Neural Mechanisms of Building Inner Resources

Every inner resource has a neural structure. It is fixed in the brain as a neural formation. The number of neurons is enormous—scientists estimate between 10 and 100 billion. Neurons are the nerve cells in our brain that transmit nerve impulses. These impulses travel at incredible speeds: a message can cross from one neuron to another in less than 1/5000 of a second. Thanks to this, we feel, think, and act.

When a person is born, they already have a large number of neural formations responsible for the functioning of internal organs, breathing, blood circulation, waste elimination, and more. From birth to age two, the number of neural formations increases dramatically as the child learns to walk, talk, recognize objects and people, and gains experience with the world. Resources that are external for a newborn quickly become internal, inseparable from the personality.

How Neural Formations Develop

Each neuron resembles a plant’s root system, with one large root (axon) and many branches (dendrites). Every time a message passes through the brain, numerous nerve impulses jump from one neuron to another. This transmission doesn’t happen directly but through a mediator—a chemical substance called a neurotransmitter. When transmitting messages, one neuron accumulates neurotransmitters at the tip of its “root” and then releases them.

The job of neurotransmitters is to carry the nerve impulse to another neuron across a barrier (the synapse). Neurotransmitters can only dock at specific sites on the neighboring neuron, and each docking site accepts only one type of neurotransmitter. However, a neurotransmitter can dock with more than one neuron.

Depending on the message carried by the neurotransmitter, the nerve impulse either continues its journey or stops right there. While the second neuron “reads” the message and “decides” whether to let the impulse continue, the neurotransmitter remains docked. Once the neuron decides, the impulse either continues along the chain or the information is neutralized and the neurotransmitter is destroyed.

This system helps us filter truly important incoming information from meaningless “noise.” If messages are repeated, neurotransmitters reach their docking points more quickly and easily, forming stable neural connections. Since neurons have many dendrites, a neuron can simultaneously form many neurotransmitters with different messages for other neurons.

Previously, scientists believed that connections between neurons were fixed from birth and not influenced by experience. Today, it’s understood that life events—everything we absorb from infancy—greatly influence how many such connections are created by the nervous system. As we acquire new skills and experience new feelings, new connections are constantly formed in our complex neural network. Thus, each person’s neural connections are unique.

We can also restructure our brains by creating new neural connections—a capacity known as neuroplasticity.

Resource as a Neural Connection

Any inner resource is essentially a skill—a strong neural connection. Such a connection forms in two main ways:

1. Instantly, under the influence of strong emotions.
2. Gradually, through repeated practice.

For example, when someone learns to drive, there is no existing structure or neural connection for this skill. Driving is still an external resource. It takes a lot of energy—attention and motivation—to coordinate hands, feet, mirrors, road signs, and manage fear and anxiety. If motivation runs out and the energy spent isn’t compensated by enjoyment, people often postpone learning.

If the stress of learning to drive is outweighed by enjoyment, the person will learn. Repeatedly, neurons in the brain will form a specific configuration that supports the driving skill. The more repetitions, the faster new neural connections form—but only if the energy spent is more than compensated.

Neural connections form in several areas of the brain involved in driving. Over time, less energy is needed, and the process becomes easier and more enjoyable. Once the neural connections are established, the task is to “solidify” them so they become a stable neural formation. The better someone gets and the more positive reinforcement they receive, the faster this happens.

When the neural formation is established, the system becomes autonomous, requiring less and less energy. At this point, the external resource becomes internal. Now, a person can listen to music, talk, or think about other things while driving, and their mind and body will handle the process—even in emergencies—without conscious effort. This is how, for example, people sometimes arrive home without remembering the drive.

Adding creativity makes the neural structure even more beautiful, complex, and flexible. Any resource can be developed into a skill embedded in the personality through neural structure.

Neural Connections and Internal Control

Any action has a developmental effect only when it occurs at the edge of losing control. The more pronounced this edge, the greater the effect. Losing control forces us to form new neural connections, making the structure more extensive by recruiting “open” neurons.

Constantly active neurons become coated with a special substance called myelin, which greatly increases their efficiency as conductors of electrical impulses. Myelinated neurons work without wasting extra energy and appear white, which is why we distinguish between “white” and “gray” matter in the brain. Myelination is most active up to age two and decreases by age seven.

