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The Power of Neuroplasticity
In "The Power of Neuroplasticity," Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D. presents the scientific discovery that the thoughts we think physically rewire our brains and change our lives. Dr. Helmstetter shows you how to use the latest research from the field of neuroscience to wire your brain to change attitudes, overcome negativity, improve health and fitness, reach personal goals, increase mental sharpness and clarity, improve usable intelligence, super-charge your thinking and reshape your life.
293 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 20, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
May 27, 2020
Loved it ❤️
""The reason we look at it this way is that the mind can do things that cannot easily be attributed to the physical brain itself:
It is your mind that is aware and self-aware.
It is your mind that is creative, gives you inspiration, and is the inspired and inspiring you.
It is your mind that sees beauty in symmetry and sunsets, and is moved to write sonnets.
It is your mind that consciously chooses to love.
It is your mind that sees beyond the everyday electrochemical computer chatter of your physical brain, and shows you your true potential and purpose.
It is your mind that reminds you of your greatness, and reminds you that you were born with unlimited promise.
It is your mind, not your brain, that is the visionary you.
It is your mind that is the you that hopes and dreams.
It is your mind that is the you that chooses to have "faith."
It is your mind that sees far beyond the three pounds of "gray matter" that your brain is composed of, and it is your mind that shows you a greater purpose, far beyond procreation and survival, in the meaning of life itself.
Your brain doesn't do all that. Your mind does.
With this understanding, we change from the powerless and pointless attitude that tells us "Life is life, and we have little or no control over it," to the far more practical attitude of "Life is what we choose to make of it. How would we like it to be?"
This is where "free will" comes into the picture. It is when you exercise conscious control over the autopilot and exercise your free will to do so, that you actually put your true "self" in control.
From the neuroplastic point of view, the mind controls the brain — or at least, it can, and it should. Does that mean you can create your own future? Yes, it does, and yes, you can.""
""The reason we look at it this way is that the mind can do things that cannot easily be attributed to the physical brain itself:
It is your mind that is aware and self-aware.
It is your mind that is creative, gives you inspiration, and is the inspired and inspiring you.
It is your mind that sees beauty in symmetry and sunsets, and is moved to write sonnets.
It is your mind that consciously chooses to love.
It is your mind that sees beyond the everyday electrochemical computer chatter of your physical brain, and shows you your true potential and purpose.
It is your mind that reminds you of your greatness, and reminds you that you were born with unlimited promise.
It is your mind, not your brain, that is the visionary you.
It is your mind that is the you that hopes and dreams.
It is your mind that is the you that chooses to have "faith."
It is your mind that sees far beyond the three pounds of "gray matter" that your brain is composed of, and it is your mind that shows you a greater purpose, far beyond procreation and survival, in the meaning of life itself.
Your brain doesn't do all that. Your mind does.
With this understanding, we change from the powerless and pointless attitude that tells us "Life is life, and we have little or no control over it," to the far more practical attitude of "Life is what we choose to make of it. How would we like it to be?"
This is where "free will" comes into the picture. It is when you exercise conscious control over the autopilot and exercise your free will to do so, that you actually put your true "self" in control.
From the neuroplastic point of view, the mind controls the brain — or at least, it can, and it should. Does that mean you can create your own future? Yes, it does, and yes, you can.""
October 4, 2015
Not nearly enough science to back up the statements made in this book. There should have been footnotes citing reference articles and white papers. Instead, just the authors opinion was presented.
November 22, 2018
The book gives the vibe of hope and possibility. But we can only achieve our best versions if we try to program ourselves. Positive self-talk and mindfulness meditation are essential in training our brains to get a better life.
February 17, 2020
Some interesting nuggets and take-aways. But overall, I was expecting a lot more from the topic. The material is relevant, but sparse. I mostly skimmed through the pages covering main ideas, after realizing that a lot of content was self-help/motivational type; where as I was expecting specific ideas and data points.
