Your nervous system is the connection between your brain, spinal cord, and all the organs in your body. This system controls all your thoughts, feelings, emotions, behaviors, and how you understand the world around you. What makes humans special is that we can change our nervous system by using special ways, and by our own choice. By moving our body (like walking, moving your arms, or balancing), we can bring changes to our nervous system—even if those changes are not just about movement.Plasticity means the brain’s ability to change. One type is “representational plasticity”—this is how your brain maps things inside. For example, when you pick up a pen, your brain knows how much force to use. Plasticity happens when you make mistakes, do something wrong, or something does not go as you thought. These mistakes send a signal to your brain that something is not right and that you need to learn something new. Then, your brain releases chemicals like acetylcholine, epinephrine, and dopamine. These chemicals prepare your brain for change, and the real change happens when you are sleeping.Making mistakes not only helps you do things right, it also helps you connect new emotions, or learn new things like languages or math. Mistakes make changes in your nervous system so you can learn more things easily. Many people think that every experience changes the brain, but this is not true. The brain changes only when the right chemicals are released at the right time. First, you need to bring focus, and then, when you make a mistake, it signals the brain that it is time to change. Exercises for movement and balance do not just help your body, they also get your brain ready to learn.From childhood to about age 25, the brain can change very quickly. After that, this ability slows down, and adults need different ways to bring plasticity. Knowing how to use these ways is very powerful. For example, when you hear a sound on your right, you look to the right, and when you hear it on the left, you look left. This is because your brain has maps for seeing, hearing, and moving that work together. There is a part in your brain called the “superior colliculus,” where these maps are lined up in layers. Experiments have shown that these maps can change, or are “plastic.” For example, if you wear special glasses that shift what you see to the side, at first you will reach the wrong place for an object, but after a few days, your brain will adjust, especially if you are young.For adults, making mistakes is the way to get plasticity like children. When you try something new—like learning piano or writing code—and you make errors, those errors signal your brain to change. Feeling frustrated is normal, but these errors and this frustration release neurochemicals in your brain—epinephrine for alertness, acetylcholine for focus, and dopamine when you start to get it right. In kids, this process is fast. In adults, it is slower unless you keep trying through the frustration and don’t quit.Adults should use “incremental learning”—learning in small steps, making small mistakes, and focusing for short sessions. Trying to learn too much at once does not work. Another way to get fast plasticity as an adult is when there is a strong need or motivation, like when you need to learn something for your job or survival. The more important something is, the faster your nervous system will change.Chemicals needed for plasticity are already stored in your brain; you just have to know how to release them. Learning works best in 90-minute cycles: the first 10 minutes your mind may wander, then you focus deeply for an hour, then lose focus again. When you feel frustrated from making mistakes, chemicals are released to help your brain change. After learning, deep rest or sleep helps the changes stick.Try to connect feelings of reward to making mistakes. Dopamine is a chemical that makes you feel happy and motivated