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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About The Well

Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.

Together, let's learn from them.

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