התמלול המלא של Neuroplasticity Explained | Episode 009

what might still be possible for me. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:16.160 Ah and we're going to come back to that. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:22.000 Because neuroplasticity isn't simply something I've read about. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:29.199 It's something that became an important part of your own story. 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:30.800 It really did, Daniel. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:32.000 Yes, it did. 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:43.200 But before we get there, we need to understand what this rather complicated sounding word actually means. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.879 So let's start with the brain itself. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:55.360 And the discovery that it isn't nearly as fixed as we once thought. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:02.799 So, Christian, let's begin with the word itself. 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:06.320 Neuroplasticity. 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:09.919 It sounds complicated. 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:15.679 But the basic idea really isn't, actually, Daniel. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:22.080 Neuro refers to the brain and nervous system. 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:32.399 And plasticity refers to the ability to change, adapt, or reshape, or to be reshaped, should I say. 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:44.399 So when we talk about neuroplasticity, we're talking about the brain's ability to change and reorganize itself. 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:46.240 Absolutely. 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:50.399 And in response to those, to the things that we actually experience. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:53.360 And the things we learn. 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:56.799 And the things we repeatedly think and do. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:00.240 And that's important. 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:13.039 Because for a long time, the adult brain was thought to be much more fixed than we now understand it to be. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:20.159 The idea was essentially that the brain developed while we were young. 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:30.639 We reached adulthood, and after that, there wasn't a great deal that we could do about the basic brain we ended up with. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:37.519 But discoveries about neuroplasticity challenged that. 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:42.960 Because the brain continues responding to experience. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:47.519 Connections can be strengthened. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.240 Others can become less dominant. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:58.960 And networks can reorganize as we learn and repeatedly use them. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:09.039 So neuroplasticity doesn't mean that the brain is endlessly growing larger. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:19.679 And it doesn't mean that changing your brain is as simple as deciding you like a different one. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:24.399 It means something much more useful than that, doesn't it, Daniel? 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:26.080 Indeed, it does. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:30.320 You know, the brain remains capable of change. 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:43.440 And when you think about it, we experience some of this capacity for change throughout our lives. 00:11:44.799 -->

00:11:51.039 Every time we learn something we couldn't previously do, perhaps. 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:58.960 We're asking the brain to respond to new information and experience. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.440 Ah, so think about learning to drive. 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:04.879 Right. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:10.080 At the beginning, everything demands attention. 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:15.279 The mirrors, the clutch, the gears, the steering, the indicator, the speed, other traffic. 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:20.720 And you're thinking about virtually every moment. 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:33.039 But with the repetition and the experience, something initially required that required an enormous conscious effort becomes much more familiar. 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.000 The experience has changed you. 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:40.000 You've learned. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:51.120 And learning is possible because the brain isn't simply a static structure. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:53.919 It actually responds. 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:56.080 It adapts. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:57.759 It changes. 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:07.600 And this brings us straight back to what we've been exploring throughout this series. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:16.399 In episode seven, we looked and explored at the idea that programming creates beliefs. 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:24.080 And in episode eight, we looked at how the brain gets programmed in the first place. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:33.679 Information coming in, experiences, repetition, the things other people tell us. 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:38.240 And eventually the things that we begin telling ourselves. 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:43.360 Some of that programming is incredibly useful. 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:45.519 And we need it. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:48.159 It helps us learn. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:51.120 And it helps us to develop skills. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:14:01.200 It helps us navigate the world without having to consciously relearn everything every morning. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:11.360 But as we explored the last time, not everything that finds its way into the filing cabinet isn't necessarily accurate. 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:13.679 Or useful. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:19.279 Or something we would consciously choose today. 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:27.679 And that's where neuroplasticity changes the conversation. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:33.600 Because if the brain were completely fixed. 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:41.440 Then once the programming was there, that really would be the end of the story. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:44.080 But it isn't, is it, Daniel? 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:47.840 Indeed, it is not, Christian. 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:55.759 The same capacity that allowed us to learn and develop patterns in the first place. 00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:03.759 Also means that the brain remains capable of responding to new learning and to new experiences. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:11.279 And that doesn't mean old programming simply disappears. 00:15:12.159 -->

