Deciding on a Career?

Determining a career is neither an art or an exact science. Research seems to suggests that those of the previous generation will change careers at least three times, and those in the present generatation may change even twice that number of times. That makes "career" less permanent and more intangible. The question may not be "what career should I choose," but rather "what do I love to do and what am I good at doing?" If you can answer both in a manner that align up, then you have the answer to your question. What "career" was to the 1960s, "skills" will be to those living in this era. It's not whether one is an accountant now that will matter, but that he or she has accountant "skills" that will determine their future jobs and security.

One's passion may be just as important as what "career" you would like to enter. Find what you are most passion about (probably something you would even do without pay), and then determine how to make a living at it. That doesn't mean that you would not need training, a college degree, or experience to make it successfully. But, it does mean that if you have a passion for what you are doing you will probably enjoy it more and you will should be working from your areas of strength. Now, granted, that does not mean (for most of us) that my love of baseball and youthful drive to play it...will mean that I can simply count on making it to the major leagues and make big bucks. It didn't happen. And, that would be just about as foolish as the 7th graders I once polled, asking them what they wanted to be/do when they grow up. Some actually said, "To win the lottery." Your passion, however, will propel you with enthusiasm, extra energy, and with the right skills, training, etc., could become very useful in your vocation.

The Brain: Friend, Foe, and Negotiating for a Happy and Productive Life - Part 1

Everyone wants to be happy. For some, they believe that is the ultimate goal. The brain wants to be happy but seldom really is for very long. In fact, the brain can be quite unhappy, and even brutal at times. As I have studied and pondered the concept of learning for the past 25 years, I have made some recent conclusions that I might have not believed as a young man or may have thought to be quite off-the-wall. Experience, training, research and years in the classroom, has given me a great deal of fodder to weigh, measure, and observe. The puzzle was always fascinating and the journey always exciting, which spurred on my interest for these many years. Having published on the concepts of learning, science, education, etc. provided a framework in which to not only examine how we learn or how we learn best, but also an easel upon which to try out different methods, change old strategies, and to improve upon what does work and to try to avoid what doesn't work, especially in the classroom. 

As a member of the human race, I have, too, had my challenges, my ups-and-downs, my trying to master certain subjects, content, or even skills, in order to be a better teacher, a more productive person, and a balanced individual, often encumbered with responsibilities and demands on my time or patience. It's life...it's living. It is what we all face. In overlapping these concepts of "happiness," the "brain," and "learning," became a lifelong process and one that sometimes even elating, and at other times confusing, if not depressing, even. It was a professional endeavor but, as one can imagine, became a personal matter, especially as one contemplates their own thoughts, thought processes, mood swings, personal interests, and just the normal day-to-day activities of trying to balance life in a happy but meaningful manner. 

With that introduction out of the way, allow me to share what I believe to be quite possibly the most profound concept that I have ever encountered, and quite possibly the most profound concept I have ever entertained, while drawing from the knowledge, studies, and research I have been consumed with for the last two decades. This concept centers around three separate but very interactive components of human life:  1) the brain, 2) thinking, and, 3) negotiation.

The purpose of the brain is not something often discussed though scientists and psychologists will tell you that the brain is designed for one main task: self-preservation. The brain in a human being is first and foremost going to seek to preserve itself, and by preserving itself, it preserves the individual over which it has the most control over, self. There are probably a few exceptions to this thought but all-in-all, the main purpose of my brain is to keep alive. Most of us, myself included, generally considered the brain to be us, "me." I and my brain are one and how could it be otherwise? Or, could it? Most people recognize that humans are made up of three entities: the body, the soul, and the spirit. Some go to lengths to discuss how this is so, and some go to lengths to seek to show why this is not so. That is not the mission of this manuscript. On a lighter side, there is the funny and proverbial "me, myself, and I." The point here is not to argue but to move forward. As a person who is well-trained in science, I am also a person of faith. I accept that there is a body, soul, and spirit. What all it means I don't pretend to understand. What it might mean is partially the purpose of this topic and text. I only ask that you be open and consider the concept and then compare it with your own knowledge, experiences, and even practices.

What if...we do have a body, which we know and feel and feed and dress and sometimes exercise, and, we have a brain which was designed to keep us alive (self-preservation), but we also have a soul that is the real me, or the real you. Someone once explained that "the soul is that which is you and that you see me with when you look out your eyes." Obviously, that analogy has some problems, but the essence makes sense. What if I have me...that which makes up who I am, my morality, my personality, that which is most important to me? What if me (we will call it the "soul") was given a body in which to house and support me, along with a brain, in which to protect me and to help me learn, think, ponder, speculate, and even keep me accountable in some measure? So, I have a body, I obviously need one and I use it to do many things, including mobility, vocational, and to take me on great hikes in the woods. I have a brain that, generally, is very helpful. With it, I learn to think, talk, converse, study, research, manipulate thoughts, and to somewhat "tell me what to do." Now, here is the key that has become more and more clear in the last 5-7 years, and one I share thoughtfully, but carefully. That sounds so wonderful and should lead to a perfect and happy life, having such an "assistant". But wait, is it always so? In fact, how often is life (with my body and my brain (a personal trainer, if you will) perfect and happy?). In practice, that is a small percentage of the time. Sometimes my body is not happy. Sometimes my brain doesn't seem too happy. In fact, sometimes my brain is my worse enemy. 

