Before we dive deeper into all the separate Mental Acuity Attributes, you will learn in this opening lesson about the category of Mental Acuity as a whole. This lesson serves as the foundation of this module.

Mental acuity is about our ability to process the world around us. It helps us keep aware of - and able to respond to - the inputs and signs from our surroundings.

Our brain is what sets us apart from other animals. Evolution didn’t make us the strongest or the fastest or the furriest, but it did give us a big brain. Your brain is capable of reasoning and imagining, of thinking abstractly and rationally, of absorbing and sorting and editing an endless stream of incoming data. This is what mental acuity is all about.

Our bodies make us Homo sapiens, but our minds make us truly human.

Formed by five attributes (Situational Awareness, Compartmentalization, Task Switching, Learnability, and Discernment), mental acuity is a measure of how sharp the mind is. It has little to do with education or even raw intelligence. It’s not a matter of how well-read or quick-witted you are. Rather, mental acuity focuses on your ability to effectively absorb and understand information, concentrate, focus, and remember.

Mental acuity enables you to assess and make sense of what’s happening in our context. Additionally, based on this “scanning & understanding” mechanism, you are able to take action and make progress according to the actual reality. At the same time, while mental acuity works in the background, it keeps you aligned with every change that occurs around you. In this sense, mental acuity is a key component for optimal performance, as it keeps you informed about the context you're in - and the external influences as well - so that you can adapt your plans and strategies, reassess priorities, and reposition your focus.

All these capabilities are hardwired into our cognitive physiology. Like all attributes, we all have them in varying amounts. We also all have the ability to amplify them with enough effort. Topping the scale on all five of these attributes is unrealistic. However, they are all inextricably linked.