Barbara Oakley

"The world needs people who keep learning and growing."

"Your dreams are achievable through consistent effort."

"Learning is how you become the person you want to be."

"Your obstacles are opportunities in disguise."

"The courage to keep learning despite failure is extraordinary."

"The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good about ourselves."

"Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good."

"Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a productivity problem."

"The better you get at something, the less aware you become of how you're doing it."

"Focused attention is like shining a spotlight on your thoughts."

"Transfer of learning happens when you can apply knowledge in new contexts."

"Your brain can only hold so much in working memory at once."

"Switching your attention back and forth is exhausting for your brain."

"Learning deeply takes time and cannot be rushed."

"The diffuse mode is where creativity happens in your brain."

"You learn better when you're a little bit stressed, but not too much."

"Interleaving different types of problems builds stronger neural pathways."

"Motivation follows action more often than action follows motivation."

"Sleep is essential for consolidating memories and learning."

"Believing you can improve your abilities changes how you learn."

"The brain regions you use during learning are the same ones that form long-term memory."

"Breaking complex problems into smaller chunks makes them manageable."

"Your brain is most plastic and changeable when you're younger, but it retains plasticity throughout life."

"Difficulty during learning is actually a good sign—it means you're building new neural pathways."

"Metaphors and analogies are powerful tools for understanding new concepts."

"The key to expertise is deliberate practice over many years."

"Your past doesn't determine your future in terms of learning ability."

"Rereading the same material is one of the least effective study techniques."

"Testing yourself on material strengthens your memory far more than passive review."

"The more you struggle with a concept, the more you learn it."