Why We Do What We Do

And Finally …

‘Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.’

HENRI NOUWENPriest, professor, writer and theologian (1932–96)

The intention of this book is to provide an overview of just some of the work in neuroscience that has been carried out to date. I hope that it will spark an interest in how your brain works in order to help you get the best out of it – and the best out of others’ brain around you – during your lifetime.

A great deal of emphasis has been placed on the importance of exercise in boosting memory and wellbeing. Our brain needs us to stay physically as well as cognitively active. We also need to work hard at keeping our brain open: open to other people, open to learning, open to new ideas. Conscious and concerted effort to remain positive will help us reduce the natural dominance of our negativity bias. And changing just a few habits may make a huge difference to how we feel and behave with the people around us.

We are all, to a greater or lesser extent, the authors of our own life's story. We continually make choices about how we live and act – what we eat, how we behave, where we spend our energy and whom we select to be part of our social network. We have the ability to make other people feel important and significant, and every day we choose how to respond to whatever challenges life throws at us.

These choices contribute to the world that we construct around us.

Our brain is a wonderful, changing, mysterious ...