Brain Science & Psychology

Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity and neural plasticity, is the ability of the brain to change throughout an individual's life.

“Neurons that fire together, wire together.” - Donald Hebb

When brain cells communicate often with each other, the connection between them strengthens.  And the more they strengthen, this communication becomes faster and faster, and over time can become automatic.  This is what creates habits. Repeat a behavior enough and the body will do it automatically without our need to consciously think about it.

Psychology has understood this process in the way we think. The more we entertain negative thoughts, the more likely we are to create a super-highway of negative thoughts. And unless we use intentional, conscious practice, they will continue to play out themselves over and over and become a habitual, automatic process.

This can also be used with positive states of mind, however neuroscientists have found that negative thoughts are more prone to stick around and positive thoughts take more intentional, conscious practice to build upon. In science, entropy is the idea that everything in the universe eventually moves from order to disorder. Just like my room, if I don’t have intentional practices and habits to keep it organized, it will continue to get more and more messy.

So we have to be very intentional about creating positive states of mind or we will naturally move towards negativity. Now based on what I’ve just said your mind might be telling you right now that you just need to think harder to be more positive. Something like “ok dude you know this stuff now just get your shit together and think more positively!!”

But what just happened there is you tried to think your way to positivity. And that just doesn’t work. I hope to show you another way.

One of the core skills we will build on is the practice of mindfulness. This is the vehicle which will drive our ability to be more intentional, and with that create more positive states of being. It has been shown in numerous studies that people who practice meditation on a regular basis have different brains. The same research shows that this change is seen in reduced levels of stress and anxiety and increased happiness.

And these states of mind aren’t just felt when you have your eyes closed. Mindfulness practice has a way of integrating into your every day life. The more you practice meditation and mindfulness, the less likely you are to get irritated when someone cuts you off and the more likely you are to notice what you have going for you at work, be grateful for it, and build on that energy.

However, my coaching practice is not simply about having you meditate. This is one piece to the program and if practiced on your own can create much faster growth than without it. In our build your brain coaching sessions we will be collaborating on your present life experiences in which you are struggling and build the skills and awareness to tackle these challenges with success.