Rewiring Your Brain Through Play

Rewire Your Brain with Play: The Scientific Shortcut to Faster Personal Growth! (Living Lucky® Podcast)

Ever wondered why kids learn so quickly while adults struggle with change? On this groundbreaking Living Lucky® Podcast episode, Jason and Jana Banana reveal a powerful scientific secret: play is your ultimate brain hack for rapid personal development! Discover how engaging in playful activities can create new neural pathways 20 times faster than traditional methods – requiring just 10-20 repetitions instead of 400!

This isn't just about fun; it's about transforming your mindset and accelerating self-help. We explore how embracing a playful mindset shifts you from rigid "achievement mode" to a liberating "what if" mentality. Learn how "happy accidents" (like a sewing mishap or a breakthrough in skiing) become unexpected portals to creativity and genius when approached with joy, rather than the fear of making a mistake.

Many adults lose this natural ability to play, getting stuck in limiting beliefs and "playing not to lose" instead of exploring possibilities. This episode provides actionable insights into reclaiming your innate playfulness to overcome those deeply ingrained negative thought patterns like "I'm not enough."

Ready to shed expectations, embrace curiosity, and rewire your brain for a more joyful and efficient path to change? Tune in to discover why prioritizing play is the simplest, most powerful hack to accelerate your personal growth, cultivate positive thinking, and truly start Living Lucky® by making joy and curiosity your superpowers!

• How to rewire your brain faster.
• The science of play and learning.
• Benefits of play for adult personal growth.
• Overcoming limiting beliefs through play.
• How to cultivate a playful mindset.
• Accelerating self-help with joy.
• Why adults stop playing and how to restart.
• Transforming mistakes into breakthroughs.
• Play therapy for adults.
• Boosting creativity through play.
• "How does play affect the brain?"
• "How many repetitions to create new neural pathways?"
• "What is the power of a playful mindset?"
• "Can play help overcome limiting beliefs?"
• "How to incorporate more play into adult life?"
• "What are the benefits of adult play?"
• "How does play accelerate personal growth?"

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*Previously Recorded

Episode Transcript

Jana Shelfer (00:00):
Are you ready to create a life you crave?
Let's spin that doom loop ofnegativity into an upward
success cycle and start LivingLucky®.
Good morning.
I'm Jana, I'm Jason and we areLiving Lucky® you are too.
Play.
I'm constantly talking aboutplay.

(00:23):
You are too.

Jason Shelfer (00:24):
Yes.

Jana Shelfer (00:24):
However, after spending a, week with
four-year-olds.
I've realized how importantplay is.

Jason Shelfer (00:33):
Yes, and when you're not playing, you will be
as exhausted, or more, than ifyou just had fun and played.
I don't know if that made sense.

Jana Shelfer (00:43):
So let me just explain to you.
My sister was here, and shebrought her sewing machine, so
we started playing.
We started literally playinglike when we were little, and we
were like we're going to createa bag, and, of course, we had a
somewhat of a pattern to follow.
However, when we startedplaying, where I would pin and

(01:04):
glue and then I would hand theproject to my sister, jeanette,
she would start sewing, and then, next thing you know, we were
just having fun together, wewere laughing, and it was almost
like we were little again.
Does that make sense?
Yeah, and you weren't soworried about mistakes, and
that's exactly what happened.
Though, though, is we startedmaking all sorts of mistakes,

(01:26):
but we didn't call them rightmistakes, because this is we
were having fun.
So they literally like Iremember she handed it to me and
I was turning the bag insideout and I pulled the zipper
completely off and we both wentoh like like we both had like an

(01:46):
oh poo moment.

Jason Shelfer (01:49):
And I think that's one of the beautiful
things about playing is thatthings happen Like you expect.
To fall down and scrape yourknee.
You expect for things to happenand they don't turn
catastrophic they.
That's like part of it.
So it's like recognizing thatthe fall down is part of playing
no.

