Greetings, reader! In this article we will talk about the catastrophe of humanity. And if you found this article by searching " Why am I such a loser?", then you already understand what I'm talking about we'll talk. Rotating among my interests, I often come across personal growth GURUs, teachers of success, and there are also magicians and sorcerers and other charlatans. Well, God bless them, let them be. This is what I wanted to say... The abundance of these pseudo experts of all stripes suggests that the majority of people are not able to set a goal for themselves, draw up some kind of plan and follow this plan. After all, demand creates supply.

And just all those who call themselves losers and they think that they are fatally unlucky - they simply do not know how to plan and are not able to discern a chain of events that have cause-and-effect relationships and lead to a certain result. To such people it may indeed seem that all this is a successful (unsuccessful) coincidence of circumstances. Everyone is just lucky. So such a loser goes to the MAGU - the Sorcerer, so that he would attract good luck to him at a reasonable price of 5,000 rubles (I read it in the newspaper).

Now I will reveal to you terrible secret... Correctly setting a goal, drawing up a plan to achieve this goal and strict, disciplined adherence to the plan - these are all INNATE ABILITIES OF EVERY PERSON! Exactly. Everything that leads a person to success is already a priori inherent in everyone! And these abilities have an exclusively neurophysiological basis.

Frontal lobes of the brain

Just above the eyes and just behind the frontal bone are located frontal lobes your brain. In principle, these structures are the crowning achievement of evolution. Over the course of evolution, ours (in most cases) grew threefold in size, but our frontal lobes grew in size sixfold. This suggests that the main evolutionary work took place in this part of the brain. So what's the big deal? In general, these structures have two main tasks:

1. Regulation of the general tone of the cerebral cortex (Carried out in interaction with)
2. Regulation of the course of the main forms of mental activity.

The second point should be dealt with in more detail... A lot of time has passed since the death of Rene Descartes and his work on the dualism of soul and body. Since then, most people have understood that the soul is inseparable from the body and exists only together with the body. So it is in the frontal lobes of the brain that our soul, our self, our “I” is located (please do not disturb religious fanatics). All the hardest mental processes, which make up our personality, occur in the cortex of the frontal lobes. Disturbance in the functioning of the CLD or its physical damage inevitably leads to a change in personality.

Phineas Gage

One of the most bright examples damage to the frontal cortex is the story of station worker Phineas Gage. He worked for railway and was a responsible, efficient and disciplined worker. And then, in 1848, as a result of an accident, a metal rod pierced Phineas’s head. It entered under the chin and exited through the top of the head. The rod miraculously missed vital areas of the brain.

It only partially destroyed his frontal lobes, and Phineas remained alive and able to work. However, Phineas was no longer the same. He became rude, impatient, irritable and irresponsible. His personality changed dramatically. This was a completely different person. But Phineas Gage himself did not notice any changes. For him, everything remained the same as it was.

Main functions

Regardless of your mentality, your bad or not so bad character, food and sex preferences, the frontal lobe cortex has built-in functions that are there by default:

1. Concentration and voluntary attention
2. Critical thinking (evaluating actions)
3. Social behavior (control of aggression and animal instincts)
4. Motivation
5. Setting goals
6. Developing a plan to achieve your goals
7. Monitoring the implementation of the plan

Well, and a lot of other interesting things, but... Girls and boys, if you don’t have enough happiness for happiness, and you don’t have enough success for success, then I will make you happy. Both happiness and success (success) are inherent in you by nature. And then you tell me - “All this, of course, is very cool and nice, but then why don’t we have a damn thing about it?!”

It is likely that you are dealing with mild dysfunction of the frontal cortex. There is no need to be afraid. Psychiatrists are generally confident that 99% of people urgently need their help :) In general, this mild dysfunction may be a consequence of the fact that the brain has simply become soft. And this is the main reason for most people. Our civilization is designed so well and conveniently that most people simply have nowhere to use their brains, so they lose their shape. All roads have been traveled, all people have been studied, and at work, tasks of the same type are performed almost automatically. And when you return from work, you turn on the TV. Well, it’s just not life, but a fairy tale ( conditioned reflex). And when are you in last time Have you read a smart book?! So don't complain now...

By and large, points 5, 6, and 7 are purely cognitive, i.e. they can be trained. I hope that, having applied your feeble skills of deduction and logic, you will still agree that what you now call success or failure is a plan, well or poorly thought out and executed. And it seems like luck to you because right now you are simply not able to discern this plan.

So... To learn to plan, you need to plan (no matter how stupid it may sound). Set goals and make plans for any occasion. Pour tea, go pee-pee, scratch in... where it itches, etc. Your brain will very quickly begin to respond to this conscious planning and soon it will become normal on more global levels. Next, the level of motivation will be restored, because mental functions quickly return to normal in a working brain.

I don’t expect you to understand that simple things can have profound consequences, and I understand that many people will not want to engage in (as it may seem at first glance) “stupid stuff.” Therefore, play checkers, chess and any other Board games, requiring planning. If you don't believe me, at least try it. After all, it won't get any worse. And when you are convinced that I am right, return to the site. Here you will find many more interesting things :)

Summary

In general, it’s like that, my friend... You’re not Jonah!!! There is no such thing as good luck or bad luck. There is only the presence of a plan or its absence. You have planning abilities by default, you just need to awaken them a little, and very soon you will realize that you sent money to this nice gentleman in Morocco in vain. 🙂 Take action and everything will work out!

