Performance enhancement: No matter how old you are?
For brain researcher Gerald Hüther, the brain is a kind of house with a building site character: "New storeys can always be built". This requires above all regular exercise; physical, mental and emotional.
Gerald Hüther appeals to the inner knowledge of each individual when he says that we actually know quite well that we could be more than we have become so far; individually and as a society as well. In terms of potential development, there is still a lot of room for improvement. And it's not the rare super-agers who are saying this, but modern brain research! Good news, then, behind all those who point out how limited we are as human beings - driven by feelings, prisoners of the subconscious and biology, without free will. We know from pedagogy that you have to inspire children so that they learn easily and playfully. But how can you inspire them? By making them feel that what we are talking about is important and significant. Enthusiasm moves things in the midbrain: neuroplastic messengers are released, which promotes the growth of nerve cell processes and thus connections that form the neuronal networks.
Using the principle of enthusiasm to change and improve performance even in old age?
We could change just about anything if we really wanted to, claims Professor Dr Gerald Hüther. The hardest thing to change, however, are inner attitudes and attitudes that have been created, those firm convictions and immovable principles that we believe to be the truth, such as the fact that we become senile in old age. These beliefs literally create our world. They determine what and how we perceive it and what we overlook, what we think is right and precisely what we are enthusiastic about. As we get older, we have acquired more and more beliefs about ourselves, the world and what is possible in this world. One of them is that you can hardly learn anything when you get older. If we want to develop beyond these socially established assumptions, beyond all the assumptions about what is possible or not possible in old age, we have to recognise and change our beliefs. This is not easy. Because we would rather change the external world, our bodies or other people than our own thought structures.
The culturally creative among us (presumably they are identical with those who are most predestined to become super-agers) are the ones who are most able to do this. They are the ones who, against society's pressure to conform, retain their idiosyncrasy and prefer to think, explore and try things out for themselves. Similar to children who can still learn so easily, precisely because they are still open in all directions, without fixed convictions. Imagination and new ideas let them develop new ways of life and new ways of living together. They have understood that change and development must always begin in their own thinking, feeling and acting.
Forming new nerve cells until old age
"We have the ability to do this," says Gerald Hüther. However, we have to be aware of it and maintain it; don't believe everything that speaks against it. But there is another condition: You have to be doing really well in other respects. Scientifically, one also speaks of a "high sense of coherence". This refers to the feeling that one's life makes sense and that one can shape one's environment. The nun study proved that the same deposits in the brain lead to dementia in some people, while in others there were no signs of dementia or mental loss. Somehow, apparently, the nuns managed to redevelop what had shrivelled away a little in one place in their brains in another.
According to Gerhard Hüther, when these rebuilding processes no longer work, it is because the person has the feeling that he or she is no longer needed and can no longer really shape anything. And it is indeed the same when one is shunted off to an old people's home. With this deported feeling, it is impossible, says Gerald Hüther, to set self-healing forces in motion that we need so that we can unfold our neuroplastic potential. Those who, despite the many temptations of our affluent society, are able to find out for themselves what is really important and what is worth doing are clearly at an advantage because they will not feel pushed aside and useless in old age. This sense of coherence, of meaning in life and "being able to make a difference" kept the nuns mentally fit.
A holistically healthy and "meaningful" fitness training...
...encompasses as many aspects of our being as possible. Besides finding out what we really want and who we are in a deeper sense, there is also the interpersonal level. Good exchanges and good contacts with friends also train the brain. Researchers in Michigan have found that a challenging conversation can improve memory. Ten minutes is even enough. And if the topic also appeals to you emotionally, all the better.
In the aspect of action and doing, it is accordingly advisable to do what excites us. An introduction to enthusiasm could also be achieved by playing or by travelling. In any case, get out of the routine, the seriousness, the known, i.e. our own beliefs, and learn and experience something new. We also do this by solving problems and being happy about having problems that we can solve.
Which training principles help all around
It has been proven that it is particularly effective if we combine physical training with mental training. It is best to spend some time every day to exercise all the "muscles": The physical as well as the mental. So now you know the secret weapon of performance enhancement!
Physical training, be it endurance running or strength training or whatever, is the best way to effectively engage the mind and vice versa. When we are mentally on top of our game, we are more likely to commit to regular fitness training. One aspect supports the other and so we establish a healthy and meaningful way of living; especially if we know exactly why we want to be fit, what we are important for and what we are needed for in this world. Integral Life Practice even recommends combining this with emotional-psychological work at the same time and deepening it with a spiritual practice. Also, frequent, but short, exercise sessions are to be preferred to long few, as more effective in enhancing performance on a physical and mental level. So let us turn away from gloomy powerlessness scenarios and take responsibility for ourselves. Let's focus on what is possible instead of what "must" be done in order for things to change for the better.
