Increasing Your Brain's Processing Capacity

The brain is in a lot of ways like the computer. It has a CPU, an operating system and a RAM. And we all have different configurations. I have met people who have very high CPU, high-end computing capacity. They process complex information fast and easily. They are not easily overwhelmed by the tasks and decisions they encounter everyday.

We also have different operating systems. It's usually a mix of what we learned growing up (the culture we were immersed in), what we put in conscious effort to learn (education) and our personal philosophies. It is the reason you prefer beef to duck meat: you grew up eating beef. Our operating system is what makes us great at some job roles or tasks and not great at some other tasks. It is what makes the difference between a nerd and a socialite. 

Then, we've all got different (short term) memory capacity. 

Today, I will be talking about the interesting part of this all. Something I have paid attention to for 8 years now and have experimented with in my life. And it is that you can upgrade your CPU, update your OS and increase your RAM.  And substantially.

image: blog.tutorhub.com

A quick illustration of the CPU upgrade I most recently underwent is by quitting my job. Maybe it's going to be an extreme example but it brings out the idea I want share neatly. Here's a list of the comparison of my CPU features before I quit my job and now:

1. I couldn't pick more than a few phone calls a day without having a headache. Now I can pick and make lots of phone call a day without getting too stressed out. My CPU now handles more phone conversations than before.
2. I couldn't manage doing too many tasks at once. I would rather have one task, spend all the time it would take to finish it before moving to another task. Now, I am constantly doing many jobs at once. Today, I will be doing two jobs. Oscillating between them. My CPU can now multi-task better.
3. It used to take just a few requests to overwhelm me and I would be sick when my salary is delayed by one week. Now, I am constantly inundated with requests and my payment delayed by over a month. My CPU is now upgraded to handle such high resource situations without frying out.
4. I program faster and more efficiently. I write faster and better. I think faster and wider. My CPU is obviously upgraded.

And as for my OS. By reading and joining the right community of people, I have been able to update my OS to a less buggy and more productive one. I now do more with the same resources and have a better understanding of a lot of things -- especially business and personal fulfillment.

Finally, for my RAM. I don't think it has increased since 2012 when I become good at using my left hand.

The point I want you to walk into this new week with is that nothing in your life has to stay the same, not even brain configuration. You can improve any aspect of your life that you want to. You can change your thinking (OS), you can grow your base competence and life skills (CPU) and you can have a better short-term memory. You can be better. And faster.