You Are Not a Dog

Categories: Uncategorized May 03, 2014

"They" say that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. "I" am willing to bet "they" are wrong. Even if they are right, this phrase has often been applied to people. Guess what? People are not dogs. And, people are capable of learning new tricks at any age.

Life is just to short to settle for silly notions like, "I can't learn how to skate board, I'm too old." Granted, I don't know that skate boarding is the best trick of choice when it comes to learning something new, but I think you get my point. We, people, are miraculous creatures. Our brains are capable of growing and changing throughout our entire lives. Every new thought we make, or every new action we take, we create a new neural connection, or pathway in our brain. If this is so, and it is, then anytime we want to learn something new, all we have to do is engage in something new.

The more and more we engage in this new something, the more and more we establish a better neural pathway in our brain. This is how our habits are made. This is how habits are broken. This is how skills are learned. You are walking around with a miracle brain. It is capable of most anything, no matter your age.

The only thing that can age your brain is simply not using it, and simply not using your body, too. Movement and thinking, STIMULATION, keeps your brain alive and well. Being sedentary and mindless, erode and age your brain, thus eroding and aging your body.

Remember this: You are not too old to learn something new. AND, you are simply not too old - unless you decide to be. Growing old is as much of a choice as brushing your teeth. You choose to brush them, or you don't. Likewise, you can choose to stay young and vital. Or, you can choose to not use your brain, and your body, and you can grow old.

In The Well Balance Child, Sally Goddard-Blythe points out that the number one sign of brain deterioration is the loss of balance. If you have been following Original Strength for any length of time, you may know that loss of balance can come from not stimulating the vestibular system, from not moving our heads and our bodies. It would seem logical that if we can keep our heads about us and move often, we can keep our brains from deteriorating. We can keep our brains healthy.

So, not only can we learn new tricks, it would appear that learning new tricks is one way we can stay young and healthy. We are not dogs. We are people. We are walking miracles.

Go learn something new. Pick up a harmonica, a rip-stick, a yo-yo, a guitar, or learn to climb a tree, or how to do summersaults. It is not silly, it is simple: Learn to be a kid again.

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