Jana Shelfer (02:07):
So we we pull the zipper off and then literally
the next bag we make, we realizethat we put the zipper in
totally cattywampus, and I waslike you know what we learned
from the last one?
That if we pull the zipper offwe can actually straighten it
out and we can cut part of thezipper to equal out our goof.

(02:29):
So our mistake actually becameour genius.

Jason Shelfer (02:32):
Yeah, it's where you learned and you didn't
attach to all this negativity toit of I'm a failure, I can't do
things.
All the things that a lot oftimes we'll tell ourselves when
we're in achievement mode asopposed to play mode.

Jana Shelfer (02:47):
So Jason came across some scientific research.
Read it to me.

Jason Shelfer (02:52):
Well, it says.
Scientists have discovered thatit takes approximately 400
repetitions to create newsynapses in the brain, unless
it's done in play, in which caseit only takes 10 to 20
repetitions it's done in play,in which case it only takes 10
to 20 repetitions.

Jana Shelfer (03:09):
That is so intriguing to me because I will
say when I am doing somethingthat for me time just flows and
that is sewing or art or music,or even speaking.
Sometimes, when I'm doing thosetypes of things, it feels like
those little oopsie mistakes dobecome learning moments.
Yeah, they become ahas.

Jason Shelfer (03:30):
They really do so you get these aha moments.

Jana Shelfer (03:33):
Without even thinking about it.

Jason Shelfer (03:34):
And I'm no brain surgeon or rocket scientist or
whatever.
Oh, yes, you are Right, I am.
I printed out my own Photoshopdegree.
But you recognize these ahamoments and I think those are
those true moments where you'relike, oh my gosh, I didn't know
it could be this way.
And we find that I think a lotmore often when we're in that

(03:57):
play mode.

Jana Shelfer (03:59):
Yeah.

Jason Shelfer (04:00):
Because we're open to the experience instead
of the achievement, kind of.
It's a weird thing and if youplayed you'd recognize this.
If you stopped playing, youprobably feel this in your core
right now going wow, I rememberhaving those aha moments
building a fort when I was a kid, like all these little things

(04:22):
about engineering that you mayhave learned that you've never
taken an engineering course butyou learn by failure, and then
you laughed when all the boxesfell down right, yes.
Instead of going oh I'm afailure, I can't do things Like
you, just laughed and then putit back together in a better way
.

Jana Shelfer (04:37):
I think it's because we don't have
expectations.

Jason Shelfer (04:39):
Oh, that's good.

Jana Shelfer (04:41):
Are you with me there?
Yeah who we truly authenticallyare, and allow the creativity
to just come.

Jason Shelfer (04:56):
Like I love it when we go skiing.
And like you'll, you'll.
You're a pusher, so like inyour achiever, so you try, like
you're like I'm going to get it.
I'm going to get it.
And every time I'll get very,very frustrated and you'll say
take me back to the dog, thisisn't my day and I'll say okay,
I will go back, but why don'tyou just go out there and have
some fun, so we make sure thatwe are enjoying the time on the

(05:17):
water?

Jana Shelfer (05:18):
And then that's when it happens.

Jason Shelfer (05:19):
That's when it happens, you're like, oh my gosh
, it just I got in.
Whether you knew how to do itor not, it just happened, which
proves it can be, which alsochanges this new dynamic in your
brain of I, I want to do it,I'm going to do it, I don't know
how.
And then when it just happensbecause you're playing and
having fun, you're like okay,now I can start repeating that

(05:42):
because I know it's.
I'm not telling myselfsubconsciously it's not possible
.

Jana Shelfer (05:48):
Oh my gosh.
I mean, of course we're comingoff of a week We've been on
vacation here in my childhoodhome.
And we've been here with mynieces and nephews, who are
literally four and five yearsold, fair's been going on.
And the fair's been going on.
We've been playing.

Jason Shelfer (06:05):
All kinds of games We've been playing games.

