The Brain that Changes Itself - Milo-Arne Wildinson

Don't Retire, Refire Podcast

As a highly regarded Behavioural Scientist who works in both the corporate and sports world, Milo-Arne debunks the old belief that “You can't teach an old dog new tricks!” Milo-Arne explains that this old myth originated in the 1960’s when researchers believed that changes in the brain could only take place in infancy and childhood. Now with improved technology it's clear that this is not the case, with groundbreaking new research summarised in the book “The brain that can change itself” (www.normandoidge.com). It is now believed that functional and structural neuroplasticity - brain growth - is available to all of us until the day of our passing - even if that’s 150ya! In fact the American Medical Association now believes that non-genetic Alzheimer's could be reduced by as much as 48% if we challenge our brains with new learnings. However, as we get older a lot of us tend to avoid the discomfort naturally associated with new learnings. We tend to become “less curious” by playing it safe in our increasing smaller comfort zones, ,and as a result we don’t benefit from the brain's capacity change and grow. This limits our ability to have new exciting experiences, create things that matter to us and enjoy the fulfillment of such involvements. Her final words of advice is that striving for perfection is foolish, and we should forgive ourselves often. Fail often, try often and nothing is supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be uncomfortable, and if its uncomfortable then “lean into it” and at least try. Your brain will thank you for the stimulation, and your life becomes a daring adventure - one that’s worth getting out of bed in the morning for.