Train your brain’s emotional intelligence with metacognition | Arthur Brooks

You’ve heard of cognition. Now, here’s metacognition: the act of thinking about thinking.

Arthur Brooks, author and public speaker, explains how metacognition helps us reflect on our emotional life, allowing our prefrontal cortex to evaluate signals from the limbic system. For instance, telling children to "use their words" instead of screaming encourages them to engage their prefrontal cortex. The same applies to adults: interrogate your emotions before reacting, and you might just become a more emotionally healthy person.

According to Brooks, this is a skill that can be developed over time, so if you’re new to the idea of consciously regulating your own emotions, it’s not too late. He stresses that negative emotions - though unenjoyable - are entirely normal and are even representative of a healthy brain. What matters is how we engage with these negative emotions and what lessons we take away from the experiences they give us.

Metacognition is a skill that requires patience and self-kindness. With enough practice and effort, we all can learn to master this ability and enhance our own happiness, as well as the happiness of those around us.

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About Arthur Brooks:

Arthur C. Brooks is a professor at both the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, where he teaches public and nonprofit leadership and management practice. Before joining Harvard in July 2019, he spent ten years as the president of the American Enterprise Institute, a well-known public policy think tank in Washington, DC.

Brooks has written 11 books, including the bestsellers "Love Your Enemies" (2019), "The Conservative Heart" (2015), and "The Road to Freedom" (2012). He writes a column for The Atlantic, hosts the podcast "The Art of Happiness with Arthur Brooks," and is featured in the 2019 documentary "The Pursuit." He also serves on the board of the Legatum Institute, a think tank in London.

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[jja]

"stop being so limbic, use your prefrontal cortex more" I'm going to start using that

[danielbuckman]

I've been working on mastering this skill for years now. If I sense myself getting upset I take a deep breath, say nothing, and think about the situation thoroughly, .

[DigSamurai]

Decision is the ultimate power. Learn to respond not react. This is especially important for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

[Idtelos]

"Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think." - Jean de La Bruyère

[locaterobin]

2:27 What has worked for me is to start pausing before talking even in normal circumstances, so it becomes routine and thus more likely to happen when I am emotionally agitated.

[NaeemKhan-udvw]

I found that writing does the job of metacognition. It helps you to think about your thinking.

[EmpowermentPsychology]

This message is so powerful and important! As a therapist and combat veteran, I've seen firsthand how critical it is to develop the skills of metacognition and emotional regulation. It's not just about reacting to our emotions but understanding them and making conscious decisions about how we respond. This ability to pause, reflect, and manage emotions is something I work on with my clients every day, especially veterans dealing with trauma and PTSD.

The techniques shared in this video resonate deeply with the work I do, and it's a reminder that emotional regulation is a skill we can all practice and improve. If anyone's interested, I've been creating content to support veterans and anyone struggling with trauma, PTSD, and related issues on my channel, Empowerment Psychology. Keep up the great work—this is the kind of knowledge that truly helps people lead happier lives!

[strongwings]

Metacognition with mindfulness is enormously powerful

[MrJoaodom]

This is it, brilliant and explained in a beautiful simple way, like a a good professor, mentor should do. Using pauses when you communicate, especially when you are disagreeing, helps you not to counter attack, instead, helping to get to a common place. Thank you as allways Big Think ❤

[dpurdynyc]

When I made a presentation titled ‘Storytelling and Meaningmaking’ for a conference at Stanford University in 2018, I reflected the previous 20 years of neuroscience, which this presenter doesn’t seem to be aware of! The essence of metacognition has been around for thousands of years. It boils down to suppressing our emotions ISO absolute logic. But neuroscientists like VS Ramachandran have made it clear that emotions have an evolutionary purpose. In a nutshell, they help us to feel what’s important in our lives in terms of those around us and our place on the planet. Daniel Kahneman also did a beautiful job of summarizing these ideas in his book Thinking Fast and Slow. This sort of advice has fostered a zero-sum game where the only way to get by is to beat the other person rather than to work with them in a way that could create a win-win solution. I’m startled that the Templeton foundation can’t do better than this! (I do like his socks, though)

[benhudson]

, ,,,awareness of being aware, , , , oh the joy of being

[Anil]

I habitually do this. I didn't know it was a technique. I also have a tendency to be introspective. I tend to evaluate my feelings and situations at the end of the day. It helps me navigate life.

[HadiUmarBhatti]

He who can control all his emotions and limbic system, has superpower.

[JalalTareen]

Can’t explain my appreciation to your channel and your content ❤
Thank you so much for your effort.

[renukadogra]

It's same like
"Too much sense can blow your mind"

[azharmuhammedu]

Thanks for sharing such useful knowledge. Please consider doing a longer video explaining more ways to master metacognition.

[ungalohoganga]

Meditation is awesome for building that skill. It really creates a window between feeling and action in which you can consciously think about it and reach the best possible reaction

[mohitsperspective]

‘Metacognition is like prefrontal cortex watching your limbic brain’ 💯

[atlasdev]

It's crazy how many people in this comment section do not realize what this is about.
Reacting to your negative emotions usually leads to negative outcomes, such as big fights between couples or road rage.
He isn't saying that you should become a robot and not have any emotions at all. He says you should analyze your emotions and ensure they don't harm your life and those around you.

[giangbloom]

I have a little hack to calm myself down by looking at myself in a mirror when I feel distressed…. It kinda rewires my brain to be more aware of how I look like and what action i’m going to take