March 10, 2022
This is a must listen to for everyone! Shad Helmstetter breaks down some pretty scientific stuff in an easy and understandable way - uncomplicating the complex. He gives the listener/reader the keys which they always held to unlock the endless possibilities to change their lives.
Helmstetter reinforces the evidence that how and what we think and tell ourselves matters greatly. I highly recommend to those who feel like they are stuck in a rut or have no ability to change their daily lives for the better.
Helmstetter reinforces the evidence that how and what we think and tell ourselves matters greatly. I highly recommend to those who feel like they are stuck in a rut or have no ability to change their daily lives for the better.
June 7, 2018
Maybe I've read too many self help books but I just thought that it wasnt anything new---Our thoughts are important. I did resent the fact that he says that people who are successful just thought right. I've meant plenty very positive people who are deeply poor and its a bit more difficult to 'think your way out'. I did get a lot from it and I'll likely hit it again to see if I can get more out of it. My entire feeling on it though was just meh.
February 22, 2018
Very powerful book! Life changing!
May 27, 2023
Brilliant. Beautiful. Hopeful. Compassionate. Inspiring. Altogether lovely.
December 12, 2019
The topic like "rewiring brain" has always anticipated me and this was one of the reason I decided to give this book a try. To my astonishment I found so many vital information regarding how can we re wire our brain. It was thought for a long time that our brain never changes, so the author Shad Helmstetter has come up with this idea that the brain can be rewired by again.Every time we learn something it creates a new neurological pathway in the brain. Learning new things changes both the physical as well as the neurological structure of the brain. In order to create new neurological pathways in the brain the writer has described seven steps: mindfulness, choices, focus, intention, repetition...here some of the things which I find most useful:
"In the brain, every time the same message or the same thought or the same experience is repeated, the brain sends nutrition and energy to that neural pathway, and the pathway gets stronger. In your own Self-Talk Park, as you received those repeated messages, you walked those same paths over and over again, with each repetition making the paths clearer and stronger."
"If you want to grow new neurons and wire in more brain power, here are just a few examples of the kinds of things you should consider:
Learn to play a musical instrument
Practice meditation
Always memorize your grocery list
Learn a new language
Draw a detailed house plan
Memorize the names of all of the presidents
Get good at archery
Write a journal
Learn to write with your other hand
Design a new tile pattern for the bathroom
Remember phone numbers
Read Shakespeare
Build a detailed dollhouse
Hunt with a camera
Take a college course
Practice Tai Chi
Learn drawing or painting
Join an astronomy club
Learn to juggle
Exercise
Read books on a subject you've never explored before
Memorize Pi to the 25th (or the 100th) decimal
Give talks
Learn to play tennis
Learn a new skill and then teach it to someone else
Play games that are mentally challenging
Learn crocheting, knitting, or quilting
Master the Rubik's Cube
"... when the brain no longer uses a circuit or pathway, it deletes it, in a process called "pruning." In actual neurological fact, it stops growing or changing, and begins to atrophy."
"your conscious intention to do something increases your brain's ability to wire in new ideas!"
"What goes on in your mind and in your life — changes your brain, physically. When you think or do something repeatedly, your brain actually changes its physical structure."
"Your brain grows and changes based on feedback. What you tell it, changes it. And while it's rewiring itself, your brain then feeds those new programs, those new pictures of yourself, back to you. It's a feedback "loop." What you put in, you get back out, in a continuous "neural activity feedback loop."
We become most, the way we get programmed most. You may have some great programs, or perhaps you have programs that could be working against you, programs you might like to get rid of or change."
"You might compare this process to building roads. In time, in the brain, with enough repetition, pathways become roads, roads become highways, and with a lot of repetition, highways become superhighways.
An important tool the brain uses to keep itself running efficiently, with as few unneeded circuits as possible, is called "pruning." The brain will get rid of neural pathways that are no longer being used or are no longer necessary. That's where the term, regarding the brain, "use or lose it," originates. If you have program pathways you want to get rid of, the brain is designed to help you delete them.."
