The last 3 days of my life I have spent learning about the brain – or the mind, depending on how you like to look at it.

I have listened to neuro scientists – both practicing, researchers and academics; psychiatrists; Buddhists; mental health sufferers – such as depression and OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) – and how they overcame the so called limitations of their mind; psychologists; experts in mindfulness and reaching your full potential at work and creative thinkers – in the form of the esteemed Edward DeBono and Tony Buzan. And I must say, I’ve been inspired. Inspired by other people’s story, inspired by humans with great compassion, inspired to learn more, do more and reach my full potential.

I have another day left of the Mind and its Potential conference. I paid for the full she-bang, the pre and post workshop sessions and today’s are on Unravelling our Negative Emotions (morning) and How to Mine the Mind for Your Full Potential. Run by a Buddhist Nun first and then a renowned speaker and creative thinker in the afternoon.

Mind and its Potential Conference is about how the human brain or mind can be trained to its full capacity for knowledge, compassion and kindness

But I have a dilemma. I have also been invited, free of charge, to attend the Digital Marketing Summit run by NineMSN. A great day of digital media and marketing information – which I have not attended in recent years. I really am torn. I’m fascinated by what I’m learning about how we think, how human behaviour can be modified, how the brain works and how we can trick it into believing something other than how we (society, our western culture) have programmed ourselves to react or behave to certain stimuli.

But I also love the digital world and working for a not-for-profit the last 2+ years has not left me on the cutting edge. So I want to go and be inspired also by the new digital frontier. To hear case studies about how mobile is being used effectively by advertisers and understand how the new Microsoft Ad Exchange is going to change the way we plan and buy digital media in Australia.

So I have to choose. Effectively between my personal development or my professional development. And I can try and do both, morning buddhism and afternoon digital media, but then I feel I am missing out on the full experience of either. On one hand, I paid out of my own pocket for the Brain Training through the Mind and its Potential conference, the first time I’ve ever invested serious money like that in myself (I invest time, but not too much money). The NineMSN Digital Marketing Summit is a free ticket that I was given by a colleague who wants me to be there for other reasons.

In the end I think I’ll do both, as I hate missing out and I want to cram as much as I possibly can into my short life.

What would you do?