Smarter, Sharper Thinking

Créez, utilisez et profitez des avantages d'un cerveau performant

While change has always been with us, its trajectory and pace have reached levels never previously experienced. That's not to say we can't keep up, but we do face a big challenge. Every generation reflects fondly on ‘the good old days’, when the world was simpler and moved at a slower pace. The reality is that people in the good old days would have felt the pressures of change too.

Just how much the pace of change has accelerated is reflected in the fact that the average person has more information at their fingertips today than the president of the United States had 20 years ago. The Ten Pound Poms took six weeks to reach Australia by boat. Today the flight between London and Perth takes around 19 hours. First-class post was deemed worth the extra cost of getting your letter to its destination a day or so sooner. Today we exchange information and news in a matter of seconds with just a few keystrokes.

That's why going back to the basics of understanding how to create a fit and healthy brain has to be the starting point of any new development. Getting the foundations right first. means it's then far easier to evolve towards operational excellence.

Part I of Smarter Sharper Thinking (the first four chapters) is devoted to creating a fitter, healthier brain based on the key lifestyle choices of nutrition, exercise, sleep and flexing our mental muscle.

Part II examines how we can operate at a higher level by addressing how we focus, how we can actively choose our mindset, how to stress ‘right’ and how to notice more.

In part III we look at how our relationships integrate our understanding of how to be more changeable, innovative, collaborative and effective in leading others and ourselves.

The benefits of creating our own high-performance brain include regaining a sense of control, better managing our time, and gaining a greater sense of achievement and overall happiness. Being simply happy — not deliriously ecstatic, but rather experiencing a quiet contentment connecting us to a deeper sense of purpose and meaning — is no longer such a common experience.

If you are aware that you are not performing at your best, or you want to increase your brain's ability to engage and innovate, this book is designed to assist you in your strategic thinking. You have been smart enough to come this far, so you are already on the right path to high-performance thinking!

My hope is that this book will open your eyes to the wonder and magic of your own brain. While the 12 keys will be explored separately, each adds synergistically to the others. Not every key will be of equal relevance to you. Once you have established the foundations of a brain-healthy lifestyle, I suggest you focus on those elements you believe will most help you to create, operate and enjoy the benefits of a high-performance brain. It is your choice