You’ve heard by now that dancing is one of the most ways to help prevent mental and physical decline, but perhaps you feel like you don’t know how. Are you intimidated by taking a dance class? (not just a belly dancing class, perhaps any dance class.) Are you afraid you won’t be able to do everything correctly, or even at all?
Here’s the good news: no one expects you to already know how to do many of the things in class. And they don’t expect you to learn them instantly, either. The brain doesn’t work that way.
Unfortunately, technology is increasingly faster and more powerful, and it continues to evolve on a daily basis. Our brains? Ehhhh, not so much. It’s taken us millions of years to develop our brains, and yet we shortchange ourselves when we try to learn new things but then give up when we haven’t mastered a complex new skill within an unrealistically short span of time.
Here’s more good news: learning is a skill that you can practice and get better at. Thanks to neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to change, grow, and adapt itself in response to demands—you can learn to learn better, and become more confident in the process.
There are many tricks and tips I could give you, but right now you’re only going to get one:
Expect to not be good at something right away, and be okay with it. Are you lost a bit? Are you struggling a little? Relax, it’s normal. You’ll get things when you get them. You can do it.
Neuroplasticity is the app we all have that makes us learn new things, and every time you learn something new, it gets an update. Neuroplasticity is also my new favorite trendy buzzword, and I hope you embrace it too.