Last year I was preparing for CAT(Common Admission Test)- an entrance
exam for securing admission to Indias most prestigious Management
Colleges.I worked hard for 6 months and did very well in Mock tests.On
the D-Day, 20th of November 2005, which was also my Birth Day, things
didn't go as planned.Once the examination bell rang my mind just
blacked out.I struggled to solve simple questions in a paper which
otherwise I would have cracked quite easily.Once out of the examination
hall it dawned upon me that my performance was quite horrendous and
that I would be missing the ivy league bus.My dreams of being a student
of an
elite institute were shattered.This had never happened to me before,
but I had choked very badly.When it mattered the most, I had failed
miserably.I just didnt know why... until I read this book.
Chapter No.6 titled 'Seven Seconds in the Bronx' provided me with what
I believe was a satisfactory explanation for my failure.The range
in which stress improves human performance is when the heart rate is
between 115-145 beats per minute.But beyond 145, bad things start to
happen. At 175, there is a complete breakdown of cognitive processing
and motor skills, and the mid brain- the part of your brain that is
same as your dog's- reaches up and hijacks the forebrain.If the above
mentioned situation takes place during a competitive exam
(focussing on mental aptitude),then you are done for.
.. and that's
precisely what happened
to me.If a person becomes too aroused past a certain point, then his
body begins shutting down so many sources of information that he
practically becomes useless.
Blink focuses on the smallest component of our everyday lives -
intuition.Have you ever been in a situation when you felt deep within
your heart that something was not right about a particular endeavor you
were about to undertake, but you didn't know why and in the end it
turned out just as badly as initially you had thought, or more
appropriately, FELT.This book is about those instantaneous impressions
and split-second conclusions that arise spontaneously within us and how
we can make good use of this instinctive ability and become better
decision makers.
If on reading this review you spontaneously feel deep within your heart
that you have to purchase this book, then just do it.A snap judgement
made very quickly can actually be more effective than one made
deliberately and cautiously. Moreover you won't regret it. Take my word
for it. My intuition says so.