One of the biggest game changers in my life and work has been understanding the neuroscience beneath the things we so often TELL PEOPLE TO DO.
Things like...
Just breathe.
Calm your nervous system.
Change your mindset.
Try to relax.
These can all be helpful suggestions.
But over the years, I've seen how much more powerful they become when people understand what's actually happening in their brain and nervous system.
When I began using neuroscience to explain WHY these practices matter, something shifted:
-
People who had might have brushed off or rolled their eyes at nervous system regulation tools as another ‘calming technique...
...’ began to see them differently.
-
People who thought their reactions, habits, or ways of thinking were just who they are...
... started to see new possibilities for how they could think, feel, react, grow..
And people who had spent years feeling fed up or stuck often started to see something powerful, intelligent and important about their own biology.
Our brains and nervous systems are continuously learning, adapting, and responding to experience.
What we've experienced in the past can influence:
- what we notice,
- what we expect,
- how we respond, and
- what feels possible.
..And what we experience next can shape those patterns too.
This understanding has profoundly shaped the way I work with people.
It's shaped the way I think about learning, growth, setbacks, relationships, and human potential.
And one of the most beautiful things I've witnessed..
… is the relief people experience when they begin to understand themselves through this lens.
When they start to see that…
- nervous system regulation doesn't mean being calm all the time.
- setbacks don't necessarily mean they're losing progress.
- the patterns they're used to and have had much of their lives don’t have to be permanent limitations on their future trajectories
There is so much possibility within the biology of being human*.
And I think one of the greatest gifts we can offer another person is helping them understand a little more of that possibility within themselves.
This is why I love teaching neuroscience.
Because I've watched what happens when people begin to see themselves, and the people they support, through this lens.
And I want more people to have access to that understanding.
Especially those of you who spend your lives helping other humans learn, grow, heal, adapt, and discover what they're capable of.
Imagine what becomes possible when more of us understand the extraordinary learning and adaptive capacities of the nervous systems we work with every day.
*this is also a big part of our vision and mission at the Human Agency Platform at MIT. We are looking at how contemplative practices and wisdom can serve humanity's flourishing and resilience in the midst of uncertainty, dysregulation and unfolding challenges. I will have updates in 2027 as the research unfolds...
(here's snapshot: human capacities for attention, judgment, meaning-making, self-regulation, and collective action are under unprecedented strain.. And yet.. across time and cultures, societies have developed rich knowledge of how to cultivate these capacities. Traditions of ethical reflection, discipline, resilience, embodied practice, and practical wisdom offer powerful ways of sustaining meaning and purpose. These represent millennia of experimentation in how humans develop attention, empathy, judgment, and responsibility. Today, they can be brought into dialogue with neuroscience and emerging technologies—not as relics, but as living resources for the future.)
P.s. - If you'd like to bring more neuroscience into your work, I've created a few ways to help you do exactly that.
Teach the Nervous System™: → Learn how to explain nervous system regulation so even skeptical audiences understand its value and want to use it.
The Adaptive Brain: → Understand the neuroscience of mindset, setbacks, and change, so you can help people keep growing when old patterns return or progress feels difficult.
Brain Science Foundations Toolkit: → Build your neuroscience knowledge and gain tools to bring more scientific depth and credibility into the work you already do.
