The Power of Choice

Brain health is a topic of interest for all beyond a certain age.

I’ve seen people with high intelligence become demented, but in some cases, they retain their core competence. I’ve met a writer and doctor who have lost short-term memory but do their professional activity with great alacrity.

The changes you discuss here may be age-related.

What concerns me more than this is that people believe whatever they hear from multiple sources. Nobody bothers to verify facts. It can be as easy as a Google search after reading a social media post or as tricky as seeking information under the Right to Information Act from government sources. In some cases, the stories may not be verifiable at all.

Power-seekers use this weakness successfully by rewriting history and manipulating the education system.

The British created an education system in India to prepare employees at lower levels in the administrative system. The system is not designed to think or encourage research; it is designed to memorise and reproduce in the examination. Employees were not expected to question anything.

India is a multi-cultural society with people from all religious sects having lived and ruled here. The religious wars led to manipulating history textbooks to showcase leaders from their sects. In some cases, facts are changed instead of editing highlights.

If history is a subject relegated to museums at the mercy of those in power, we might as well let it go. While great emphasis is on drawing lessons from the past, some may not be relevant at all. America became a superpower despite not having a cultural heritage as rich as the East.

I see people being pulled in different directions and shamed by others for having a particular lifestyle.

What matters ultimately is Choice, and the brain should be developed to evaluate reality before acting on belief. This empowerment to choose and evaluate is a crucial aspect of personal growth.

Beliefs are not all yours; those are ingrained, planted or imposed.

Growth is all about change, and change involves the generation of new neural pathways.

How do we ensure that?

Friday Faithfuls at MLMM – Keeping Sharp