So I have a confession to make.
I only recently learned how to drive.
And it was really hard.
Now, this wasn't an older brain thing.
Do you remember what it was like when you first learned how to drive?
When every decision you made was so conscious and deliberate?
I'd come home from my lessons completely wiped out mentally.
Now, as a cognitive scientist, know that this is because
I was using a lot of something called executive function.
Executive function is our amazing ability to conciously control our thoughts,
emotions and actions
in order to achieve goals.