would embrace, a fixed mindset would avoid.
• Obstacles: Growth mindset would persist, a fixed mindset would give up.
• Effors: Growth mindset sees this as the path to mastery, a fixed mindset sees this as fruitless.
• Criticism: Growth mindset would learn of it, the fixed mindset would ignore it.
• Success of others: Growth mindset sees this as inspirational, a fixed mindset would see this as a threat.

The growth mindset and myself

Personally I look at the above of how growth and fixed mindsets approach scenarios. There are certain ones where I'm leaning towards a fixed mindset that I would like to work on. One quote when researching that I felt really resonated with me was that to be in the growth mindset you need have a passion for learning not the hunger of approval. There are times I look back on and think I did not have a passion for something rather I wanted the approval for knowing/completing it. That quote did suprise me and show me why certain things did not work out in my life, some of my uni projects are a great example of this. When I was actually interested in the topic I would produce better work, when it was just do this for a good grade approval I got worse marks.

The Growth Mindset and my Learning Plan

In my learning plan I mentioned that I'm writting the objectives down for every task and having them visible on the screen when doing the activity. I think this works well with the idea of the growth mindset and neuroplasticity. The objectives breakdown the overall goal of the actvity. Breaking down the tasks into smaller goals helps maintain that growth mindset for myself. Having to large of a goal means less achaivements along the way. It's a great way to reinforce to yourself that you are learning but just not quite there yet.

One thing I want to add to my learning plan and also after doing the Kata challanges. Is I want to do more sort of neuro training on the weekedns my idea is to do some challanges/battles. At the moment I try to do it, but it does not have an exact structure. I want to set asside 30 mins for each site a day on the weekend and just code some challanges. Also find these are a nice break when I have been stuck on a issue for a while and getting nowhere.

• CSS Battles
• JavaScript Challanges

One negative I reflected on was that my short term goal seems rooted in the hunger for approval. I measure my success my ability to use what I learn here and how I can apply it for my current employeer. My reasoning when writting that goal is that it was measurable could I acutally do that. I think I need to change that goal slightly and introduce a second component of learning from other people I may have the opportunity to work with.