00:15:18.559 Or that the years of established patterns can be erased in one positive thought. 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:30.000 But it does mean that the existence of an old pattern doesn't automatically make that pattern permanent. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:39.039 And when I first understood that, it changed something quite profound in me. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:51.039 No, Christian, you've said several times that discovering neuroplasticity was quite a significant moment for you. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:52.639 It was. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:54.399 It really was. 00:15:55.600 --> 00:16:05.279 And I think I'd like I think to explain why I probably need to go back quite a long way. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:07.360 How far? 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:11.600 Well, certainly back to the late 1980s. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:13.759 That makes me sound old. 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:23.440 Well, you know, that was really when my own journey into personal development began. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:33.200 And I had this very strong sense that there was something more inside me than I was managing to bring. 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:39.120 Excuse me, there was something more inside me than I was managing to bring out into the world. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.320 And so I actually started searching. 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:46.159 Searching for answers? 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:48.480 Yeah, it was, yeah. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:58.159 I read books, I explored different ideas, I watched and learned from other people who seemed to be achieving extraordinary things. 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:03.759 And I could see that people could grow and they could change. 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:12.799 But somehow I could never quite find my own missing piece. 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:25.119 And yet from the outside, someone looking at your life might have seen things rather differently. 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:27.440 Absolutely. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:37.359 I'd built a career in horticulture, I'd worked at some some wonderful gardens and taken on considerable responsibility. 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:39.920 Later I'd become self-employed. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.839 I'd built my own horticultural consultancy practice. 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:53.920 So I'm not saying that I hadn't achieved anything far from it, but inside I knew that there was more. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:18:00.079 And I knew there was a version of me that I wasn't quite managing to bring out. 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:13.839 And the best way I can describe how I felt and how that felt and how that felt, it was that it was like I was living in a paper bag. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:16.799 A paper bag. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:20.480 Yep, a paper bag. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:24.079 I know it sounds a bit odd, but this is how it was. 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:35.359 I could see where I wanted to get to, and I knew that there was more outside of the bag, and I kept trying to punch my way through it. 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:39.519 I'd find another idea, punch. 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.119 I'd read another book, punch. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:46.799 I'd try something else, punch. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:54.400 And something I'd well sometimes I'd actually make a little tear. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:59.440 Something would shift, and I'd think perhaps this is it. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:04.799 But I never quite seemed to completely break through. 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.480 So you didn't stop looking. 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:10.160 No. 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:12.640 And that's important. 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:23.039 Because I never stopped believing that there was more there, I just couldn't understand why I couldn't seem to reach it. 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:30.160 And that continued for years, believe you me, it continued for years. 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:37.519 And then about eight years ago, I read The Power of Neuroplasticity by Dr. 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:39.279 Shad Helmstetter. 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:48.079 And I reached the part where he began to explain neuroplasticity. 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:51.519 And something clicked. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:55.039 Well, something more than clicked. 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:59.519 It actually opened up my whole world. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:03.039 Just it my whole world, it it just opened up. 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:10.400 What was it that affected you so strongly? 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:18.480 It was actually understanding that my brain wasn't simply finished. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:36.240 Because I've grown up with the same general idea we've been talking about, that as we get older our brains become set, you're basically wired the way you're wired, and that's you. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:43.920 But suddenly I was reading that the brain retained the capacity to change. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:50.640 Oh, and Christian, that changed the way you looked at yourself. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:52.799 Completely. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:21:05.599 Because if my brain could continue to change throughout my life, then perhaps I could continue changing throughout my life. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:19.920 And suddenly that person who'd been trying to punch her way out of the paper bag for all those years didn't quite seem as trapped anymore. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.559 That's quite a realization. 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:34.720 And I want to be careful here. 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:40.640 Reading a chapter in a book didn't suddenly transform everything overnight. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:45.279 The paper bag didn't magically disappear. 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:48.720 Unfortunately not. 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:54.559 Something incredibly important did change. 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:56.799 And it had changed. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:21:59.759 What you believed was possible. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:00.960 Possible? 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:02.480 Exactly. 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:16.480 For the first time, I understood that the way I'd been that the way I had been programmed didn't necessarily have to be

