Ever wonder if illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup? -Andy Rooney
You're working hard at a satisfying career. You're settled, more or less, in a longtime relationship, and enjoy a fulfilling social life. You've established a comfortable routine with your family and friends. Life in general is going great. Or is it? Could it be that your mind is stagnating?
The brain is an organ and, as such, it requires oxygen and exercise, just like the heart and lungs. Feed your mind and you'll feel emotionally and physically invigorated. It may be too soon to succumb to middle-aged worries about "using it or losing it," or to start fretting about Alzheimer's and other degenerative disease. Nonetheless, it's still important to focus on keeping your brain in shape.
By regularly engaging in the right activities, you can increase your memory, improve your problem-solving skills and boost your creativity. Here are some tips on how to keep your mind active. Integrating select activities into your regular schedule will pay long-term dividends.
14 Tips To Keep Your Mind Active And Your Noodle In Shape...
The Heavy Thinker
It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties
now and then to loosen up. Inevitably though, one thought led
to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker.
I began to think alone - "to relax," I told myself - but I knew
it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me,
and finally I was thinking all the time.
I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and
employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself.
I began to avoid friends at lunch time so I could read Thoreau
and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused,
asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?".
Things weren't going so great at home either. One evening I had
turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life.
She spent that night at her mother's.
I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss
called me in. He said, "Skippy, I like you, and it hurts me to
say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you
don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another
job." This gave me a lot to think about.
I came home early after my conversation with the boss.
"Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking..."
"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a
divorce!"
"But Honey, surely it's not that serious."
"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as
much as college professors, and college professors don't make
any money, so if you keep on thinking we won't have any money!"
"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently, and she began
to cry. I'd had enough. "I'm going to the library," I snarled
as I stomped out the door.
I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche, with
a PBS station on the radio. I roared into the parking lot and
ran up to the big glass doors... they didn't open. The library
was closed.
To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for
me that night.
As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass,
whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is
heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably
recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinker's
Anonymous poster.
Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I
never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a
non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we
share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last
meeting.
I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life
just seemed... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking.
Lifelong Learning
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. - Joseph Addison
1- Read a book
Choose from classic literature, science fiction or career-enhancing business books and give your brain a boost. Pick up a novel before your next business flight or vacation. On top of the cerebral benefits, the escapism that comes from reading can be very relaxing.
Brain benefits: Reading helps you exercise your cognitive skills and increase your vocabulary. Do it regularly and you'll be amazed at the information you absorb, which will make you a more interesting conversationalist.
2- Take a course
Learn something new. Sign up for a cooking class, register for martial arts training or enroll in a wine tasting seminar.
Brain benefits: You'll be challenging yourself to absorb new concepts, information and ideas, and you'll hone your retention skills through memorization.
3- Learn a language
Attend classes, listen to tapes or date a woman with whom you can converse in another language. Instead of watching the same television programs you always do, take in a foreign language movie with subtitles.
Brain benefits: Learning a new tongue keeps your brain flexible and your mind sharp, helping to reduce the slowing of the thought processes that comes with age. It can also make your next vacation or business trip easier if you know the language.
Exercise Your Mind
Sometimes, physical and mental exercise go hand-in-hand.
4- Run
Lace up your running shoes and get moving. Even if you never plan to run a marathon, it will get both your body and mind in shape.
Brain benefits: Running will increase the levels of oxygen in your brain and flowing through your body. In turn, your body will release more endorphins, which will make you feel energized while producing a sense of pleasure and well-being.
5- Play golf
Escape to the links and spend a few hours in the fresh air counting birdies, bogeys and mulligans. Golf is a social sport and a great way to network and relax at the same time.
Brain benefits: Golfers get mental stimulation using their decision-making skills as they plan stroke strategies. As the sport involves the control of repetitive movements, it instills mind-body discipline.
6- Do yoga
You might be surprised at how strenuous yoga can be. Beyond the physical demands that give your entire body a workout, yoga has great calming and relaxation qualities.
Brain benefits: Yoga forces you to focus on controlling all your muscles and your breathing. You'll let your worries slide away, giving your mind a rest from stress.
7- Play pool
Rack 'em up, grab a cue and concentrate on your strategy. Billiard players must focus on the immediate, blocking out distractions as they plan their next moves.
Brain benefits: Strategic planning increases mental clarity. Concentrating on the immediate helps keep your mind sharp. Furthermore, this game of angles demands that players think in terms of physics, something most of us rarely do in our everyday lives.
Keep Thinking
Developing habits to fill the brief intervals in your day will also help hone your mind.
