The Rubber Brain

Book excerpt: Failed an exam, bungled an interview, screwed up a relationship, broken your diet, or stuffed up at work? Yur brain is the key to getting back on track. Change your life for the better. Learn how to ‘rubberise’ your brain, making it more flexible and resilient. Deal with challenges in an optimal way, and ‘bounce’ back from adversity. Your brain controls your conscious thoughts and behaviours, like deciding whether to study or party, or whether to get two scoops of gelato or six. And when you find yourself doing things that you wish you hadn’t done (like all that gelato), it’s likely your brain has indulged in what psychological scientists call suboptimal thinking. Essentially, your brain doesn’t always deliver the kind of thinking that leads to desired positive outcomes, such as maintaining supportive friendships, and doing well in your work, studies and social life. But you and your brain can do better. In this book, five leading psychological educators show you simple tools derived from solid science covering everything from positive psychology to goal setting, from mindfulness to CBT, and from emotional regulation to moral reasoning, to optimise your thinking. Using a model they have developed over years of study and application you can discover how resilience and psychological flexibility combine to allow you to choose ways of thinking in response to different situations that will produce the best outcome for you for that situation. Read this book and learn how to optimally tackle issues of motivation, stress, time-management, and relationship maintenance. Your mind will be clearer and your life better.