the way I remained. 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:22.799 I wasn't finished, and neither was my brain. 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:34.480 And what's particularly interesting about your story is that you'd already spent years exploring personal development. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.160 I knew people could change. 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:42.720 I'd seen the results that other people had achieved. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:48.000 What I hadn't understood was what was happening underneath it all. 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:57.359 The connection between personal growth and the way the brain actually works. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:00.000 Exactly. 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:07.279 And when Daniel and I had the opportunity to speak to Dr. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:17.759 Shad, he talked about that very connection and how our understanding has changed as neuroscience itself has developed. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:19.519 So let's hear Dr. 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:22.960 Shad explain it in his own words. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:27.599 But no one is telling us how it works. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:29.119 Why is that? 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:31.039 Why is it really working? 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:39.440 There were some early suggestions, but no one was saying this is 100% wiring in the brain. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:41.440 This is neuroscience. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:24:03.599 And if you look at the entire world of self-help, the view of neuroscience, that explains why it works to set goals in a certain way, or that explains why attitude makes a difference, or that explains why believing actually affects the future of our life, and so on. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:10.079 We didn't know that at that time, and that's simply because neuroscience wasn't in the spotlight. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:17.680 Neuroscience hadn't progressed to the to the level it has today, and it hadn't it wasn't popular at that time. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:22.559 I remember early seminars when I would begin to talk about the brain. 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:25.680 I I watched people turn off. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:30.880 I watched their eyes kind of glaze over at the mention of brain stuff. 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:37.759 And so I was very careful in how I presented the concepts that I was teaching about self-talk. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:45.519 But today you can talk about the brain openly and you can talk about neuroscience, and here's how it works, and here's what it does. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:53.759 And because of many incredible neuroscientists along the way, they've made it clear and simple enough for all of us to understand. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:25:07.759 It I was turned out my original assumption that it had to be that personal growth and really getting there had to have something to do with how the brain is wired. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:09.200 That turned out to be true. 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:13.759 I'm so glad it was, because I would have been way off otherwise. 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:19.680 But I was talking about how the brain works before we could look at it internally and watch it work. 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:30.559 But everything I was studying to me said, oh, this it all points to this one solution that is if we figure out how the brain works, then we'll be able to get better. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:33.119 Then we then we're gonna live happier lives. 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:36.160 And today that's what more and more people are doing. 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:40.160 Self-talk, precision self-talk is the is the bridge. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:49.200 It is the bridge between I'd like to get better, to here's what to do to actually practice getting better. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:56.960 Because self-talk rewires the brain, it connects the goal, getting better, with the solution. 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:00.160 And that solution is rewiring the brain. 00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:21.359 Because knowing that the brain can change is incredibly powerful, but it doesn't mean that change happens instantly. 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:25.039 Or simply because we want it to. 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:42.000 Because it's very easy to hear the word neuroplasticity and jump from the brain can change to, therefore, I can change anything immediately. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:44.480 And that's not what we're saying, Daniel. 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:46.319 It didn't happen overnight. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.000 Right, Christian. 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:53.680 Neuroplasticity gives us the capacity for change. 00:26:54.319 --> 00:27:00.799 Yes, but the capacity isn't the same thing as instant transformation. 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:06.000 If you've been thinking something for years. 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:09.119 Believing something for years. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.319 Or behaving in a particular way for years. 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:26.720 The fact that the brain is plastic doesn't mean those established patterns simply vanish because you decide you'd rather have different ones. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:34.720 But neither does their age automatically make them permanent. 