Behavioral Flexibility Q&A – Warrior Mind Podcast #173
The objective of this Warrior Mind Podcast is answer listeners questions about behavioral flexibility, especially in regards to perseverance.
Here is an example of the question:
“Are results the only means which determine if you are conducting proper thinking and action as well applying the other principles you subscribe?. Since money is a popular example, if you feel you are working hard towards the goal of making money and yet you are still broke, can you safely assume that you are not properly thinking or enough taking action. Or do you tell yourself that you must stay persistence (good pod cast by the way) and regardless of outcome you are staying focused on what you want until it manifests? I feel there is some conflicting views with self-improvement gurus in this regard, the fine line between sticking with it until it works and lack of results indicating that you are doing something improperly. Would love to know your thoughts.”
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Enjoy the podcast on behavioral flexibility below:
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Behavioral flexibility refers to the adaptive change in the behavior of an animal, in response to changes in the external or internal environment. Ongoing behavior (which might include inactivity) is stopped or modified and new behavior is initiated.
Adaptive changes in behavior can vary by degree, ranging from changes that are little more than reflexes or tropic reactions (i.e., reflecting a change in environmental conditions but without the involvement of cognitive processes) to behavioral changes that are anticipatory of environmental changes.
Unlike impulsivity, which is responding without inhibitory control and can be maladaptive (see impulse control disorders), behavioral flexibility reflects a change in cognitive state in response to the perceived environmental contingencies.
Behavioral Flexibility and Cognitive Control
We all set goals in life. But because our environment’s always changing, to do so we need to constantly modify our strategies and behavior. Behavioral inhibition, behavioral flexibility, attentional shifting, and cognitive control are mental processes that enable us to adapt to the changing world around us.
When an action is repeated, it tends to become routine and automatic; executing it requires less and less mental control and effort. This is very useful when the context you’re operating in is reasonably stable. But as soon as the context changes, automatic actions may not be feasible or workable, so we need cognitive processes that let us replace them with others better suited to the new context.
