When you look at a young child or baby engaging with their world you see a role model for learning. They have a natural curiosity even for the smallest and most mundane things. They come equipped with the capacity to learn and much of their learning happens while engrossed in play. It’s a joy to watch children mesmerized by something new, their faces showing intrigue or their bodies filled with energy and at times laughter and delight. We are witnessing them taking in the learning experience fully.

We now know with imaging of the active brain that we continue to learn throughout our lives. Our brain network changes as we interact with the world. Neuroplasticity of the neural network of the brain allows for brain connections to strengthen and alter as each piece of information rapidly passes through. The neurons that fire together, wire together. While some of our ability to learn is encoded in our DNA, a larger portion of our learning is gained from our interactions with the world.

“Learning is not a spectator sport”

B. F. Samuel

For beneficial changes to occur in our brain we need to be active participants in exploring our world and willing to change our perspective over time. As we learn, we can enhance the connections by doing the following: –

Talking about what we are learning – sharing it with others, hearing different perspectives in order to modify and enrich our own understanding. In educational theory, a slightly more competent child can support the learning of another, ‘scaffolding’ the next step in their understanding. When we discuss our learning with others as adults the potential for scaffolding continues to exist.

Writing about it – gaining clarity and perspective on what we know. Seeing how our thoughts and beliefs change over time. Potentially finding solutions to challenges we are facing by examining our written thoughts.

Applying it to our daily lives – physically ‘doing’ what we are learning to increase competency and skill development. If what we are learning is relevant to us, it becomes both enjoyable and meaningful. We are self- motivated to repeat what we are learning and move toward the satisfaction of mastery.

Relating it to past experiences – Building upon our understanding and knowledge. Seeing patterns from the past in our learning. What has worked and what hasn’t worked. What was relevant in the past but is no longer relevant. This helps us to find new ways of interacting with the world.

Feeling what we are learning fully in our minds and bodies – by using our thoughts, emotional responses and sensory perceptions as we learn. What are our desires and end goals in our learning? What actions will increase our learning? These strategies help us enrich our knowledge and make it part of who we are.

Overcoming the negativity bias in our learning

As humans we have evolved a mental negativity bias. We hold onto the negative past experiences and continue to feel them fully in our mind and body. It is very hard to stop going over all the minute details of a negative experience. Inadvertently, as we ruminate over the past, we strengthen the brain connections that hold particular memories. Replaying the story, embellishing and modifying the version each time. In the end, this allows the negative past view to stick like Velcro in our mind being both expanded and absorbed.

The positive experiences in our lives are harder to grasp onto. While some are major highlights such as holidays and celebrations many are quite mundane and ordinary. We are often surrounded by examples of them around us each and every day. Rather than sticking like Velcro positive experiences tend to be more like the Teflon surface of a pan, easily slipping away.

“The brain is an enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern, always a meaningful pattern though never an abiding one”.

Charles Sherrington

To take in the good things in life requires us to slow down and observe the world around us. Much like a child. Once we can focus our attention to our surroundings its easier to notice and savour an experience. It might be the comfort of our warm bed when we wake up, a delicious breakfast, the sun on our limbs as we walk the neighbourhood, the satisfaction in connecting with others throughout our day.

The first step is to notice the good facts. Make a mental or physical note of examples of the good things happening as you go about your day. Expand the good facts into good experiences by spending as much time as possible savouring them. Engage your thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations to immerse yourself more deeply in a few of the good facts you come across. What is novel and different in what you are observing? How important and relevant is this good fact to your life as a whole? It is not unusual to find a sense of gratitude, contentment and love emerge from the experience.

Regularly focusing on the what’s good in your life helps to shift your focus toward noticing more positive examples. You are reinforcing your perspective on the good in life. There will still be negative experiences and challenges to deal with, but your mind will learn to overcome them with inner resources you have been developing. Having a wider perspective on life will also help you appreciate the balance of positive, neutral and negative experiences you are navigating in your day.

Throughout life we continue to learn. When we take more note of the positive, beneficial experiences we have it supports our own well-being. In the process we build more inner resources to meet the inevitable challenges we face in life. We also develop skills to support others.