Did you know that there is a part of your brain that grows when you do things that you don’t feel like doing? And conversely, that same part of your brain, called the anterior midcingulate cortex, shrinks when you focus on doing things that are easy.
Even more interesting is that scientist have recently discovered that people who seem to overcome the greatest obstacles, and accomplish the greatest feats, have an enlarged anterior midcingulate cortex.
In his recent podcast called “How to Increase Your Willpower & Tenacity,” Dr. Andrew Huberman (who teaches neuroanatomy at Stanford School of Medicine) explains that there is only one way to grow this area of your brain, and that is to continuously pursue situations that challenge us – situations where we choose to do the things we do not feel like doing.
We live in a world that promotes quick fixes and avoiding discomfort, and really puts more value in hiding our weaknesses than overcoming them, but the problem with this perspective is that doing what feels easy seldom (if ever) leads to achieving our goals.
As I’ve worked with hundreds of students with learning challenges, I can say without a doubt that the students who experience the greatest growth are those who make the decision to face their weaknesses and put effort into doing the hard work it takes (the things they don’t feel like doing) in order to overcome their challenges.
What I’ve also learned, both as a parent myself and from working with many parents, is that it is incredibly hard to watch our children struggle – our instinct is to rescue them as quickly as possible from their pains and frustrations – but one of the most valuable gifts we can give to our children is to allow them to learn that they can persevere and overcome hard things.
Of course we must rescue our children from life threatening or dangerous situations, but when it comes to situations that we know are ultimately good for them – situations that will grow their brain and grow their character – allowing our children to push through the discomfort of hard work, push through fear, push through boredom, is the most loving and resilience-building thing we can do for them.
Next week our students will be learning all about the anterior midcingulate cortex and how they have the power to grow this area of their brain – how they have already been growing it each day in class as they power through their brain exercises! ????????
As we explore this important topic, here is the challenge for us parents and educators…
Are we finding a balance where we are there to comfort and encourage our children and students through their challenges, while at the same time being careful to not rescue them from opportunities for growth? And what are the hard things in our own lives that we are avoiding doing?
Every single day is a new opportunity to move toward the things we want in life by doing the things we don’t feel like doing, and as a result, strengthen our brain! ????