Aging and remaining open-minded

[EasyLivingMe]

Routine is an intellect killer.

My mom was always the first to try new things, etc.

Remain curious about everything and get excited about possibilities.

I think all of the above are important, and have to do with something called neuroplasticity, or brain plasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to alter its connections — to re-wire itself. Without this ability a person's brain wouldn't properly develop from birth on through adulthood. It also wouldn't be able to recover (to some degree) from a brain injury.

One of the best things about neuroplasticity is that while it lessens with age, it never ends. No matter your age, you can still encourage your brain to remain "plastic." That improves memory, allows you to process information better, improves communication skills, and can even lessen anxiety and depression.

There are nutritional supplements that help with neuroplasticity. But there also simple, non-drug and non-dietary ways to keep your brain developing new pathways. Reading a book (especially fiction) helps. Don't get trapped in always sticking to routine - vary it up a bit. That challenges your brain. Continuing to learn helps. It doesn't really matter what it is you're learning - it's the process of learning, and practicing, something new that makes the brain stronger.

[Chicken lady]

I teach.

it surrounds me with some of the most interest human beings I will ever know. They challenge me to think every day.

[ApatheticNoMore]

It's ok to learn new things and do new things, but to remain as open minded as one was in one's teens or 20s one would have to have as little knowledge of the world as one did then it seems. I mean some of what looks like closed mindedness might just be knowing something. The world of course also changes so not everything one knew might still be the case. That's the tricky part.

[rosarugosa]

It's ok to learn new things and do new things, but to remain as open minded as one was in one's teens or 20s one would have to have as little knowledge of the world as one did then it seems. I mean some of what looks like closed mindedness might just be knowing something. The world of course also changes so not everything one knew might still be the case. That's the tricky part.

I think in a lot of ways I have become more open-minded than when I was younger. I have more insight into knowing how much I do not know, and I don't tend to see things in such black and white terms.

[Tybee]

Eric, my experience has been so different. As I have passed 65,I have noticed so many things changing, have so many new challenges, have seen so much of end of life issues that I knew nothing about--I feel actually that the opposite is true, and that constant critical thinking just to cope with reality is required. It seems I am constantly reevaluated my life, people in general, ways of being, and consciousness itself--so getting older has been something of a mind trip and a roller coaster.

[frugal-one]

I agree Tybee. This may be unrelated but…. today’s discussion of the most recent mass shooting killer said they described themselves as nonbinary. Had to read what exactly does this mean?? It seems so unreal to me to think a person does not necessarily associate themselves with either gender. huh? It does not compute to me. One place listed 4 different genders….. It is hard to comprehend.

[Alan]

One place listed 4 different genders….. It is hard to comprehend.

Another place listed 74. What Are the 72 Other Genders? Gender Identity List & Child Awareness (medicinenet.com)

[iris lilies]

I agree Tybee. This may be unrelated but…. today’s discussion of the most recent mass shooting killer said they described themselves as nonbinary. Had to read what exactly does this mean?? It seems so unreal to me to think a person does not necessarily associate themselves with either gender. huh? It does not compute to me. One place listed 4 different genders….. It is hard to comprehend.

Careful there, borderline “hate” speech (And I deliberately am using hate in quotes.)

One thought in this issue is that perhaps there are not 74 genders, or even 4 genders.

Also I’m reading that kids have moved on from being trans and now non-binary is the most common non-cis gender which seems logical to me.

[frugal-one]

borderline hate speech because I don’t comprehend? As you would say…. “I am old” and this is not in my wheelhouse.

[frugal-one]

Another place listed 74. What Are the 72 Other Genders? Gender Identity List & Child Awareness (medicinenet.com)

Read through a few definitions and, to me, does not seem like definitions of gender but sometimes feelings we all experience (and no, I didn’t make a list or remember which ones). Seems a bit over the top. I don’t get it.