Mega Thinking

If you decided to travel to another country and you had the choice of going first class or economy class, of course you would go first class. The same applies to your life,” says Charles Donoghue. There is practically nothing you cannot do in this life, unless you allow yourself to be negatively influenced by others.  
Donoghue explains that the human brain, with its one hundred billion brain cells or neurons, holds unlimited potential to create literally anything we can imagine. However, we use as little as 10 percent of it and that’s where Mega Thinking comes in.  
Described by the author as a step-by-step guide, the book explores how to reprogram your brain and stretch yourself mentally to find your potential.       
This is the Auckland-based, performance psychology coach and speaker’s fifth book on self-understanding and motivation and looks at ‘big thinking’, or ‘power thinking’. This does not mean thinking ‘big’ or having big goals, but is about how you think and develop your thought patterns to understand the real you, not the individual others tell you, you are.  
Donoghue shows how the human mind is programmed at a very early age and how a disproportionate amount of the programming is negative, which “restricts achievement of the human potential”.
Writing about his own very unhappy childhood, Donoghue says, like him, you can turn your life into whatever you want it to be. 
There is, however, a surfeit of information on personal development and what works for one may not have the same effect on another because we all think differently, Donoghue claims. “That’s why I emphasise the importance of building a strong self-image, which is what this book is really all about.”
Firstly, Donoghue looks at how the brain is programmed, supported by a number of quotes from experts in the field like psychologist Dr. Carl Rogers; Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics; Martin Seligman, president of the American Psychological Assoc; psychologist and author Caroline Myss; and addiction-compulsion specialist Mary Bell. 
How to control and alter your thoughts and develop personal growth, follows. This includes memory techniques for quicker recall, as well as a ten question ‘Alert Quiz’, to see how alert you are – a quality said to be essential in the development of a Mega Thinking brain. 
There are also examples of how to incorporate the fairly new concept of brain exercises called ‘neurobics’ into daily life, along with the five basic steps to follow to activate ‘The Law of Attraction’, at the core of the successful book and film ‘The Secret’. This works on the principle of ‘like energy attracts’.
Donoghue says great visionaries in history like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell were able to visualise the final outcome of their goals and were masters of ‘The Law of Attraction’.  
While some parts of the book are complex and difficult to follow, Mega Thinking has a positive message reinforced through repetition and quotes, inspiring personal development and confidence in rapidly changing times. 
Usefulness: 7/10

Linda Donald is an Auckland-based freelance writer and reviewer. Email [email protected]