Learning a language takes practice and repetition. Actually speaking it? Different story.

But can we practice curiosity? Courage? Being a little gutsy?

‍

Here's something worth knowing about our brains: thanks to neuroplasticity, they can change throughout our lives.

‍

Connections between nerve cells can strengthen or weaken with activity and experience. What we repeat can become more familiar, more automatic.

And then there's synaptic pruning: the brain gradually removes certain connections, partly influenced by patterns of activity. No judgment — just biology doing its thing.

‍

But nothing about being human is ever that simple.

‍

Our brains also learn from fear.

An embarrassing moment or rejection, and suddenly we're hesitant to try again. Our brains remember what hurt and would rather play it safe.

And for good reason. Our brains use past experiences to anticipate what might happen next. It's one way they try to protect us. The catch?

What happened once isn't necessarily what will happen again.

‍

Curiosity, though, can make us wonder what might happen. Courage can get us to give it a try. And every new experience gives our brains another chance to learn.

Perhaps that's how we practice. By giving ourselves the chance to find out.

‍

Maybe you stumble through that Italian conversation, invent new grammar, wave your hands around trying to explain yourself, and end up having the best time anyway.

You laughed. You had a conversation. You made a connection. And perhaps that's the fun of it. Everything that happens while we're busy trying to get somewhere.

‍

The same mind that can imagine everything going wrong can also imagine what might go wonderfully right.

‍

Maybe courage isn't always about overcoming fear. Perhaps it's about being curious enough to find out whether what we fear is still true.

‍

And perhaps befriending your mind begins with getting to know it a little better.

‍

Mamma mia!

‍

‍

‍

^{Image by Omurden Cengiz via Unsplash}

‍