There are also “open” neurons with little myelin, where impulse speed is only 1–2 m/s—100 times slower than myelinated neurons. Losing control prompts the brain to “search for” and connect these open neurons to form new neural formations responsible for new experiences. That’s why activities with no risk of losing control are boring and routine—they don’t require much brain activity. If the brain isn’t active enough, unused neurons die off, and a person becomes less sharp.

If losing control consistently leads to the desired result, it’s called positive reinforcement. This is how children learn to walk, ride bikes, swim, and so on. The more hours spent on an activity, the more myelinated neurons in the brain, and the higher its performance.

One convincing proof comes from brain scans of professional musicians. Studies using diffusion MRI showed that piano practice led to the formation of white matter in brain areas related to finger movement, visual, and auditory processing, while other areas were no different from those of “ordinary” people.

Internal Control and Habits

Modern neurophysiology knows that it takes 40–45 days to form a branched structure of neuron extensions, and 3–4 months to form new neurons. Therefore, to turn an external resource into an internal one, it’s enough to form a NEW neural formation for a specific task. This takes at least 120 days, but only if three conditions are met:

• Resource development must be daily.
• It must involve a loss of internal control.
• The energy spent must be more than compensated.

Returning to the driving example: loss of internal control happens every time a driver gets behind the wheel, regardless of experience. There’s always an internal adjustment to the car, the road, other drivers, and weather conditions. Mobilizing internal resources happens even for the most experienced drivers. The difference is that experienced drivers have stable neural connections and don’t feel the loss of control, while beginners may lose control so much that their nervous tension is obvious. But the more often and longer a beginner drives, the better they handle losing control.

After 120 days, driving becomes a habit and no longer drains all available energy. The person can now listen to music or talk with passengers. The newly formed neural formation is still unstable but already serves its purpose. If the person continues to develop the skill, the neural formation becomes stable and autonomous. If not, it will eventually break down. That’s why some people with a driver’s license can’t actually drive.

Any other resource becomes internal in the same way. An inner resource is nothing more than the formation of stable neural connections in the brain, which are more ready to function than other neural response chains. The more we repeat certain actions, thoughts, or words, the more active and automatic the corresponding neural pathways become.

This also applies to forming “bad” habits—not just alcohol or drugs, but also complaining, whining, blaming others, manipulating, or scheming to get what you want. Here, too, there’s conditional “positive” reinforcement when a person gets what they want through these actions and remembers this as the “right” way to achieve results.

There are also neural formations responsible for habitual patterns, limiting beliefs, and persistent programs that a person can’t get rid of for years. These are especially strong in areas like money, self-confidence, and relationships. Such neural formations are created long before a child can consciously address these issues, often under the influence of parents and society, and are also shaped by environment, country, history, and mentality.

These old, stable neural formations can be broken down, but it takes 1 to 5 years of daily “work”—forming NEW beliefs, NEW actions, and a NEW environment. Then, new neural formations will replace the old ones. Considering that limiting beliefs form over decades, the possibility of removing them in just three years is appealing. Of course, it’s easier said than done. Here’s a story to think about:

Imagine you inherit a 100-hectare plot of land for diamond mining. You take ownership, and representatives from a diamond corporation approach you, offering to lease your land for 50 years, keep all the diamonds, and pay you a fixed monthly rent. You agree—after all, you’ll have enough money for necessities and no worries.

The corporation brings in equipment and workers, and the operation is in full swing. Occasionally, you check on their progress and soon realize you may have made a bad deal. But a contract is a contract—you can’t break it early. After a few years, you see from their reports that the corporation is doing very well, and you realize that after 50 years, there may not be a single diamond left for you, and inflation is eating away your rent.

You hire a lawyer to renegotiate for a higher rent or a share of the profits. The corporation agrees to raise your rent for another 50 years. Then your lawyer finds a legal loophole that allows you to terminate the contract without penalty.

Now you have two options:

1. Terminate the contract and regain full control of your land.
2. Say nothing about the loophole and accept the higher rent.

What would you do? Write down your reasoning.

Now, here’s the twist: the diamond plot is you. The diamonds are your inner resources. Managing your development and habits is like managing your own diamond mine. Even if you think you have a desert or a swamp instead of a diamond field, maybe you just haven’t explored it well enough?