122: Tamar & Lindsay Go Neuro - Neuroplasticity122: Tamar & Lindsay Go Neuro - Neuroplasticity
You're Sober! Now What?
Tamar and Lindsay talk about neuroplasticity, showing how the brain’s ability to change can support recovery, better habits, and business growth. They share practical tools like SEEDS and deliberate practice, grounded in their own experiences of running, writing, and entrepreneurship after addiction.
47:33•5 Aug 2021
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks: Neuroplasticity for Recovery and Growth
Episode Overview
- Neuroplasticity means the brain can change throughout life, offering real hope for new habits and identities in recovery.
- Frustration while learning is a sign the brain is forming new connections, not proof that someone is failing.
- The SEEDS framework (sleep, exercise, education, diet, stress) gives simple daily actions to support brain growth.
- Deliberate practice focuses on one specific skill with clear intention and effort, making change more effective and lasting.
- Linking habits to deeper values and purpose helps them become sustainable rather than short-lived goals.
“"Practice makes permanent, not practice makes perfect because there's no gosh darn thing as perfect."”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and then keep growing long after the drinking stops? This chat between Tamar Medford and Lindsay centres on neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to learn, adapt, and change – and how that idea can reshape recovery, business, and everyday life. You’ll hear them break down the simple but powerful message: you’re not stuck as you are.
As Tamar puts it, “It is your choice whether or not you choose to change.” Neuroplasticity explains why the brain you’re born with isn’t the brain you die with, and why frustration when learning something new often means your brain is actually building fresh connections. Lindsay shares a vivid story of going from “I’m not a runner” to running consistently for over a year and a half.
She connects this shift to understanding how habits form in the brain, tying running to deeper values rather than just a fitness goal, and using what she calls “deliberate practice” – focusing on one specific skill with intention, effort, and reflection. Her line “practice makes permanent, not practice makes perfect” sums up the approach.
Tamar adds her own examples from writing her book and moving from corporate work into entrepreneurship, showing how changing beliefs and taking tiny consistent actions can rewrite long-held stories about not being smart enough or capable enough. Together they introduce the SEEDS framework – sleep, exercise, education, diet, and stress – as daily levers you can use to support your brain’s growth, especially in long-term recovery.
Rather than huge life overhauls, they stress baby steps: a bit more sleep, a short walk, a few pages of a book, one small food upgrade, one stress-reducing habit. If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “This is just who I am,” this conversation nudges you to ask a different question: what small change could you make today to help your brain grow in the direction you actually want?
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