Too Much Brain

I recently heard a stand-up comedian claim that his brain is a jerk. He said his brain has all it needs to make him feel good—the happy hormones and electric neurons, the synapses and lobes and cortices—but it doesn’t function as advertised. It makes him think dark thoughts and worry about everything. It makes him tired when he wants energy and wired when he’s just trying to get some sleep. His brain, an impossibly complex control center designed specifically for human flourishing, always seems to be on the fritz. The only logical explanation is that he and his brain aren’t on the same team.

Summarizing a joke depletes its humor, but we’re here for the content. The premise of the bit is resonant: we are not in control of our mental state, and the organ we associate with thinking and feeling—our brain—often seems like a separate entity, a computer we’re plugged into which has ultimate power over everything we do. But what if the brain isn’t the only thing that thinks?  After reading The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain by Annie Murphy Paul, I am convinced of something I sensed before: there’s more to cognition than the gray matter inside our skulls.

I’m not going to get gushy and suggest we think from the heart. I’ll save that for other writings; for now, let’s stick with The Extended Mind. Murphy Paul discusses cognitive research that points to three factors outside the brain that play a part in thinking: bodies, surroundings, and relationships. It’s not our brain’s job alone to think and process information. For starters, our body is loaded with receptors that help us make sense of the world. The environment around us is a canvas for human creativity, and often acts as a storage space for our thoughts and dreams (e.g., murals, libraries, computers, and graffiti). And the people we walk and talk with every day are indispensable to our cognition. How many times have you had a breakthrough based on advice from a friend, or even an offhand comment from a stranger? Thinking happens everywhere, and some of the most important thinking you do begins outside the brain.

As a “rational” species, we put too much emphasis on what’s between our ears. In one of my favorite TED talks, the late author and scholar Sir Ken Robinson lamented the fact that academic types tend to think of the body as a vehicle for the brain, “a way of getting their head to meetings.” He said if you don’t believe that, you should attend a university holiday party that includes dancing. Once you see their “moves,” you’ll understand that focusing too much on the brain causes us to lose touch with our bodies.

I want to address one final misconception. Emerson wrote that “The ancestor of every action is a thought.” There’s certainly truth to this; how we think informs what we do. But it isn’t a one-way street. The actions and behaviors we take have huge impacts on our mood and our thoughts. Think about how clear-headed you feel after a brisk walk. The simple act of moving your body has the power to turn your day around. Change can come from so many processes. It’s a mistake to believe that everything consequential begins in the mind.

In The Practice of Groundedness, Brad Stulberg argues that it’s nearly impossible to change the way we think or what we feel, but we can control our behaviors. When we act with intention, consistency, and discipline, we create positive changes in our thinking patterns. In other words, if we want to change, we’re better off starting in our bodies, environments, and relationships than in our brains.

Our brains don’t always seem to be on our side, but we have more resources to call on. When we use our bodies and behaviors more intentionally, we can influence that big jerk in our heads to treat us just a little better.

We all have visions of a happier and more successful version of ourselves. Let me know what you want to change in your leadership and we’ll work together to create a plan. Using pragmatic practices and experiments, we will embrace the expanded mind, and put you on a path toward greater success. Email me at bill@getemergent.com to get started.