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:38.720 And that is the hopeful part. 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:43.200 Your history matters. 00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:45.759 Your experiences matter. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:48.720 Your programming matters. 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:56.480 But none of those things necessarily mean that the story has finished. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:06.160 And perhaps this is where the name of this podcast becomes particularly appropriate. 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:08.319 It certainly does, Daniel. 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:10.480 Growing plants, growing people. 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:19.200 Because growing isn't about pretending that what came before didn't happen. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:19.839 No. 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:29.519 In horticulture, whatever I'm working with today is the result of the things and everything that's happened before. 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:38.640 You know, the soil, the conditions, the weather, the way the plant has

been cared for, the environment it's been growing in. 00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:44.240 But that's not necessarily the end of the story. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:45.599 Exactly. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:52.799 And I'm not suggesting that plants and brains work in the same biological way. 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:53.839 They don't. 00:28:54.240 --> 00:29:00.319 But as an analogy, there's something I find incredibly powerful about it. 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:06.640 What's there today matters, but so does what happens next. 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:22.880 And neuroplasticity gives us a scientific reason for understanding why, when we're talking about the brain, what happens next can matter. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:27.200 Absolutely, because we're still capable of learning. 00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:32.799 We're still capable of experiencing something differently. 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:36.319 And we're still capable of developing. 00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:40.640 And we're still capable of change. 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:50.799 And if you're listening to this and there's something about yourself that you've been carrying around for years. 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:58.799 Perhaps something you've come to believe is simply part of who you are. 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:02.240 I've always been like this. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:05.279 I've never been good at that. 00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:08.799 I'm too old to change now. 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:21.279 Then perhaps the most important thing to take from today's conversation is not that you have to know how to change it. 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:24.079 Not yet. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:39.759 The starting point is simply understanding that the brain you have today is not necessarily incapable of becoming different tomorrow. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:44.559 And I know how significant that realization can be. 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:57.279 Because for me, it was the moment I stopped seeing the paper bag as something I might have to live inside forever. 00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:03.920 It didn't tell you everything you needed to do next. 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:04.559 No. 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:09.279 But it showed me there could be a next. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:10.240 Ah. 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:18.559 And perhaps that's the real hope within neuroplasticity. 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:22.880 Yes, your past has helped shape you. 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:26.720 Your programming has influenced you. 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:39.440 But neither necessarily has to be the final word on who you become because the brain can change. 00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:44.319 And that means we can continue to grow. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:32:01.839 If today's conversation has got you thinking about some of the programming you may have picked up along the way, you may also want to go back and explore some of the foundations we've been building through this podcast. 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:14.400 So perhaps the question to take away from this episode isn't simply can my brain change? 00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:22.480 But if change is possible, what might I want to change? 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:29.519 Because sometimes the first step isn't having all the answers. 00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:38.960 It's giving yourself the space to stop, reflect, and begin asking better questions. 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:45.200 Now we've made that much easier for you. 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:55.519 Throughout our first six episodes, we created a reflection worksheet to accompany each conversation. 00:32:56.319 --> 00:33:01.119 And we brought all six of those worksheets together in one place. 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:07.119 The Growing Plants, Growing People Foundation Workbook. 00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:13.839 And it's designed to help you work through those first six conversations at your own pace. 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:17.759 To reflect on what you're discovering. 00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:25.279 And to begin connecting with some of the ideas we've been exploring to your own life. 00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:30.160 So whether you've been with us from episode one. 00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:35.200 Or you've only just discovered Grown Plants, Grown People. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:39.519 The workbook gives you a place to begin. 00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:45.519 And you'll find details on how to get your free copy in the episode notes. 00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:57.759 And sometimes, of course, working through questions on your own is only part of the journey. 00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:03.680 Sometimes what we really need is the opportunity to talk. 00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:06.799 To have someone listen. 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:08.880 Ask questions. 