Sort Your Brain Out. Адриан Вебстер
Читать онлайн книгу.
the virtual worlds online. It physically changes its circuitry to slowly but surely improve performance in more or less any behaviour that is regularly required of it. It adapts itself in a way that enables a huge variety of skills and abilities to become quicker, more accurate and more efficient the next time you come to do them.
This process of rewiring for self‐enhancement is so gradual that the day‐to‐day improvements are usually imperceptible. Only if you continue to perform that behaviour intensively (not too easy, not too hard), regularly (ideally daily) and consistently (over an extended period of weeks and months) will your brain change sufficiently for the improvements to become noticeable.
But brains don't only adapt to accommodate good behaviours. Brains adapt to perform any regularly repeated behaviour more efficiently, whether it's in our long‐term best interests or not and either way we usually end up carrying out such highly practised behaviours without giving it much thought at all. Whether it is something useful like safely steering a car down the motorway while your attention is completely focused on an absorbing podcast or radio show or not‐so‐helpful like helping yourself to that second slice of cake, your behaviour is largely controlled by a brain operating entirely on autopilot – for better and for worse.
The aim of this book is to inspire you to consider the tremendous impact that neuroplasticity – your brain's ability to physically change to deal with pretty much any set of circumstances – can have on your behaviour and to help you grasp that current beliefs and set‐piece behaviours were originally formed according to a series of chance events that happened to occur in your past and the stories that you regularly encountered in your daily life prior to now. Equally, future beliefs and behaviours will be formed according to whatever thoughts, people and places you choose to regularly, consistently and intensely engage with from now on.
Your brain is constantly upgrading the circuits inside your head that are often used and downgrading the neglected ones, every single day. Whether these changes lead to benefits or drawbacks is entirely under your control. It all boils down to spending more time in places – both real and virtual – that gradually enhance your cognitive powers and emotional well‐being and less time in those that degrade it.
By giving people a clearer understanding of how their own brains work and by changing the common but false perception that “you can't teach an old dog new tricks,” the main objective of this book is to harness the revelation that we can fundamentally change the very fabric of our brains, all the way through adulthood. As a result we can subtly alter our habitual behaviours, beliefs and motivations, and eventually bring about profound positive change. This book provides you with a wide range of simple brain‐enhancing tools and practical tips to do just that.
In the years that have elapsed since publication of the first edition, new research from the worlds of neuroscience, psychology and the medical sciences has hit the academic press. This has brought with it yet more clues about the many things we can all do to get more out of our brains on a daily basis. It has resulted in new additions for some of the original chapters and three brand new ones. So there are even more easy‐to‐follow brain optimisation principles (BOPs) for you to get your teeth into than ever before.
Introduction
Many people have a burning desire to be successful, some even have the know‐how. For those who don't there are literally thousands of self‐help books out there, telling them how.
Yet, despite tsunamis of ambition and an abundant supply of well‐meant advice, only a few people achieve real success and even fewer manage to maintain it.
The main reason is that despite being the most sophisticated piece of bio‐wetware in the known universe, capable of running the most phenomenally complex software, your brain doesn't come with a user guide.
Millions of people spend their lives scurrying around, all revved up, trying to get somewhere and devouring huge volumes of information on self‐improvement. Yet they don't have a clue about the engine under their bonnet, the nature of its profound capabilities or how to get the best out of it.
In other words, they – as captain of the ship – may have all the drive, passion and heart's desire in the world to set and maintain a particular course, but if the engine room can't deliver, they'll be left wanting, drifting in the doldrums of success.
Most take their brain for granted. Some even forget it exists. Others spend hours in the gym working away on the bodywork. But only a few realise just how much more they can get out of themselves with a basic understanding of their brain and a small amount of care.
In this book, we will help you to get a better understanding of how our brains actually work and explore ways of consistently getting more out of our own – often idling but potentially brilliant – high‐performance engines. Hopefully, we'll be able to help you achieve more with yours, whoever you are.
A bit about us
We first met back in January 2011 when we were both invited to speak at a conference in Tenerife. The theme of the event was “Are You Ready?” Our task was not only to inspire those attending but also to offer useful, practical guidance to help them be prepared for the tough challenges that lay ahead and enable them to capitalize on any opportunities heading their way.
As two very different people – with very different backgrounds and very different life experiences – we found ourselves working together delivering complementary messages, but from completely different perspectives. It was then that we realized just how impactful our combined knowledge could be and what a difference it could make to people at work and in their everyday lives.
Where Adrian's coming from
As a motivational business speaker I'd like to think that I am a highly motivated person; I'd be in the wrong job if I wasn't. I'd also like to think, having written self‐help books, that I have a fairly good idea of what it takes to be successful.
Despite being a reasonably fit, fairly intelligent and relatively successful person with bags of self‐drive and years of practical experience, especially when it comes to developing winning attitudes, I was keen to find out more about the hardware that supports the software – the engine that runs my mind.
I wanted to know more about my own brain, learn how to help it be even more productive and hopefully keep it in full working order for many more years to come.
Like you, I live in the real world. I run around at what often feels like a thousand miles an hour, juggling family, work and social commitments. There are times when, even as a motivational speaker, I feel a bit run down – especially when doing a lot of travelling. The gym can at times be very unappealing and with my batteries running low I don't always feel as mentally sharp as I'd like to be.
As a writer I sometimes find it hard to be as creative as I know I can be and despite having clear goals it can be difficult to stay consistently focused. On top of all this, when I do get to spend time with the most important people in my life – my family – it can be a struggle some days to unwind; my overworked brain just doesn't seem to want to stop revving!
As an everyday person I wasn't under any illusion that overnight I'd suddenly gain the combined planet‐sized intellectual skills of a mathematical genius, the creativity of a Renaissance master and the single‐mindedness of an Olympic athlete. I just wanted to sharpen up a little, consistently have more energy, hopefully stay focused for longer, be a touch more creative and enjoy quality time with my family. At the end of the day, I just wanted to make the most of the one I've got.
As a lifelong learner I'm not ashamed to accept all the help I can get, so I decided to team up with TV's favourite neuroscientist, Dr Jack Lewis, to see just how much of an improvement I could make to my own brain. I'm pleased to report that his practical advice has had an extremely positive effect and I have already noticed a tangible difference in my brain's performance.
As