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If a behavior doesn't serve a good purpose, maybe it should be changed. (When I say "good purpose" I mean, does the behavior contribute to the happiness and wellness of oneself and others?) A sign of having mental plasticity is being able to change an outmoded or non-useful behavior (I won't use the term "inappropriate," since this is a bigoted terminology.)

Retaining mental plasticity well into middle age does not have to be excluded from the domains of those with mental illness. When we can adapt to changing conditions, to an increasingly demanding environment, to higher and more expectations, and if we can do this without excessive displeasure, this is a major form of success, and almost guarantees that we will do well.

Mental plasticity is where you are still young when you are in your fifties, sixties, seventies, or more. It is the willingness to learn new things and to revise outmoded behaviors. Mental plasticity means that we are not locked-in to one way of doing things, and we are not crystallized in how we react. We are capable of change.

Change is the only constant. If the world changes, we must change to adapt to that. If we can't do that, we become maladapted. If we can't adapt, we can't survive. If we can't survive, we will either become institutionalized, or we will die. 

Many persons with mental illness are institutionalized. This could be because their illness has prevented them from functioning at a high enough level to retain their liberty. In an institution, people do many things for you. The expectations could simply include obedience, taking your pills, and eating and drinking what is put in front of you. The downside to being institutionalized includes, for one thing, lack of purpose. 

Plasticity is not needed if you are institutionalized and acclimated to that. This is because very few challenges are put in front of you, and other people are responsible for your basic needs. On the other hand, if you want to live in the world at large, there are continuous changes, and you must adapt to them. A lot is expected. For example, just driving a car across town is harder than it was ten years ago. Taking a bus to get across town is also challenging, and the fares are periodically hiked. If taking a bus, a person may be better off consulting a smartphone to plan one's route and to know which buses to get on. That brings me to another thing; phones have changed. 

A phone at one time was a bulky thing that plugged into a large, four-pronged plug in the wall. Now a "phone" doesn't plug into the wall and it doubles as a microcomputer, a television, a camcorder, and many other functions. Yet, you still need to pay your phone bill if you want your phone to keep working. To accomplish that, you may need to have a debit card. Thirty years ago, a Visa or Mastercard were fancy things. Now, they are expected of even the poorest people. 

In many instances, change comes in small increments. This makes it easier to adapt. Yet, you can't fight change, and if you refuse to change, you will be flattened by the wheels of society like a cartoon character from the 1960's being flattened by a steamroller. 

Mental plasticity is a good thing. It does not mean that you are soft or weak. It means that you can get up to speed on required or wanted things. It is a sign that your gray matter still works. If you keep getting bitten by the same dog, it means that you are trying something that doesn't work anymore, and you need to change.