You either use it, or you lose it so train your brain
Nowadays, any device you buy comes with a user manual. You buy a microwave oven and comes with a 120-page manual.
What to do and what not to do. How to best use it to keep its warranty. What are the buttons for and other details more or less important.
The most complex "device" in the world, however, comes without a user manual. It's our brain. Without this manual, we use the classic method to learn how to work with it: "trial and error".
We are trying and is giving an error, we try again and kepp making mistakes ... and so on until we find the best way to solve the problem.
One of the basic principles of our brain is that it must be trained, just like a muscle. If you do not use a muscle, not only it does not develop, but it can even become unusable.
An unused muscle is atrophied by over 30% per week. That's why after having a foot in 3 weeks gypsum you need physiotherapy. The brain is the same.
Americans even have a word for it: "you either use it, or you lose it" . And this one is one of the secrets of success in all aspects of life.
If you do not always develop the most important resource with which you have been endowed, it is difficult to achieve results in terms of personal development as well as in any other aspect of your life.
In this article I propose 11 simple but extremely effective exercises to train your brain without need for great effort. There are things you can start doing today
I will start with the simplest exercises, for which you do not need much effort and are not time consuming:
1. Change the clock from one hand to the other
If you are like me, it means you use the clock on your left hand. The moment you want to see the clock, your brain does not make any effort to "execute" this task. It's just a reflex ... and everything we do in reflex does not go through the consciousness.
It is the same when we drive. At first we think about everything. I have to raise my left foot slightly, start pushing the pedal with my right foot, I have to look in the left mirror to see if it's free, I have to change the speed etc ...
After taking the driver's license and someone talking to us in the car, we say, "Please shut up, because I'm driving now."
After a while it becomes a reflex and you do not process these things consciously.
Therefore, I recommend that you change the clock from one hand to the other. This will force your brain to think before processing. You can make these changes every first of the month.
2. Go on different roads every day
Train your brain through another simple but useful exercise: ride on different routes every day. If you go every day the same way, your brain is already on the "automatic pilot".
That's why you arrive at the office and the baby is still in the car ... because you forgot to go to the kindergarten. Force your brain to think ... to work.
If you are part of the sales world, this strategy can also be useful for better results. Going on different roads every day, you will see new potential customers. So it's an exercise with more benefits.
3. Do not use the GPS
Most of the gadget we use daily were created to ease our lives. But let's not forget that these things also affect our brain. Exercising our mind less and less makes it weak.
Look at a map, read the name of the streets on the buildings, ask for information ... do it yourself. At least from time to time.
4. Learn something new every day
Set your goal to learn something new every day. You can do it by reading or using Wikipedia or Google for this. Find a word, concept, company, name or country and learn something new every day. In this way you not only train your brain but also feed it.
Your brain looks a lot like a car. If you do not feed it, it does not work. But watch out and feed it. The result will not be the same if you're fueling "premium diesel" or water.
5. Do physical exercise
The gymnastics of the mind does not exclude muscular gymnastics. There is no secret that exercise does not only help the body but also the mind.
The Department of Kinesiology of the University of Georgia has come to the conclusion that even a 20-minute session of exercises can help the human brain.
Exercise increases heart rate and thus pumps more oxygen into the brain. At the same time, during the exercise the body releases hormones, which contribute both to learining, relaxation and to a better transmission of signals within the nervous system.
6. Hydrate yourself
The brain is 90% water, so drink as much as possible! The optimal daily dose of water is at least 5% of your body weight.
When you feel thirsty, your brain is no longer working optimally. The consciousness perceives thirst much later than is felt by the brain at the cellular level. So drink water before you feel thirsty.
7. Quit wathcing TV
It has already been scientifically proven that the TV is not good for the health of the brain. It is a way of communication through which the message enters your brain without any effort.
As a small parenthesis, I agree that some programs can be extremely educational and can contribute to brain development.
8. Give up alcohol
And related to this subject there are countless studies that show that alcohol slows down brain functions.
Even some suggest "a glass of wine a day is recommended", I suggest drinking water instead of wine.
9. Learn a new language
Probably the best way to train your brain is to learn a new language. Statistics show that a person who learns two or three languages easily can learn as well six or seven languages.
10. Develop your vocabulary
Another exercise for mind gymnastics is to develop your vocabulary in your mother tongue. Not just new words in a new language, but also new words in your native language.
11. Play games for brain training
You can pick one or few from thist list of free brain training games for adults. Go here to view my selection.
Comments
Post a Comment