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- Embracing Risks: Learning from Teenagers' Superpowers | Adriana Galván | TED
Embracing Risks: Learning from Teenagers' Superpowers | Adriana Galván | TED
Discover the three powerful lessons we can learn from teenagers, who possess superhuman abilities to laugh easily, learn quickly, and embrace uncertainty. Neuroscientist Adriana Galván shares insights from her research on the adolescent brain.
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Video Transcript
Imagine if there existed a group of people who laugh easily,
could learn faster than anyone in this room,
and who embrace the uncertainty of life.
We might call them superhumans.
We'd certainly study them, celebrate them, we'd want to be them.
Well, it turns out this magical group of people walk among us.
But we don't call them superhumans.
We call them teenagers.
Teenagers or adolescents are people between the ages of 10 to 25.
And although this time in life has tended to get a bad rap,
I'm going to tell you three things you could all learn from this amazing time in life.
You might ask yourself, how does she know so much about teenagers?
Well, besides the fact that I used to be one and that I'm now the parent of one,
I'm also a neuroscientist who spent the past 25 years doing research on the adolescent brain.
And I've learned that there's an explosion of growth during this time in life that leads to some pretty amazing superpowers.
For example,
For example, besides when we are babies,
our brains are most fertile for learning during adolescence.
And that's necessary for us to become adults.
So what can all of us in this room learn from adolescents?
Well, the first is they don't shy away from uncertainty.
Most adults fear uncertainty.
We don't like when we don't know what's going to happen next.
But teens, they embrace the surprises in life.
Whether it's their first job, or they're learning to drive,
or their first kiss, these things
are thrilling because of the uncertainty. It's because the adolescent brain doesn't
panic when things are new or unexpected, and in fact, it releases more dopamine in these
moments. You may know that dopamine is a hormone that we release when we're doing something
we love. Well, it's also a motivating chemical that literally motivates adolescents to embrace
the uncertainty and to see the surprises in life as positive learning opportunities. And
And that attribute during adolescence to lean into the new and unexpected aspects of what
what comes at us is important for us to prepare for adulthood.
So that's lesson number one, to lean into uncertainty.
What's the second thing we could learn from adolescents?
How good they are at challenging the status quo and stirring things up.
These are incredible leadership qualities
that make them visionary emissaries of the future.
And because their brains are designed to respond and embrace uncertainty,
they're OK rejecting what has been in favor of what could be.
And that's because the adolescent brain isn't so worried about everything that can go wrong
and instead is exhilarated by the possibility of making change.
And thank goodness we have a time in life when we're so bold and adventurous.
But we're not the only ones on this Earth who think that way.
It turns out that most species on Earth have an adolescent period
when we're more likely to take risks and explore the world.
All animals do what human adolescents do during this time.
We spend more time with peers, we squabble with adults,
we eat more food, and we.
And we stumble through a changing social landscape,