8- Play a game
Challenge a colleague to a game of chess at lunch. Invite friends over for an evening of cards. Besides the social aspects, such activities will keep your mind active.
Brain benefits: You'll use your memory and expand your powers of recall. You'll also test your mathematical skills and logic.
9- Subscribe to a daily newsletter
Whether it's a "word of the day," "quote of the day" or "this day in history" newsletter, receiving new information each day will add data to the hard drive in your head.
Brain benefits: The mental stimulation will increase your comprehension skills. The additional knowledge will also make you sound more worldly and intelligent.
Sightings Of Sharp Individuals
Sighting #1:
I was busy writing some computer program for one of my classes and my roommate asked me if he could use my coffee maker. I said, "sure." The next thing I hear is, "Hey,
where do you put the coffee?" I turn to see that he has filled the filter basket with water and is (unsuccessfully) trying to keep the water in the basket by plugging the hole at the bottom with his finger. He and the floor are both covered with water.
Sighting #2:
I was at the airport, checking in at the gate, when the airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?" I said, "If it was
without my knowledge, how would I know?" He smiled and nodded knowingly, "That's why we ask."
Sighting #3:
The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it is safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged co-worker of mine, when he asked if I knew what the
buzzer was for. I explained that it signals to blind people when the light is red. He responded, appalled, "What on earth are blind people doing DRIVING???"
Sighting #4:
At a goodbye lunch for an old and dear co-worker who is leaving the company due to "downsizing," our manager spoke up and said, "This is fun. We should have lunch like
this more often." Not another word was spoken. We just looked at each other like deer staring into the headlights of an approaching truck.
Sighting #5:
I worked with an individual who plugged his power strip back into itself and for the life of him could not understand why his system would not turn on.
Sighting #6 (a rare "double sighting"):
A friend had a brilliant idea for saving disk space. He thought if he put all his Microsoft Word documents into a tiny font they'd take up less room. When he told me I was with another friend. She thought it was a good idea too.
Sighting #7 (from Tech Support):
Tech Support: "How much free space do you have on your hard drive?"
Individual: "Well, my wife likes to get up there on that Internet, and she downloaded
ten hours of free space. Is that enough?"
Sighting #8 (from Tech Support):
Individual: Now what do I do?
Tech Support: What is the prompt on the screen?
Individual: It's asking for "Enter Your Last Name."
Tech Support: Okay, so type in your last name.
Individual: How do you spell that?
Be Creative
Even extended leisure time needn't be downtime for your brain.
The human mind is our fundamental resource. - John F. Kennedy
10- Grab the controller
Believe it or not, playing certain video games really can be good for your health. The operative word here, however, is "certain" -- choose games that involve strategy or problem solving. Playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City may be stimulating, but it doesn't do much for the mind.
Brain benefits: Problem solving and role-playing games will help you practice strategic planning. You'll also improve your hand-eye coordination.
11- Build a model
Remember the fun you had as a kid making model airlplanes and cars? Recreate that by building a miniature model.
Brain benefits: Following all those written instructions sharpens your powers of concentration. Focusing on the task at hand will also be very relaxing.
12- Learn an instrument
Pull out your old guitar, sign up for piano lessons, or rent a trumpet or a clarinet. Learning how to make music will stimulate your creativity.
Brain benefits: Reading music provides mental stimulation. Playing an instrument requires powers of recall as well as concentration to maintain tune and tempo.
13- Do a crossword
Stick The New York Times crossword puzzle in your briefcase, then get to work on it during your commute or while you're waiting for an appointment or a meeting to begin.
Brain benefits: You'll improve your cognitive skills and creative thinking as well as your word power and vocabulary.
14- Engage in a debate
A lively discussion can be invigorating. As long as you avoid letting it digress into an argument, you can have a lot of fun debating the pros and cons of an issue with a friend or colleague.
Brain benefits: You'll practice your quick thinking skills, logic and creativity. Developing convincing theories on the spot will help you in your career and in your personal relationships.
Boost Your Brain
If you nurture your mind, body and spirit, your time will expand. You will gain a new perspective that will allow you to accomplish much more.
- Brian Koslow
Keep your mental faculties in tip-top shape by giving yourself plenty of opportunities for mental stimulation. Use your cognitive skills, test your powers of recall, improve your memory, and challenge yourself to be more creative in your thinking. You'll reap great brain-boosting benefits by keeping your mind active.
Eddie Chandler. Stress Management Specialist - Every 2nd Tuesday. 14 Tips To Keep Your Mind Active. AskMen.com.
