In a recent article I wrote for Human Unlimited, I explored the possibility of increasing emotional intelligence. Personally, I am often more interested in increasing intellectual ability, in myself and my kid, but the lessons of increasing any skills come down to brain plasticity.
In researching this piece, I became familiar with the work of Stanford Neuroscientist, Dr. Phillippe Goldin, who I actually ended up quoting in an article about Courage. But what I loved about this transcript interview with Dr. Goldin was this quote — full of hope and potential:
“So until recently we thought, you can’t change the brain. You can’t change the anatomy. You can’t change the functioning or the linking of circuitry. Well, in fact, we’re finding more and more that you can. So until recently they thought, “Okay, so maybe when you’re infants, the brain is plastic. But as you become adolescent and adult, you cannot.” That also now has been debunked. … We [scientists] are only presenting reduced reductionistic aspects of the brain. The brain is much more complex and beautiful than we can imagine.”
For more, read my Human Unlimited Articles: Be Courageous and Increase your EQ: The Secret Skills of Emotional Intelligence.