Today, we share the first part of Maria’s conversation with Stefanie Faye Frank. Stefanie is a neuroscience researcher who is teaching people about their mind, brain and body system that influences their ability to self-regulate and build healthy relationships. She is a consultant, a podcaster and blogger focused on growth mindset, psychological resilience and performance. Her teaching and consulting work in countries all over the world over the past decade combined scientific insights and her training in monasteries with meditation masters from India, Africa and Vietnam. In this first part of their discussion, Maria and Stefanie explore her learning journey and why she decided to study psychology and neuroscience. Stefanie talks about how experience-dependent learning helps us adopt a growth mindset. They also discuss why even identical twins, through different experiences, can develop changes in their brain and narrative. They conclude their conversation with the importance of celebrating mistakes as a way to develop a growth mindset. A conversation packed with knowledge and understanding of our neuroplasticity!
Production team:
Host : Maria Xenidou
Producer: Julie-Roxane Krikorian
Introduction Voice: David Bourne
Contact us:
impactlearningpodcast@gmail.com
Music credits:
Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals
Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks
Where to find Stefanie Faye Frank:
Stefanie's LinkedIn
Podcast - Mindset Neuroscience Podcast
Stefanie's courses: http://stefaniefayefrank.com/store/
Mentioned in this episode
MIT Physicist Max Erik Tegmark
Angela Duckworth - the Grit researcher
NY Times Article on Gabriele Oettingen and the concept of Mental Contrasting
Gabriele Oettingen's Wikipedia page
To go further on Self-directed Neuroplasticity:
Jeffrey M. Schwartz's website
His Wikipedia page
His book: The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force with co-author Sharon Begley
Articles:
Neuroplasticity: Self-Directed Neuroplasticity Exercises
Self-Directed Neuroplasticity: Consciously Changing Your Brain Function
Paper by Tim Klein, Beth Kendall and Theresa Tougas, Changing Brains, Changing Lives: Researching the Lived Experience of Individuals Practicing Self-Directed Neuroplasticity
Listen to this episode and explore:
Childhood: camping and creating her own radio shows (2:58)
University and beyond: a multifaceted path leading to neuroscience (7:31)
Stefanie’s defining moment (16:52)
What she learnt in previous careers that she still uses now (19:08)
Is a growth mindset innate or can we cultivate it? (20:51)
Why are our brains different? The case of identical twins (28:20)
The importance of celebrating mistakes (35:03)
Why do we respond to mistakes differently? (41:33)