Jana Shelfer (06:07):
We've been playing arts and crafts.

Jason Shelfer (06:09):
Telling stories.

Jana Shelfer (06:11):
We've been playing telling stories, We've been
playing talent show.
We literally get out themicrophone and start singing to
each other.
We've been playing dance, we'vebeen playing all these little
games.
In fact, we have a littleplayhouse that we've literally
been playing.
Neighbor, yes, hi, neighbor.

Jason Shelfer (06:31):
Do you need some cookies Right?
Lots of play there.

Jana Shelfer (06:35):
And it gets you thinking differently.

Jason Shelfer (06:39):
I think that's the key is we get so caught up
in thinking the way things are,or the way things have to be,
that there's a straight linesomewhere?

Jana Shelfer (06:47):
We start thinking in the way things should be,
ought to be supposed to be, haveto be supposed to be, have to
be.
Those are words that we use,whereas when we play, we're
thinking in what if?

Jason Shelfer (07:01):
yeah, how things could be like let my imagination
go.
What if?

Jana Shelfer (07:05):
we pretend to be the nosy neighbor.
What?
If we pretend to be the postalperson you know, know like it's,
we start thinking in what if?

Jason Shelfer (07:16):
Yeah, it changes the dynamic to a much more
creative, much more expressiveand really a growth track,
because it doesn't have to beone way or not, like it doesn't
have to be this way only.
There's so many ways and now Iget to just get curious and
explore how many different waysI can do whatever it is I want

(07:38):
to do.

Jana Shelfer (07:39):
I'm telling you this, this bag that my sister,
jeanette, and I made, we, wewere laughing, we were having
fun, we made so many mistakes,but again those mistakes ended
up being almost us taking it tothe next level, like a mistake
in the zipper ended up being, ohmy gosh, this is a better way

(08:03):
of doing it.
Not only a better way, it looksmore professional and wow.

Jason Shelfer (08:09):
And that's it.

Jana Shelfer (08:10):
I mean we got to one point where she said we're
going to have to rip outeverything.

Jason Shelfer (08:15):
We're going to have to start from scratch.

Jana Shelfer (08:17):
We've been working on this thing for I don't know
how long.
She was like we're going tohave to rip everything out and
I'm like, wait a minute.
Remember yesterday when weaccidentally did it this way,
which we thought was adisappointment to the teacher,
Right?

Jason Shelfer (08:33):
We're not doing it.
We're not following thedirections right.

Jana Shelfer (08:35):
Let's do that again.

Jason Shelfer (08:36):
We read it wrong.

Jana Shelfer (08:37):
Yes, isn't that crazy?
It is crazy.
Okay, so read the quote again,because this is some research
that Jason found.

Jason Shelfer (08:45):
It takes 400 repetitions to create a new
synapse in the brain, unlessit's done in play.
So we all have neural pathwaysin our brain.
Yes.

Jana Shelfer (08:55):
We all think a certain way and we all have
emotions that we prioritize yeah, or we prefer.

Jason Shelfer (09:07):
And we create these through the stories that
we tell ourselves through theevidence that we build for
ourselves.
We do, and then it's so ittakes 400 repetitions to create
a new pathway, unless it's doneduring play, in which case it
only takes 10 to 20 repetitions.

Jana Shelfer (09:22):
Now the numbers might not be the exact, but so
when we start living in animaginary world and playing, all
of a sudden it's almost like welet go of societal expectations
.
You definitely let go of thesupposed.
It's almost like we let go ofsocietal expectations you
definitely let go of thesupposed to be's.
And even expectations forourself, of who we think we are,

(09:43):
and we, just we get into theright brain, which, when I say
the right brain, that's our-.

Jason Shelfer (09:50):
She's not saying the wrong brain.

Jana Shelfer (09:52):
Yeah, the right hemisphere, which Is your
imagination.
It's where you can tap intocreativity.

Jason Shelfer (10:03):
And creativity is created by the word create.

