Monday, June 11, 2012

Tasha Seegmiller: Your Brain NEEDS You To Write!


Hey, guys! And welcome back. I've got some excellent news for you: I'll be back from my hiatus next week. Some amazing stuff has gone down that's worth coming out of this revision hole and start being a true blogger. Again, I appreciate everyone who has guested so far.

Today, we have Tasha Seegmiller visiting, touching on a topic I've given much thought to recently. She started blogging not too long ago and has already made an impressive mark to the world in both her writing and insightful posts, like what you're about to read ...

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When David said he needed some guests to help out, it was just the chance I have been waiting for to say a sort of thank you for inspiring me to start a blog. His kindness and example have impacted me in a way that completely changed my life.

(Sorry, DPK has to jump in on that. I had no idea, Tasha! Thank you, and you're very much welcome)

We hear people all the time talk about the importance of writing every day. I don't know about you, but when I think about writing every day, I think it is so I can keep the habit, it is how I prove I'm serious about writing, etc. But I recently read a book that completely changed my viewpoint on that.

The book is The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle.

This book explores the reasons there are hot pockets of talent all around the world, discussing whether is it nature or nurture that is allowing these people to flourish. Come to find out it's kind of both and kind of neither.

Warning: This is going to get just a little technical - stick with me.

If you are like me, you may think it is neurons and synapses that keep our brains really working, but for the brain to work efficiently, it needs to have layers and layers of myelin, which kind of serves as insulation for the nerves. I'll let Coyle explain:

1. Every human movement, thought or feelings is a precisely timed electric signal traveling through a chain of neurons - a circuit of nerve fibers. 2. Myelin is the insulation that wraps these nerve fibers and increases signal strength, speed and accuracy. 3. The more we fire a particular circuit, the more myelin optimizes that circuit, and the stronger, faster, and more fluent our movements and thoughts become.

It's as simple as this. The more we write and the more regularly we write, the more capable our brain is to write. It will be faster, fire synapses faster, make connections better. And when we let it slump off, we are literally allowing part of our brain to be weaker, enabling it to be slower.

Once we have discovered something we want to accomplish, and have learned from the experts (hello blogland!) the only thing preventing us from being truly talented writers is us.

I'm Tasha, and I've got some myelin to build.

40 comments:

  1. So blog writing is good for the brain? That's good to know!

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    1. Yup and yours is most likely very well insulated.

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  2. Oooo... I like, Tasha!

    Nice. I'm going to use this as motivation this week, LOL ;)

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  3. I guess that Alzheimer's disease begins to decay the myelin sheath around those neurons which is why it is so devastating. I've learned quite a bit about Alzheimer's and dementia because it is affecting my parents. Anything we can do to prevent this terrible affliction is good in my book.

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    1. I'm so sorry. It is exactly what happens. As a side note, my grandmother has dementia and eating coconut oil daily has really helped her. There's tons of research on it, and I don't know how it would work in the stage of Alzheimer's, but it has helped with dementia.

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  4. Wow, that's amazing! And that motivates me way more than just writing to get into a habit.

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  5. Once again I'm my own worst enemy :) This is pretty awesome, thanks for the info.

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    1. Me too, me too, me too. I'm on a quest to be friends with my brain :)

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  6. Sigh, blogger ate my comment. The first comment was better. Now I'll just say it was a great post, very interesting.

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  7. Oh my gravy. That's so cool! It takes a lot of blame off my muse, too. Now I really wish I was a Jedi and had a naturally strong brain. ;)

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    1. The really cool thing is you can be (sorry, don't have much control over the distribution of the force part) as long as you take the time and effort to develop the myelin :)

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  8. Tasha and David together for one post. I'm not surprised that it's brilliant. Tasha, your wisdom amazes me. Simply said, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! :)

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  9. As long as the myelin in this old body keeps working, I guess there's hope for me! =D

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  10. Oh my elin! I had no idea. I have definitely acquired some new purpose today! Now if I could get off the internet and revise.

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  11. Thanks for sharing that. I'm like Jessie. I need to get off the Internet.

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    1. I think we are all that way more than we would like to be :)

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  12. This sounds like a great book to read and a great theory. I know with other things in my life that I've wanted to learn, it's only with practice and persistence that I've improved. So I'm hoping with lots and lots of practice, the same will happen with my writing.

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    1. It really is a great book. I highlighted the heck out of it.

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  13. Now this is something I really need to work on! Thanks for the encouragement Tasha and David, for letting her share:)

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    1. I'm working on it too. David is incredibly awesome :)

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  14. What an awesome thought! That's going to keep me going today :)

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  15. Amazing post. I also enjoyed your blog in general. I like the feel you bring through your writing. I'll come again! You have a new follower.

    Chow!

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    1. Thank you and David's blog is amazing. You will love it.

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  16. Interesting how science, too, is telling us to keep our butts in those chairs and keep writing. :)

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    1. No kidding. Now we don't have any excuses (shoot!).

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  17. Interesting! I've never thought of it like that, but that's great! Thanks for the post :)

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  18. Tasha, Dave, I didn't read a single one of those big words but I think I got the idea. Use it or lose it.

    It's great to think about and encourage continuous efforts.

    I'm Shelly and big words confuse me.

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  19. I love this! Now I need to run go do some writing! ;)

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