"In the brain, our software is made up of the neural pathways and circuits in which, among other things, all of our beliefs are recorded. These beliefs can change as our experiences change. Through repetition, these belief pathways become stronger, and more"
"When you're rewiring your brain, your success will depend on your mental direction and on the amount of intention you create in your own mind. That force will affect the outcome. From a strictly neuroplastic point of view, when you repeat the same intention frequently, you are literally wiring your brain with a new direction, and telling it what you want it to."
"It is through repetition that you learn, and through repetition that you make the unfamiliar, familiar. And it is through repetition that you create most of the neural pathways that you have stored in your brain."
"It's also why practice makes perfect — because it is by wiring the right neural pathways in the brain over and over again, that what we're practicing becomes a "permanent" new part of the brain's circuitry."
"When you practice applying strong feelings to what you want to change or accomplish, always keep in mind that when the brain is rewiring itself, it loves emotion."
"Keep in mind that when you say anything to your brain, it will immediately search for and review every other program you have already wired in that is a similar kind of program. As a hypothetical example, let's take that simple.."
"Finally, we could watch our thoughts, and we learned that not only were our brains busily rewiring new circuits for us, they would also imprint and wire the circuits we wanted them to put in place. We were making our own self-talk highways. We were watching our brains change themselves — and they were doing so by our choice, under our direction."
"In the brain, every time the same message or the same thought or the same experience is repeated, the brain sends nutrition and energy to that neural pathway, and the pathway gets stronger. In your own Self-Talk Park, as you received those repeated messages, you walked those same paths over and over again, with each repetition making the paths clearer and stronger."
"If you want to grow new neurons and wire in more brain power, here are just a few examples of the kinds of things you should consider:
Learn to play a musical instrument
Practice meditation
Always memorize your grocery list
Learn a new language
Draw a detailed house plan
Memorize the names of all of the presidents
Get good at archery
Write a journal
Learn to write with your other hand
Design a new tile pattern for the bathroom
Remember phone numbers
Read Shakespeare
Build a detailed dollhouse
Hunt with a camera
Take a college course
Practice Tai Chi
Learn drawing or painting
Join an astronomy club
Learn to juggle
Exercise
Read books on a subject you've never explored before
Memorize Pi to the 25th (or the 100th) decimal
Give talks
Learn to play tennis
Learn a new skill and then teach it to someone else
Play games that are mentally challenging
Learn crocheting, knitting, or quilting
Master the Rubik's Cube
"... when the brain no longer uses a circuit or pathway, it deletes it, in a process called "pruning." In actual neurological fact, it stops growing or changing, and begins to atrophy."
"your conscious intention to do something increases your brain's ability to wire in new ideas!"
"What goes on in your mind and in your life — changes your brain, physically. When you think or do something repeatedly, your brain actually changes its physical structure."
"Your brain grows and changes based on feedback. What you tell it, changes it. And while it's rewiring itself, your brain then feeds those new programs, those new pictures of yourself, back to you. It's a feedback "loop." What you put in, you get back out, in a continuous "neural activity feedback loop."
We become most, the way we get programmed most. You may have some great programs, or perhaps you have programs that could be working against you, programs you might like to get rid of or change."
"You might compare this process to building roads. In time, in the brain, with enough repetition, pathways become roads, roads become highways, and with a lot of repetition, highways become superhighways.
An important tool the brain uses to keep itself running efficiently, with as few unneeded circuits as possible, is called "pruning." The brain will get rid of neural pathways that are no longer being used or are no longer necessary. That's where the term, regarding the brain, "use or lose it," originates. If you have program pathways you want to get rid of, the brain is designed to help you delete them.."
"In the brain, our software is made up of the neural pathways and circuits in which, among other things, all of our beliefs are recorded. These beliefs can change as our experiences change. Through repetition, these belief pathways become stronger, and more"
"When you're rewiring your brain, your success will depend on your mental direction and on the amount of intention you create in your own mind. That force will affect the outcome. From a strictly neuroplastic point of view, when you repeat the same intention frequently, you are literally wiring your brain with a new direction, and telling it what you want it to."