Jana Shelfer (10:06):
Yes.

Jason Shelfer (10:06):
Like create, like what do you want to create?
Not what is supposed to be doneand all these things, but what
is it?
It's the whole, what if?
And then you just allow.

Jana Shelfer (10:17):
What, if anything's possible, those
opportunities or possibilities,or that creativity to almost
become a living breathing?

Jason Shelfer (10:26):
thing.
Am I right?
That feels good?
Yeah, that feels filling to meinstead of a lot of times what
feels draining to me is sayingit has to be this way yeah,
because sometimes, I mean, itsays 400 repetitions.

Jana Shelfer (10:40):
so think, if you have a story in your head like
I'm not enough, I'm not enough,and you catch yourself saying
that in some situation you'regoing to have to reverse that
thought 400 times before itstarts making a new neural

(11:01):
pathway, yes.
However, if we're just playingand we say, well, what if we try
it this way?
And then all of a sudden youstart living into this new
possibility, it just happens.

Jason Shelfer (11:16):
then you have that happy accident like the
zipper falling out thatrecognizes that I am enough, I
am plenty.

Jana Shelfer (11:22):
Bob Ross Happy accidents.
One of the most creative people.

Jason Shelfer (11:27):
I mean, he was an artist.
He was so fun to watch thatthey had a television show for
years.

Jana Shelfer (11:31):
Which his television show wasn't even his
true persona, that was his playpersona.

Jason Shelfer (11:37):
Yeah.

Jana Shelfer (11:38):
And it was in that play persona where he would
actually use words like oh it'sa happy little accident happy
little accident and that's whereyou start realizing those.
You know those big blotches ofpaint where you think, oh my god
, and if you were?
If you were in your left brain,left hemisphere brain, you
would get out the paper toweland you'd start trying to wipe

(11:59):
it off.

Jason Shelfer (12:00):
The canvas is ruined.
Everything is over.
Throw it out.

Jana Shelfer (12:02):
I got to start over and then you start playing
to not make a mistake.
Oh, so good, I shouldn't usethe word play, but you start
painting you start living life,you start painting, like you
don't want to make a mistake andthat's how so many people live
life.

Jason Shelfer (12:17):
So they will have one instance where they have
they just got evidence thatsomething's a failure, or they
can't, or I'm not enough, or orI'm different, and they will
grab that one piece of evidenceand then start playing not to
ever see that again, yeah.
So they just start playing notto lose.
Yes, instead of or not playing,we say playing, but it's like

(12:39):
living life.

Jana Shelfer (12:40):
So, in accordance to that, not to make a mistake,
not.
To make a mistake, yeah, it'slike a double negative Not and
mistake right Not to make amistake instead of living into
the happy accidents of life.
Okay, so let's just recap.
Read the sentence again.

Jason Shelfer (12:59):
Scientists have discovered that it takes
approximately 400 repetitions tocreate a new synapse in the
brain, unless it's done in play,in which case it only takes 10
to 20 repetitions.

Jana Shelfer (13:10):
So if you want the hack in how to change your life
faster, then play.

Jason Shelfer (13:19):
Play more.

Jana Shelfer (13:20):
That is such a simple little tip.

Jason Shelfer (13:23):
And that's one thing that we lose as adults.

Jana Shelfer (13:25):
We do, we stop playing.

Jason Shelfer (13:26):
So many people say, we stop laughing.

Jana Shelfer (13:27):
We stop playing, and those are the secrets we
stop having fun.

Jason Shelfer (13:32):
And then we start telling people that life isn't
fun.
Well, the truth is, life is fun.
It's just we're responsible forour own joy and happiness and
play like just make it anintention and a priority and
you'll cut down thoserepetitions that's right, you'll
get there quicker, or at leasttime will fly by fine.

Jana Shelfer (13:51):
Keep Living Lucky® bye-bye appeals to you.
Visit us at www.
LivingLucky.
com.