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:21.199 And give us the space to think about where we are, where we'd like to be, and what might be getting in the way. 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:26.719 So we'd like to offer you a special invitation. 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:30.079 Ask yourself this. 00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:43.519 When was the last time someone focused solely on you, what you want to be and have in your life? 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:58.719 If it's been a while, or perhaps you've never had that kind of conversation, we're offering listeners for growing plants, grown people the opportunity to have a free coaching call with one of us. 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:04.480 This isn't about telling you what you should do. 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:07.920 And it's not about trying to fix you. 00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:15.440 It's simply an opportunity to step away from everything else for a while. 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:20.719 And have a conversation that's focused entirely on you. 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:23.280 Where you are now. 00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:25.519 Where you'd like to go. 00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:31.679 And what you'd like the next stage of your growth to look like. 00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:38.239 You'll find the details for booking a free coaching call in the episode notes. 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:47.679 And perhaps that conversation could be the beginning of discovering

what's possible next. 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:55.760 So today we've discovered something incredibly important. 00:35:57.039 --> 00:36:07.760 Our brains aren't simply fixed structures that they reach a certain point and then remain exactly the same for the rest of our lives. 00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:12.400 They retain the capacity to change. 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:18.639 And to learn, to adapt, and to develop new patterns. 00:36:20.320 --> 00:36:32.559 And when we connect that back to everything we've been exploring throughout this series, it gives us a very different way of thinking about our programs. 00:36:33.599 --> 00:36:43.280 Because the programming we have today doesn't necessarily have to be the programming we carry with us forever. 00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:48.960 And for me, discovering that changed everything. 00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:59.119 Because suddenly that paper bag we talked about earlier didn't have to be somewhere I lived in for the rest of my life, Daniel. 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:05.119 But there's a question that comes out of all of this. 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:07.519 And it's a pretty big one. 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:17.760 Because most of us haven't spent our lives doing nothing about the things we'd like to change. 00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:20.159 It's quite the opposite, actually. 00:37:20.960 --> 00:37:22.559 We've read the books. 00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:24.639 And we've set the goals. 00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:27.760 We've made the resolutions. 00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:31.360 We've listened to the motivational speakers. 00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:34.480 We've tried new routines. 00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:39.440 And sometimes we've started with enormous enthusiasm. 00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:44.239 And for a while, it works. 00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:48.400 We feel different. 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:50.960 We behave differently. 00:37:51.280 --> 00:37:51.920 We think. 00:37:52.239 --> 00:37:54.320 This time I've cracked it. 00:37:56.719 --> 00:37:58.800 And then something happens. 00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:01.599 The enthusiasm fades. 00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:04.719 Life gets busy. 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:08.079 The new routine starts slipping. 00:38:09.440 --> 00:38:21.119 And gradually we find ourselves dripping back towards the very thing, or the very things we were trying to change. 00:38:23.199 --> 00:38:25.440 And that's confusing. 00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:28.559 And it certainly was confusing for me. 00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:43.119 Because if neuroplasticity tells us that the brain is capable of change, why can lasting personal change sometimes be so difficult? 00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:54.320 And perhaps an even more important question is what are we missing? 00:38:56.239 --> 00:38:59.840 I spent years trying to answer that question. 00:39:00.639 --> 00:39:05.599 And some of those things you tried weren't necessarily bad ideas. 00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:08.079 No, not at all, Daniel. 00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:19.360 Some of some were extremely useful, and that's important because we're not going to spend our next episode telling you that personal development doesn't work. 00:39:20.239 --> 00:39:22.320 Quite the opposite, Christian. 00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:30.559 But there's something I didn't understand then that I understand very differently today. 00:39:32.400 --> 00:39:38.800 Because what happens when we consciously decide we want something different? 00:39:40.239 --> 00:39:48.159 But underneath that decision, we're still carrying years, perhaps decades, of existing programming. 00:39:50.480 --> 00:40:02.400 What happens when the new direction we're consciously trying to take comes up with patterns that we've been operating for years? 00:40:04.079 --> 00:40:15.760 And could that help explain why we can start with all of the determination in the world and somehow find ourselves returning to the familiar? 00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:20.639 That's where we're going next. 00:40:22.000 --> 00:40:28.880 In episode 10 Why most self-improvement doesn't last. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:43.119 Because once we understand why change so often doesn't stick, we can begin asking a much more useful question. 00:40:44.800 --> 00:40:49.199 What would have to change for change to lust? 00:40:52.800 --> 00:41:00.880 So perhaps the most important thing to take away from today's conversation is a very simple one. 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:05.119 Your brain is not finished. 00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:17.440 And neither is your capacity to learn or to develop or to grow or to change. 00:41:26.800 --> 00:41:33.039 But it doesn't necessarily have to determine the person you become tomorrow. 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:46.480 And if your brain can continue to change, then perhaps there's far more still possible than you once believed. 00:41:48.639 --> 00:41:50.239 Until next time.