Two important questions: First, how many hundreds of self-help books are written annually? Second, given such output, how much progress have we made as a whole in terms of becoming happier, more productive, and more fulfilled?
Isn't it odd? We have so many answers and so many psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, and clergy people offering guidance and still the good life seems to elude many of us. The one thing we can be certain is that, in 2016, there will be just as many articles and books telling us how we can manage more effectively, succeed at relationships, and live better lives.
So many answers, so few solutions.
Perhaps we're looking in the wrong place. Perhaps ever new advice and techniques not only don't solve our challenges, but cannot.
Consider an analogy: If we had an engine that was severely out of tune and that ran inefficiently, we could propose any number of new fuel formulas for better performance. One formula has better detergents to keep fuel lines clean. Another formula has higher octane. Still another is derived from lighter crude oil and burns better.
We try one fuel formula after another--and little changes. The engine remains out of tune, running inefficiently.
Our engine is our brain. Most of us are severely out of tune. We spend much less time on brain fitness than physical fitness, which says a lot given the problem of obesity in the population. I propose that the majority of us are much more flabby in our brains than our bodies. We sputter through life, not because we lack the right self-help fuel, but because our engines cannot process any fuel efficiently.
Recall the times when you were at the peak of your game: wide-eyed, clear-headed, able to work for hours at a time and immerse yourself in the doing, getting more accomplished than you ever thought possible. What if that is the norm? What if that is what it's like all the time to be in proper cognitive shape? What if what we need are not more self-help methods or medications, but greater brain fitness?
Consider the following:
- The Greater Good site summarizes the benefits of improved mindfulness, including improved health, energy, and well-being;
- Brain exercise does not necessarily lead to greater overall intelligence, but physical exercise has been reliably shown to improve intellectual functioning and academic performance.
- Structured techniques can be taught to people to significantly improve their creativity, with demonstrable benefits in the workplace;
- A number of studies suggest that brain fitness exercises can improve processing speed; memory; and emotional functioning;
- Increased cognitive activity delays the onset of Alzheimer's and age-related mental decline.
In other words, brain exercise and fitness cannot turn us all into Einsteins, just as tune ups cannot turn a four-cylinder engine into a Ferrari racing beast. As research into meditation has shown, however, structured brain exercise can improve our health, cognitive functioning, and emotional balance. A great example of brain exercise is biofeedback training, in which people learn to control their physiological functioning by receiving regular feedback regarding their states of arousal. Extensive research into neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback), for example, finds that children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can significantly improve their cognitive functioning through exercises that help them control their brain waves.
But wait: if children with attention deficits can significantly improve their cognitive functioning by learning self-control methods, why couldn't normal adults achieve superior levels of functioning, with improved concentration, memory, and information processing? What if real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtfMRI) feedback could help people control brain blood flow directly and significantly improve their cognitive and emotional functioning?
Great revolutions begin as heresies. Our status quo defines personal and behavioral change as processes that occur either through talk (counseling, psychotherapy) or medication. Indeed, entire professions are built upon that assumptive framework. As a result, we continue to try new mixes of fuel and our engines continue to sputter. We recognize the difference it can make to our overall functioning to get into good physical shape. Perhaps the same attention to brain fitness could bring us far closer to our ideals than we realize.
