Can "Free-will" overpower Brain circuits?

We have heard lots of jargons which talks about our willpower.

Strength does not come from physical capacity it comes from indomitable will: Mahatma Gandhi, 

Who is firm in will, moulds the world to himself: Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, 

“People do not lack strength; they lack will.” Victor Hugo

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” Vince Lombardi

and the list goes on.......

Since our childhood we are asked by our parents and teachers that no matter what comes in your way you should be able to do the task if you are willing to do. Enough of this will-power sermon. Here I am not going to talk about it. What's new on our plate in 21st century is something called "Free-will". I don't know how many of you guys have heard about it or are even aware about it but let me throw some light on it.

The roots of free-will lies deep into the field of neuro research. Sam Harrison has even written a complete book as "Free Will" which is a very debatable book. First of all let us define "free-will". As the word says the will which is not under any influence it is free, your brain can take any decision which it wants. People take lots of decision in a day. Most of the decision are taken sub-consciously and people don't even acknowledge that this is some sort of decision we have taken. E.g. What to eat in lunch if you have a buffet? What to wear today to office? and so on... But what if science says that all these decisions you have taken could be easily guessed by the person who is monitoring you. You are taken aback as if your identity is stolen. First thought: Am I too predictable? (Whole stuff on which OTTs hack your viewing choices!!). Yeah you are..

But here comes the twist!! Research says that if consciously monitored a person can take charge of himself and can make the best decisions which may not be predictable, if he takes charge of the "Free Will". Imagine some random options are provided to an audience to select any one thing from the menu. Now, each and very individual will make decision at different point of time. so the time when a person thinks of some option and freezes that option completely there is a lag of time. This lag of time is basically called the Illusion of free will. It is at this moment that person feels he is making a decision but in reality he is NOT! But it can be shown through scientific techniques like fMRI that you didn't take decision,  it was the impact of the surroundings or other external factors which just pushed you forward to put a seal on the obvious decision. Your decision can be influenced (This is the game which marketers want to play around with you so that you just buy their brand ..lol!!) Now, this is a moment of crisis for a person as people think that they are unique but if they are puppets guided by external factors, this does not make sense!

Now, Prof Moraf Cerf, a neuroscientist has shown that our brains do not have one identity there are lots of conflicts and lots of fight going  inside and it is like whosoever wins the arguments inside wins the battle. He further says that our brain can be profiled by understanding its true nature of decision mapping with the brain activities. It can prove that some people can take better decision in morning, some in evening, some when they are hungry some when they are full and so on...These critical findings about oneself makes person to perform the best in the current state of affairs. and therefore he is actually on board of so many multinational companies to help CEOs better decisions!!

So what is in there store for us because not everyone can access the means to oneself better in these ways and improves in day to day affairs. So there is a very powerful narrative which plays a role in each and every individual's life. It is this narrative to which we all are tied and just make a boundary and define ourselves. If someone says Life has dejected me that person will always live in that impression and never be able to take control of whatever is going around. Prof Cerf further tells about that we have a memory with which we can actually play with. The illusion created by our imperfect memories is just what we feed daily to ourselves. If we recall one particular incident which was crucial in your life, each and every time narration will be painted by the present state of mind and will be restored in memory. We slowly and slowly alters our memory and our emotions unconsciously. The type of people who are around us affects our brain activity. Science has shown that when two person are sitting next to each other their brain activities do interact with each other. It alters our brain deep inside. If you are in the company of humorous people it will start altering your brain activities and both brains will become similar after much interaction. It's very important that we should surround ourselves by people who we like to become. 

Thus Free will becomes guided will if we are conscious about it. Its illusion of being free is in existence only till the time we don't acknowledge it. The moment we acknowledge it's Boom....

Human beings are special because they communicate with each other, they are affected by the environment and makes an impact on each other's thinking process. Our brain circuits are complex structures which interacts and evolves. this is the reason we have strong communities, we can influence people by the way we talk, by the way we have a narration, a story to talk about we have belief systems. This is the reason that movies, stories, Tv shows across the world influences our belief system. In today's electronic world, we can watch videos, access books from any corner of the world, this is what alters our brain. Our brain always communicates, it always talks this is how we improve ourselves. It surpasses thoughts which it don't want to be strong and solidifies the  persona which it wants to wear. 

So just try to feed good to your brain as a daily dose!!