The frontal lobe

The frontal lobe (the part of our brain immediately behind our forehead) was once thought to be inessentialby psychologists. This was assumed because there were case studies of injuries (including a man with a giant steel bar penetrating the front of his skull), where the subjects were capable of most daily tasks despite the massive damage to their frontal lobe. What has been since realized, is that the frontal lobe assists our ability to plan and execute events in the future, and that without it we would be confined to the present.

I contemplated practicing not thinking about the future for a day as my adventure, but I completely chickened out - party because I had a seriously hard time going 60s without thinking about the future. However, given this strong drive to think about the future, we humans find it very difficult (..almost impossible) to remain consistently in the present - an ability that almost all other creatures posses (without choice in the matter). In fact, humans spend lifetimes in the pursuit of staying present through meditation, and the rest of us struggle on a daily basis to stay present to the "now". For example, anytime I almost pass right by a good friend in the hallway without seeing them I realize how far my mind has drifted. ...to address this in your life - I recommend: ...breathing.

today's challenge: despite that interesting intro, I ended up doing something not really related. I tried not to speak the self-referencing word "I" during dim-sum with friends, a meeting with my adviser about my thesis defense, or during volley ball practice ...

This challenge was pretty much a total MISS. After 5 minutes at Dim Sum people asked me why I was so quiet...it was really hard! It was probably painful to hear me speak - because stories you over-thought and awkwardly expressed. In fact this exercise removes me even more consistently from the present because I have to be in my head planning instead being with the people I am with an enjoying their company. I noticed when it is almost impossible to bring up a topic without the word "I" and that some conversations do not need any "I"s at all...interesting, but certainly one of the most half-baked adventures so far...