"It is through repetition that you learn, and through repetition that you make the unfamiliar, familiar. And it is through repetition that you create most of the neural pathways that you have stored in your brain."
"It's also why practice makes perfect — because it is by wiring the right neural pathways in the brain over and over again, that what we're practicing becomes a "permanent" new part of the brain's circuitry."
"When you practice applying strong feelings to what you want to change or accomplish, always keep in mind that when the brain is rewiring itself, it loves emotion."
"Keep in mind that when you say anything to your brain, it will immediately search for and review every other program you have already wired in that is a similar kind of program. As a hypothetical example, let's take that simple.."
"Finally, we could watch our thoughts, and we learned that not only were our brains busily rewiring new circuits for us, they would also imprint and wire the circuits we wanted them to put in place. We were making our own self-talk highways. We were watching our brains change themselves — and they were doing so by our choice, under our direction."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2021
This book was too repetitive it kept covering the same thing over and over again and after reading his previous book “What to say when you Talk to yourself” I don’t feel this book gave me anything new, although there were a couple things throughout the book that were such “Aha” moments for me but sadly only a handful of times.
The positives: it was such an easy read and you’ll probably find it interesting if you haven’t read “What to say when you talk to yourself”.
The positives: it was such an easy read and you’ll probably find it interesting if you haven’t read “What to say when you talk to yourself”.
September 19, 2018
Excellent book on the brain's neuroplasticity.
Good book on mindfulness, goal setting & achieving and rewiring the mind & brain. I highly recommend this book, which includes some additional online tools.
Good book on mindfulness, goal setting & achieving and rewiring the mind & brain. I highly recommend this book, which includes some additional online tools.
September 26, 2018
Fantastic book. The way in which it is written makes it very easy to read and the content is very powerful. Definitely recommend if you have an interest in the human mind or wish to make changes to your life.
March 19, 2024
This book works well as a self-help type book and has good ideas to create a positive mindset. While much of the material is research-based and backed by science, the author makes several claims that are not conclusions supported by empirical evidence.
August 9, 2018
Enlightening
Extremely intelligent book. I would suggest a must read for anybody with a brain. ..everybody. ...who wants to improve their lot in life
Extremely intelligent book. I would suggest a must read for anybody with a brain. ..everybody. ...who wants to improve their lot in life
October 3, 2018
Uplifting self help
A refreshing way to change our lives with Dr. Helmstetter's advice . Very interesting book. Self talk reprogramming at it's best.
A refreshing way to change our lives with Dr. Helmstetter's advice . Very interesting book. Self talk reprogramming at it's best.
February 2, 2020
The author goes back and forth to his original writings of Self-Talk. I just did not get much originality from this book.
May 27, 2023
Very basic information repeated over and over.
March 23, 2019
Remarkable! A truly important book!
The author Shad Helmstetter, writes in his brilliant book 'The Power of Neuroplasticity', about the newest scientific research on the power of the brain to change itself, to change the biology, even our genes. Quote from the book: "Research in neuroscience then revealed something else, your genes (your DNA) are like switches that are activated —that is, turned on or turned off —by your environmental perceptions and, in this case, by your own thoughts." The implication that if we control our thoughts, we have control over our body, over our brain, and our genes is breath-taking.
The book offers a great introduction into the core essentials of what neuroplasticity is and what it can mean in our lives. But the most motivating part is, the powerful exercises and questions for a deeper understanding and inspiration to use the knowledge in our everyday life.
Shad Helmstetter has proved another time that his understanding on the subject is deep and profound. The book contains an important message and empowers every single one of us to take part in actively creating our lives.
The author Shad Helmstetter, writes in his brilliant book 'The Power of Neuroplasticity', about the newest scientific research on the power of the brain to change itself, to change the biology, even our genes. Quote from the book: "Research in neuroscience then revealed something else, your genes (your DNA) are like switches that are activated —that is, turned on or turned off —by your environmental perceptions and, in this case, by your own thoughts." The implication that if we control our thoughts, we have control over our body, over our brain, and our genes is breath-taking.
