Attack of the Pterodactyls!
Language Learning as a Gateway to Neuroplasticity
Lately I've been going out of my way to do things I know I'll be terrible at. I made this decision because after meditating one day, I had an intuition that I wasn’t stretching out of my comfort zone enough.
Why Stretching Out of Your Comfort Zone Matters
A few weeks ago I learned through neuroscientist Dr. Huberman’s work (particularly in this podcast) that doing what's hard, frustrating, embarrassing, uncomfortable, and/or scary is excellent for neuroplasticity. More neuroplasticity = more personal and professional success. I’m sure there are other benefits of expanding your comfort zone, but this is the one that resonates with me the most at this point in my life.
An activity I know I struggle with is painting. For this reason, last Saturday I went to a paint night.
Pterodactyls Attack a Poorly-Made Pirate Ship
This is a picture of the teacher, named Palak, and I. Palak runs Palak Studio Ink and also teaches Gujarati and Hindi part-time for my business. My painting was by far the worst one at the paint night. As a result, I felt self-conscious, embarrassed, and a little frustrated. Thankfully I knew what I was getting into in advance, so I was mentally prepared for a difficult evening. It therefore ended up being a positive experience.
Due to the unusual shape of my boat and the giant birds, I call my painting Pterodactyls Attack a Poorly-Made Pirate Ship. Haha.
Difficulty as a Gateway to Learning
Lessons I've learned from, for example, learning to swim as an adult, teaching myself to get used to cold showers, and most recently failing at painting, apply to other aspects of my life. I have discovered a new gear in me that looks at challenges in the face and says, "I can't let you win. I will beat you." I've decided to take regular painting classes with the goal of becoming a somewhat bad painter instead of a terrible one. I can't let painting beat me.
Many of you reading this article might find it frustrating to learn a language. Perhaps today I can give you a piece of advice that may help: embrace the challenge. Focus on the process and don’t rush to the finish line. Difficulty is excellent for the brain. Furthermore, the fastest pathway to fluency might just be to focus more on the personal development benefits of language learning and less on achieving fluency quickly.
You may now laugh at my funny painting. Any guesses on how long it'll take me to become a bad painter instead of a terrible one?
Love this! I’m looking for new ways to challenge myself and stretch my brain. Recently started volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center for this very reason (but also because I love animals/conservation lol)
Your painting looks really nice, it clearly resembles the silhouette of a boat w/ a sunset/sunrise in the background + avians flying overhead. Well done, Azren! "embrace the challenge. Focus on the process and don’t rush to the finish line. Difficulty is excellent for the brain. Furthermore, the fastest pathway to fluency might just be to focus more on the personal development benefits of language learning and less on achieving fluency quickly." :)