Self-talks, I became interested in this concept in my early twenties. There are several good books available that discuss self-talks. They are interesting, and though we all do it, most of us take it lightly or laugh about engaging in them. But, what if this isn't really a joking matter...why do we do self-talks? Yes, there are those recorded messages that we play over and over that, we obtained from a very young age, generally originating with our parents and sibling, and later with friends or teachers. But the question is, if my brain is me and not separate from me, then how could I even have a conversation with myself...and yet, we do, and we do so often? I do not mean to suggest that our brains are entirely separate from us, but I have come to conclude that it is more separate from me (my soul) than I had admitted in days gone by. 

Allow me to put all of the cookies on the bottom shelf right up front to share with everyone, and then I will develop these concepts more and more as they become clearer to me in my quest of how the brain works, how we best learn, and why sometimes our brains are NOT our best friend.  I am beginning to conceptualize that we are, indeed, far more of the trilogy of body, soul, mind, than we really ever considered. It's not just folklore that we consider plausible but never do anything about. What is the brain is provided for us and we benefit from its protectiveness? But, we also suffer from its peculiarities, which include addictions, the need for novelty, and even the self-critical manner in which it tells us how sorry or pathetic or less valuable we are than others? Often, I am my worse enemy. Or, am I? Or is it, possibly, more accurate to say that my brain is my worse enemy? That would seem very contradictory, would it not? To say that the brain is self-preserving but then causes me to feel like a pathetic excuse for a human being. Or, to be hypercritical because of just spilling a bowl of soup on the carpet? Think about it. My brain often acts like my mother...or worse, my brain acts as the proverbial army sergeant, barking at me like I deserve no respect. 

I do benefit from having a brain (now I sound like the Scarecrow!). With my brain I have access to thinking (sequentially and sometimes, even, laterally), I can comprehend, I can store information and memories. I can avoid some dangers that are pointed out for me. I can be reminded of the responsibilities I have, places I need to be, and even recall and respond to people I love or need in my life. I can reflect on the past and contemplate the future. I can hypothesize, test, and even validate information or events or concepts, even occasionally in an objective way. My brain is great! Well, except when it isn't. It can cause me to think thoughts I have never ever entertained before. Out of the blue can come thoughts that can be quite surprising or even startling to me. Sometimes, however, I can get a glimpse of an idea that is outstanding, some that I may even be able to act upon. 

One should be able to recognize the dilemma this interaction between the brain and self can be. One minute it's my best friend and I'm running to the shop to feed it a chocolate fudge milkshake, then in another moment it is telling me how stupid I am or how pathetic I am at choosing my wardrobe, or that I should tell my boss off for her insensitivity to the hours I am working. Truly...there are times when you have stopped and said, probably at the end of your rope, "That's enough!" Psychologist and professor Jordan Peterson made the statement in one of his lectures that we need to "negotiate" with our brain. What IF my brain and I are not entirely one and the same? What IF my soul has a great deal of access (and benefit) from my brain but it is not fully me, and it is more of a "tool" to help me and could actually serve me? 

Let us go back to the idea presented earlier and develop it. The idea of self-talk. If the brain and I were one and the same, I probably would find it very difficult to carry on a conversation with myself without it becoming a laughing joke. But, self-talks are real. The "voice," if you will, are not uncommon. Some people suppress vocal activity or practice more than others, but the conversations between my brain and myself (soul) are numerous each day, and maybe each hour. Sometimes the talks are very enlightening and sometimes they border on the bizarre. If my brain and I are one and the same then how can I sometimes be startled by what comes to mind? Or, what about those times when I have to just stop, take a breath, and say, "That just isn't so" or "enough of that foolishness, back to the real world"? It happens. Where the subconscious fits within this realm is difficult to ascertain. Could the subconscious be more connected to the soul-portion than the brain-portion? 

In bringing Part 1 to a conclusion, it seems logical and pans out anecdotally that our brain and our soul and body are all quite separate from one another. Each has a role in serving the soul, the real you and the real me. Sometimes it serves us well, especially in that it seeks to be self-preservative. Keeping itself (the brain) alive keeps us alive. However, not everything that that brain suggests to us is helpful, and in many instances it hurtful, and in some cases (such as addiction) it is fatal. What may actually need to be occurring, and which isn't because we are not really cognizant of thinking of the brain as being a separate entity, is that we might need to learn how to negotiate with the brain. We recognize that in business negotiations, win-win is very positive and helps all parties. Negotiating with our own brain, may, in part, be the key to a happy and fulfilling life.