The book offers a great introduction into the core essentials of what neuroplasticity is and what it can mean in our lives. But the most motivating part is, the powerful exercises and questions for a deeper understanding and inspiration to use the knowledge in our everyday life.
Shad Helmstetter has proved another time that his understanding on the subject is deep and profound. The book contains an important message and empowers every single one of us to take part in actively creating our lives.
February 15, 2024
One of the most useful books I have come across. Finally tells the how of the course that addresses ‘how’ part of changing your mind to change your mind. Highly recommended, especially if you’re working through or dealing with some stuff. A good contribution to the life manual.
“Fire together, wire together. You can change your brain.”
“Awesome. Awesome. This is great news. Life changing. I’m in. What do I do?”
“Change your thoughts.”
“Okay…I can do that for some things, sure. But most big stuff, I don’t know how. What exactly do I do.”
“Just focus on changing your thoughts to be different than what they are. Out with the old and harmful, in with the new and healthy. Before you know it, be you.”
“Yeah that’s just a longer way to say the same thing you did before. You don’t know how to do it, do you.”
(Silence)
(Silence, growing disappointment)
(Continued silence)
(Reads The Power of Neuroplasticity) “Woohoo! Finally! Here’s how.”
“Fire together, wire together. You can change your brain.”
“Awesome. Awesome. This is great news. Life changing. I’m in. What do I do?”
“Change your thoughts.”
“Okay…I can do that for some things, sure. But most big stuff, I don’t know how. What exactly do I do.”
“Just focus on changing your thoughts to be different than what they are. Out with the old and harmful, in with the new and healthy. Before you know it, be you.”
“Yeah that’s just a longer way to say the same thing you did before. You don’t know how to do it, do you.”
(Silence)
(Silence, growing disappointment)
(Continued silence)
(Reads The Power of Neuroplasticity) “Woohoo! Finally! Here’s how.”
February 11, 2023
I thought this book would be more about the anatomy of the brain and about head trauma, I was off but it was a good read. I keep getting a hold of books that really lack readability but this one was easy and I normally only read about 30mins a day but here I just kept on. I will 100% reread this.
The only annoying thing was the author didn't mention many studies and all the science behind what he has mentioned so I looked up a lot of it.
So this was mostly about how you talk to yourself and how it impacts you. I am a nurse and have seen many patients say I am going to beat this cancer or other disease and then they do and then I see some patients say oh I now have this medical issues I am just going down hill from here and then it happens so its interesting to read why this phenomenon happens and I love that he added in how you can change.
I 100% recommend this book.
The only annoying thing was the author didn't mention many studies and all the science behind what he has mentioned so I looked up a lot of it.
So this was mostly about how you talk to yourself and how it impacts you. I am a nurse and have seen many patients say I am going to beat this cancer or other disease and then they do and then I see some patients say oh I now have this medical issues I am just going down hill from here and then it happens so its interesting to read why this phenomenon happens and I love that he added in how you can change.
I 100% recommend this book.
January 25, 2024
3.5/5 ⭐️
I picked this up hoping for a deep dive into the science of neuroplasticity. The author made it clear in Chapter 1 that this book would not be too heavy with neuroscienrific jargon or require background knowledge on the topic, but I still persisted. It is a self-help book with a strong emphasis on positive mental attitude and positive self-talk that includes a smattering of neuroscience to support the author’s claims. He writes in straightforward language that anyone can understand. I picked up some good talking points to use with my patients. I wish he talked more in-depth about mirror neurons and other fascinating topics that felt breezed over. Overall, this is a good, rudimentary introduction to neuroplasticity that is explained in very positive and inspirational terms with the goal of helping people rewire their brains and change their lives.
