What Is Cognitive Flexibility? Why It Matters and How to Strengthen It.
Cognitive flexibility, or flexible thinking, might be my favorite executive function skill. It’s funny to say that I have a favorite, but this one really takes the cake in my book. One of the reasons it’s so great is that it can allow us to have more fun in our lives. And, if you ask me, once we grow out of childhood, there’s definitely not enough fun being had! In addition to fun stuff, cognitive flexibility also helps us take healthy risks, make lasting change in our lives, more easily switch from doing something one way to doing it another, and see and try to understand other people’s perspectives. This is a critical skill for finding more meaning and happiness in life, so let’s dig in to learn more about it!
Cognitive Flexibility Defined
What is this executive function skill of cognitive flexibility? According to Adele Diamond (2013), cognitive flexibility is one of the three core executive functions, along with inhibition and working memory. It actually builds on those two skills and relies on them for success. We have to stop the old way of thinking or doing (inhibition) and remember the new way we’re trying (working memory). So, this is why it’s one of the later skills to develop, and also why younger people often struggle with thinking flexibly. To dig deeper into this critical skill and how we use it in real life, I like the wording of Peg Dawson’s definition, “The ability to revise plans in the face of obstacles, setbacks, new information or mistakes. It includes the ability to adapt/adjust to changing or unexpected conditions.” Diamond also added that cognitive flexibility involves the ability to admit you were wrong and to take advantage of sudden and unexpected opportunities.
The opposite of cognitive flexibility is rigid thinking. Understood.com shared a list of rigid thinking behaviors that you might recognize in yourself or others:
Not accepting other people’s ideas
Arguing the same point over and over
Getting frustrated when even small things go wrong
Repeating the same mistakes
Not following new schedules
Getting anxious when plans change
Struggling to take on new, more complicated tasks
Having trouble switching from one activity to another
Getting upset when others don’t follow rules
If you read through that list and found yourself nodding along, you're not alone, and it's worth taking a moment to think about how these behaviors can cause a ripple effect into our daily lives. Rigid thinking has a way of quietly limiting our options. When we're stuck in one way of seeing or doing things, we can miss out on solutions, opportunities, and experiences that might actually serve us better. It can also put a real strain on our relationships. When we argue the same point repeatedly, struggle to consider someone else's perspective, or get upset when others don't follow the rules the way we think they should, the people around us can feel unheard or dismissed, even when that's absolutely not our intention. And the impact at work or school can be significant too, especially when collaboration, adapting to change, and taking on new challenges are part of the daily expectation.
It's also important to acknowledge that rigid thinking doesn't always come from stubbornness or a lack of effort. For many people, it's closely tied to anxiety. When our nervous system is in a state of stress or threat, our brain naturally seeks the comfort of the familiar and predictable. I know mine does! Rules, routines, and “sameness” can feel like safety to anxious brains. So if you recognize some of these patterns in yourself or your child, it's worth considering whether anxiety might be playing a role, because addressing that piece can make a meaningful difference in how much flexibility in our thinking feels possible.
How It Helps in Daily Life
In my blog post on executive function skills, I explained that “the most successful coaching clients are able to think flexibly. They can imagine a world that exists where they struggle less often, and they are open to trying new ideas and can modify existing tools to suit them better.” This is true for anyone, client or not. If you take a look at your own life, even just day-to-day stuff, you might see how in the areas where you are able to think more flexibly, you may have an easier time. Or if you have multiple kids, you may notice that one reacts more calmly than the other(s) when plans change, such as a different babysitter when the usual sitter is not available, or when the shirt they want to wear is in the laundry. As adults, our relationships are better with good cognitive flexibility because it helps us try to understand the other person’s behavior and see their point of view. This is especially helpful when we are the parent or partner of someone with neurodivergence, or with very different ways of doing things than us.
One of my favorite examples of flexible thinking in action comes from a first-year college student client of mine who found it easy to motivate himself to go to the gym daily but couldn't seem to apply that same logic to studying. In his mind, the gym was worth it. Studying felt like just another class. So we decided to put them side by side in a coaching session and see what happened. In doing this comparison exercise, he discovered that the benefits he got from the gym were almost identical to what consistent studying could give him academically: Feeling confident, being proud to show off his progress, building discipline, having a distraction from his phone, feeling focused, and ending the day feeling productive and proud. It helped him to see that the thing he already loved doing and the thing he was avoiding were actually offering him the same rewards. He started going to the library, and sure enough, he experienced exactly the benefits we had predicted. Sometimes flexible thinking isn't about doing something completely new. It's about recognizing that something unfamiliar might not be as different from something you already love.
Cognitive flexibility isn't just for serious stuff like studying and relationships. It can bring a little joy to your life, too! I discovered when I was younger that coffee makes me want to crawl out of my own body, so I assumed black tea was off limits as well and avoided both for years. A few years ago I got brave and tried black tea. No problem! And a few months ago I discovered that espresso martinis are both delicious and completely body-friendly, too! Two small acts of flexible thinking brought two genuinely joyful additions to my life.
Long-term Benefits of Being Cognitively Flexible
Research shows that people with stronger cognitive flexibility tend to fare better across all stages of life. Studies have linked it to stronger reading skills in children, greater resilience to stress in adults, higher creativity, and better quality of life as we age. In addition, cognitive flexibility has also been linked to greater success in school and the workplace, as flexible thinkers tend to be stronger problem solvers, more adaptable when plans change, and better able to collaborate with others who think or work differently than they do. Interestingly, older adults with poor cognitive flexibility skills are at greater risk of falling, likely because adapting our gait to changing terrain or unexpected obstacles draws on the same flexible thinking we use everywhere else.
Neuroscientist Moshe Bar writes about the concept of progression, and it's one that resonates deeply with the work I do as an executive function coach. Progression, as Bar describes it, is all about adaptation, consistently engaging in challenges that stretch your capacity, physically, behaviorally, and mentally. This helps our brains adapt the same way a muscle grows stronger through exercise. When we do things that move us forward, we improve our mood, build resilience, support our health, and even slow some of the processes associated with aging. And, whaddya know? Cognitive flexibility is one of the most powerful ways we can practice progression, because every time we try something new, consider a different perspective, or adapt when things don't go as planned, we are quite literally expanding our future capacity to do it again. The research is clear: strong cognitive flexibility skills are a good thing to have!
How to Improve Cognitive Flexibility
Improving your cognitive flexibility does take some effort and some, well, flexible thinking! Before we dive into improving your cognitive flexibility, let’s take a look at another skill that is helpful for strengthening our ability to think flexibly - emotion regulation. This skill is an important partner because doing something new or even just imagining doing something new, can be very dysregulating. Learning what we can do to help us become or stay regulated as we dive into something new is critical to persevering through the discomfort that’s likely to come up. I’m not saying we can’t try something new until we learn to regulate our emotions, but I do think it’s worth considering taking some time to practice regulation strategies, such as breathing exercises, if you’re really struggling with cognitive flexibility.
Working memory is another executive function skill that plays an important supporting role in cognitive flexibility. Remember, working memory is our brain's mental sticky note, the skill that allows us to hold information in mind while we're using it. When we're trying to think flexibly, we need to be able to hold our original idea or plan in mind while simultaneously considering a new one. Without strong working memory, it can be hard to compare the two, weigh the options, and make a thoughtful choice about whether to shift course. It's a bit like trying to decide between two restaurants when you can only remember what one of them serves. The good news is that the strategies that support working memory, like writing things down, using checklists, or taking notes, can also reduce the mental load enough to free up space for more flexible thinking. So, when you’re working on thinking flexibly about a problem or situation, it may be helpful to jot down some ideas about it, considering both how things are currently and what success will look like.
Not surprisingly, sleep quality, quantity, and deprivation directly impact executive functioning, including cognitive flexibility. Although it can feel impossible to do sometimes, improving your sleep quality and/or quantity of sleep is a great way to improve your ability to think flexibly. Check out my resources section for ideas on how to do this. Research has found that other healthy choices improve our executive functioning, such as adding taekwondo and tai chi to our exercise regimen. And, even knowing or learning another language can help! Bilingual learners perform higher on cognitive flexibility tests and that adults who study and master a foreign language enhance their cognitive flexibility.
Creative Ways of Thinking Flexibly
Improving our sleep or signing up for taekwondo might feel too big to tackle right now, so let’s take a look at some other ways we can practice flexibility without making too big of a commitment. The more we practice, the easier it gets. Here are some relatively low-stakes and creative ways to strengthen those flexibility muscles.
Trying a new food or restaurant
Taking a different route to work or school
Playing board and card games
Trying a new genre of book or podcast
Doing something you've always assumed you wouldn't like
Asking someone whose opinion differs from yours to explain their thinking
Noticing any biases you have and asking yourself why you might have them
Listen to a new genre of music, especially in another language!
When we strengthen our cognitive flexibility, we open the door to things that can genuinely change our lives. New opportunities we might have otherwise dismissed because they felt too unfamiliar or uncomfortable. Creative solutions to problems we've been stuck on for years. A deeper sense of self-trust that comes from knowing we can adapt when things get hard. And honestly, a whole lot more fun. My new favorite drink, espresso martinis, is proof of that.
If you're reading this and recognizing some rigid thinking patterns in yourself or your child, I hope this post has given you a new way of looking at them.
"Rigid thinking isn't a character flaw. It's often just a brain that's trying to feel safe."
With the right support and strategies, it can absolutely become brave and try something new. If you're recognizing rigid thinking patterns and are wondering whether coaching could help you or your child build more flexibility, I'd love to chat. And if you want to keep exploring executive function skills, head over to my post, “What Are Executive Function Skills?” for a deeper dive into all eleven skills and how they show up in daily life.
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