P.S. Generally frontal cortex- this is a very broad topic, and you cannot cram all this material into one article, no matter how much you would like to. And therefore the next few articles will be devoted to frontal cortex. So, if you liked it, follow the publications.

How do children learn to manage their behavior? Why does one child simply snatch the toy taken away from the offender, while another in the same situation uses words? Which part of the brain is responsible for children thinking first and then doing? The authors of a new book tell you how to help your child develop their organizational skills.

Organizational skills: what are they?

Today, scientists agree that the frontal lobes of the brain play a key role in the development of organizational skills. The prefrontal region of the brain develops later than others, at the end adolescence or at the very beginning of adulthood. This is the general area where information is processed and decisions are made about how we will behave. Considering essential functions frontal lobes, it is easy to see how important these structures are in the development of organizational skills.

1. The frontal lobes guide our behavior, helping us decide what to pay attention to and what actions to take. Example: A seven-year-old boy sees his brother watching TV. He wants to sit next to him, but decides he'll finish first homework, because he knows that otherwise the father will be unhappy.
2. The frontal lobes integrate our behavior patterns. Therefore, we can use previous experiences to guide our behavior and make decisions. Example: A ten-year-old girl remembers that last week, after she cleaned her room, her mother allowed her to invite her friend over. She decides to do the cleaning in hopes that she can do it again.
3. The frontal lobes help us control our emotions and behavior, taking into account external and internal constraints in satisfying our needs and desires. The frontal lobes, which regulate emotions and interactions with others, help us meet our needs without causing problems for ourselves and others. Example: A mother tells her six-year-old son that they will buy a video game at the store. But when they get there they see that the game you want out of stock. The boy gets angry, but does not throw a tantrum on the spot, but makes his mother promise that they will look for the game in other stores.
4. The frontal lobes study, evaluate, and “adjust” a situation, allowing us to adjust our behavior or choose a new strategy based on new data. Example: a twelve-year-old boy did not go on a class excursion because he was the only one who did not bring a note from his parents. Next time he will remember about it and on the evening before the trip he will check whether the note is in his briefcase.

Will a child develop organizational skills on his own, without our intervention - simply due to the natural development of the brain? After all, at birth they potentially already exist. Today it is known that the frontal lobes and, accordingly, organizational skills require 18-20 years for full development - from the birth of a child until approximately his adulthood.

It is clear that children cannot rely solely on their frontal lobes to control their behavior in infancy and later. What to do? We can "lend" them our own frontal lobes. After all, being a parent means both supporting the development of organizational skills and performing some tasks for the child.

Development of working memory in a child

In the earliest stages of a child's life, you essentially become his frontal lobe. He himself can still do very little. You plan and organize his environment so that it is safe and comfortable, monitor his condition (sleep, nutrition), initiate interactions and solve problems when the child is upset.

Managing Behavior and Containing Emotions

It's time to discuss a second key skill that begins to develop in infancy around the same time as working memory: response latency. The ability to react or not react to a person (event) is the basis of behavior management. We all know what difficult situations our children can - and do - get into trouble when they act first and think later. And we are amazed at the self-control of a child who sees a tempting object and does not touch it.

When a baby begins to develop working memory (at about 6 months), we do not see any obvious changes. However, from 6 to 12 months, the baby's ability to inhibit a reaction develops rapidly. Here is a nine-month-old baby crawling after his mother into the next room. A month earlier he would have been distracted by his favorite toy on the way, but now he moves past it straight to his mother. During this same period, the baby can already restrain some emotions and show others depending on the situation.

You probably also tried to involve a child of this age in some activity, but he did not react at all and even turned away. Sounds like a refusal, doesn't it? Already at this age, the child begins to understand the powerful effect of reacting or not reacting to a person or situation. A three- or four-year-old child demonstrates this skill by “using words” instead of hitting an offender who tries to snatch a toy from him. A nine-year-old child uses it when he looks around before running across the street to get a ball. And a seventeen-year-old demonstrates this skill by obeying the speed limit, rather than agreeing to a friend's suggestion: “Let's see what this car can do.”

All parents are well aware of the importance of delayed reaction skills: its absence can be dangerous or lead to conflicts. When your baby was a baby, especially when he started crawling, you lent him your frontal lobes and their functions by setting boundaries for him, closing doors, using plugs for sockets, and even just cleaning dangerous items from his access area. In addition, you provided him with constant control. Of course you used words - a sharp "No!" or "It's hot!"

The tasks of parents who “lend” their child their frontal lobes can be divided into two types: organizing the environment and direct guidance. By observing your behavior and trying to copy it, the child learns and uses new skills. A reasonable sequence of rituals and expectations will help here. You also use language when giving instructions to your child. Over time, he will begin to use these same words, initially speaking them loudly to himself to control his behavior. Will gradually develop" inner voice", which only he himself will hear. We will not have to replace the child's frontal lobes throughout his life. Once he has an inner voice, he will be able to perform these functions himself.

From various sources of information (books, TV, etc.) you can hear that a person uses his brain at 10% of his maximum capabilities. This figure is a myth, since several are involved in the work of the brain at once, and they are constantly in a certain activity.

If a person is often exposed to stress and other external provoking factors, including age, brain activity decreases significantly and brain development slows down. This is expressed in a decrease in mental performance and other aspects.

To avoid gradual depression of brain activity, you should constantly support and develop your brain with various additional exercises. For this there are many in various ways, how to develop brains, which we will talk about in this article. Before moving on to exercise, a person must prepare his brain, which allows him to organize A complex approach.