I picked this up hoping for a deep dive into the science of neuroplasticity. The author made it clear in Chapter 1 that this book would not be too heavy with neuroscienrific jargon or require background knowledge on the topic, but I still persisted. It is a self-help book with a strong emphasis on positive mental attitude and positive self-talk that includes a smattering of neuroscience to support the author’s claims. He writes in straightforward language that anyone can understand. I picked up some good talking points to use with my patients. I wish he talked more in-depth about mirror neurons and other fascinating topics that felt breezed over. Overall, this is a good, rudimentary introduction to neuroplasticity that is explained in very positive and inspirational terms with the goal of helping people rewire their brains and change their lives.
February 6, 2022
This is an amazing book about how your thinking and self-talk can affect your body and life. This is not a technical book. It's a very friendly easy understandable book about Neuroplasticity and how you have been programmed from the very beginning. You have the power to change your program (how you think) from negative/ catastrophizing to positivity and productivity. Shad breaks it down so well and gives easy rules to follow for reprogramming your brain. He also gives a list of ways to grow new neurons in your brain to keep you engaged, brain younger, and overall happier person. I loved this book and author so much, I have just bought his first book "What to Say When You Talk To Yourself".
December 10, 2022
3.5 This was a 5 star book when I first started reading. I ended up running out of time half way through and had to return it then ended up in line waiting for it again. While I waited, I read another book by him about self talk. This book goes over so many of the same concepts. I understand repetition, but it seemed to be just regurgitating the stuff he had said before. This has some great advice, but it lacks scientific depth and is teeming with "you can do it"s.
May 28, 2024
• 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 •
𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ☆☆☆☆ 4/5
Not a lot is based on science, but it focuses a lot on experiences of people and the author themselves. I found some concepts interesting and helpful. I loved to learn more about my brain and how I can make it work for me. Especially on how to change some of my habits.
A lot of my reviews are also available with photo at my Bookstagram: @justmyfantasyworld
𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ☆☆☆☆ 4/5
Not a lot is based on science, but it focuses a lot on experiences of people and the author themselves. I found some concepts interesting and helpful. I loved to learn more about my brain and how I can make it work for me. Especially on how to change some of my habits.
A lot of my reviews are also available with photo at my Bookstagram: @justmyfantasyworld
January 28, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. I took some notes and want to implement some of his ideas. It’s interesting to think about this one and “the power of now” together. You are not your brain alongside how to change your brain.
I definitely recommend this one if anyone is looking for some ideas on how to make some positive changes. There are some links to resources that he shares as well.
I definitely recommend this one if anyone is looking for some ideas on how to make some positive changes. There are some links to resources that he shares as well.
May 26, 2019
I loved the book. I thought is was easy to understand and motivating. I have me hope
I loved the book. I thought it was inspirational, insightful and the author was incredibly generous. I'd recommend it to me many of my friends. I have not practice all of the instructions but I will and look forward to my changes.
I loved the book. I thought it was inspirational, insightful and the author was incredibly generous. I'd recommend it to me many of my friends. I have not practice all of the instructions but I will and look forward to my changes.
January 24, 2020
Fantastic insight and perspective
Shad in this book has a way of taking the most complicated complexities of neuroscience and the concept of neuroplasticity and molds it in a way that you can understand it and apply it in your life. I see this book not only having more of an impact in my personal and business life, but in the lives of others as well.
Shad in this book has a way of taking the most complicated complexities of neuroscience and the concept of neuroplasticity and molds it in a way that you can understand it and apply it in your life. I see this book not only having more of an impact in my personal and business life, but in the lives of others as well.
May 18, 2022
Depending on your level of being informed, education? This book may be rather remedial. If you’re just learning of how this science works? This book takes a complex topic, gracefully making it digestible.. highly suggest.
It’s a good book but I have other favorites that are more in depth I lean towards.. that said? this is executed well.
It’s a good book but I have other favorites that are more in depth I lean towards.. that said? this is executed well.
July 13, 2019
An incredible personal growth book. The books brings the concept of how we can rewire our brain throughout our lifetime and change anything we want with the kind of positive self-talk we input. Ï think, therefore I can change."
October 1, 2019
What's so good about it is that the author did not in anyway used any technicality in outlaying how neuroplasticity works. Everybody can easily grasp the powerful message along with meaningful applications suggested.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews