If you were to buy a car, a computer, a games console or even a toy of some sort, then in all likelihood it would come with an instruction manual of some sort so that you could find your way around it and how you should use it.

This is important because it allows you to get the very most from it and it allows you to avoid making mistakes that could damage it.

But unfortunately, the most important and most complex things in the world come with no such instruction manual. Take children for example: any new parent will tell you just how dismayed they were when they realized that no one could tell them how to be an effective mother/father.

And then there’s the big one: our own brains. These are the most complex supercomputers in the entire world and they are what create all of our subjective feelings, sensations and experiences. And yet our brains come with no instructions and no guidance: we are left simply to try and figure them out on our own.

So, the question becomes: how can you master your brain?

Fortunately, neuroscientists and psychologists are uncovering more of the brain’s secrets every single day. While there is still a huge amount left to learn, we know more than we ever did, and a lot of this information can be used practically to help us become happier, smarter and more effective versions of ourselves.