Loyal readers know that I believe the Challenge Dividend theory goes way beyond business and other organizations - that it seems hard wired into all facets of human life. One great example is the structure and workings of the brain itself. Rather than being a perfect, logical, computer-like instrument, our brains are more like the British House of Commons - where dozens of different perspectives are offered up, and through the challenge of considering multiple options from multiple "voices" we chose the best response. Most of the time.
New research has discovered a "new" voice in our heads. The WSJ reported last Friday on a new "morality center" of the brain. Like most brain research, this study focused on individuals who had suffered brain damage in a similar section of the pre-frontal cortex. In research, they answered hypothetical moral dilemmas such as: "Would you throw one person overboard in a life raft to save yourself and the rest?" For most people, these questions illicit a pained response. But for the test subjects, there was no emotion. They lack the moral voice that weighs in on tough decisions.
So millions of years of evolution resulted in a very strong, non-logical, and at least somewhat unselfish mind. A mind that weighs multiple options and even the lives of multiple people before coming to important decisions. But we already knew this, right? Because whether Harvard biologists prove it or not, we all hear our minds' internal debate everyday. Whether it's the decision to have a snack before dinner or what to wear in the morning, we are blessed with the dividends of internal challenge.
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