Neuroplasticity and Growth Mindset
Recent studies in Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) have shown that our brains never stop learning from birth until the day we die (Zerilli, 2021). This continuous growth and recycling of information that happens in the brain is called neuroplasticity. The brain does not discriminate with what it strengthens and what it removes – only it takes orders based on what we strengthen (Tokuhama-Espinoza, 2011). It is no wonder that people have come to believe they may not be creative, for many of us have experiences in which a parent or teacher tells us that our work is subpar or poorly crafted. This message then becomes the fixed mindset and rigidity of our paradigm (Kelley & Kelley, 2013).
As we deliberately focus on improving our creativity, we also may take advantage of practices that we know will assist our brain in learning. ‘What we practice grows stronger’, deliberately practicing self-affirmations and creative affirmations on a daily basis, is a practical and simple method that we may employ to improve our creativity every day (Michalko, 2006; TEDxTalks, 2017).
There are further studies coming from the field of neuroscience including the idea of a growth mindset. We have the ability to control how we can improve our connections in our brain (Inglis, et. al, 2014). What we practice and intend improves those neuronal connections in our brains. It isn’t just the idea of ‘reality is as reality is perceived’ it is closer to the notion of where we place our intention and focus, and attention is what grows stronger.
A great deal of research in creativity has been focused on motivation and intentionality. It follows logically and practically that if one is motivated, they would be more inclined to creative expression or exploration. Likewise, if one is not motivated it is less likely they will create novelty or generate original ideas that are useful or appropriate.
“Runco et al. (1993) identified dozens of examples of choice influencing the development and expression of creativity. Most of these choices lead the individual toward investments of time and energy that eventually pay off in the sense of notable creative talent. Other choices are quite simple and allow the individual to employ problem-solving tactics that also pay off but in the same sense of facilitating creative ideation and problem solving. These ideas about intentions and choice are of critical importance because they suggest that much of our creativity is under our own control…Each of us has potential that can be fulfilled…We must choose to develop and express creative behavior (Runco, 2014).”
Before leaving this section on neuroplasticity and neuroscience – most importantly the way our brain health affects our creative potential and expression; recent studies in sleep have shown that our brains develop while we sleep. It is suggested that non-dream states are the time in which our memories become solidified and REM dream states are when our brains synthesize these new memories and make connections to our long-term memory and experiences that we have already experienced (Walker, 2017). This is one reason why cramming doesn’t help before an exam and why they tell you a good night’s sleep is vital for healthy problem solving and creative thinking (Walker, 2017). In Walker’s own words:
“The second evolutionary contribution that the REM-sleep dreaming state fuels is creativity. NREM sleep helps transfer and make safe newly learned information into long-term storage sites of the brain. But it is REM sleep that takes these freshly minted memories and begins colliding them with the entire back catalog of your life’s autobiography. (Walker, 2017).”