Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Ian Robertson, author of The Stress Test: How Pressure Can Make You Stronger and Sharper. Published in January by Bloomsbury USA.

Ian is the Professor of Psychology at Trinity College, Dublin and the Founding Director of Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. He has published in Nature, Brain, Journal of Neuroscience the Times and many others. He’s published over 250 articles.

His popular mind science books include The Winner Effect: How Power Affects Your Brain, Mind Sculpture: Unleashing Your Brain’s Potential, The Mind’s Eye: The Essential Guide to Boosting your Mental, Emotional and Physical Powers.

The Stress Test confronts one of our biggest stressors, stress itself and gives us, those who fret and worry, confidence that what is bothering us, making us nervous, panicky, scared, is really just our brain telling us that something exciting is going on. No need to fear or fret. We can turn that fear into excitement. Harness the stress for peaceful purposes and to help enhance our performance. A classic example that Dr. Robertson uses: You’re set to give an important presentation before a sophisticated group of peers and superiors. You’re biting your nails, you’re sweating, you’re pacing back and forth you wonder whether this is it, your job your career. But you know your topic; you’re good at this. Turn that overwhelming sense of dread into a feeling of excitement. “Here is my chance, my opportunity. This adrenaline rush, this “fight or flight” feeling can be used as energy, as fuel, to present myself as best I can.”

Sounds like a difficult and daunting task. But when the whole system is deconstructed as Ian does in this great book, it gives us the ability to understand the processes that are going on and what the brain and what our mind are accomplishing and what they can accomplish together.