| Who says self-improvement has to be hard? | | | | You need to break out of the rut! |
| Here are 10 quick and easy ways to improve | | | | |
| your most important asset - your brain. | | | | Even a slight change to your normal route can |
| | | | help your brain make new mental connections. |
| 1. Try something new. | | | | This is turn will do wonders for your |
| | | | creativity. |
| Take up a hobby or interest you've never | | | | |
| tried before. | | | | 6. Exercise in the fresh air. |
| | | | |
| Latin dancing, Chinese cooking, Pottery. | | | | Your brain needs oxygen. Make sure you get |
| | | | some by allocating time every day for some |
| Anything. It doesn't matter as long as it's | | | | healthy walking in the clean fresh air. |
| new to you. | | | | |
| | | | Stop along the way and try some gentle deep |
| Learning a new skill drags you out of a | | | | breathing, driving more oxygen into your |
| mental rut. You're forced to use your brain | | | | lungs and onwards to your brain. |
| to meet new challenges, awakening your innate | | | | |
| problem-solving ability in the process. | | | | 7. Read a book on a topic you'd never choose. |
| | | | |
| 2. Do puzzles. | | | | Read (or at least scan through) one book a |
| | | | month on a topic that has never interested |
| Word games, crosswords and Sudoku all make | | | | you. You'll be amazed what you can learn when |
| great mental workouts. | | | | you step outside your familiarity zone. |
| | | | |
| Many newspapers feature a daily chess | | | | 8. Join a foreign language class. |
| position or logic puzzle. | | | | |
| | | | Foreign languages offer excellent practice to |
| Don't read the newspapers? Then make up your | | | | both sides of the brain. You get to exercise |
| own daily quiz: | | | | your memory, your imagination and improve |
| | | | your language skills too. |
| Take a word and see how many other words you | | | | |
| can make from it. Start with a smallish word, | | | | 9. See things from other people's point of |
| say 5 letters long, and progress to longer | | | | view. |
| words as your skill increases. | | | | |
| | | | Emphasize with other people. When you're |
| Whatever your puzzle of choice, try fitting | | | | listening to somebody, try to mentally step |
| one a day into your busy life. Like any | | | | outside of yourself and truly see the topic |
| muscle, your brain benefits from a regular | | | | from that person's perspective. |
| workout | | | | |
| | | | 10. Visualize something for 3 minutes. |
| 3. Memorize something daily. | | | | |
| | | | Don't think you can visualize? Then try a |
| Take one item you usually need to look up. It | | | | little experiment by answering the following |
| could be a friend's telephone number, a | | | | questions: |
| reference code at work, or the date of a | | | | |
| special anniversary. | | | | (a) What color is the front door of your |
| | | | home? |
| Memorize it by repeating it to yourself 7 | | | | |
| times. Then recall it several times | | | | (b) Is the handle on the left or right-hand |
| throughout day and the next day too. Periodic | | | | side of the door? |
| recall fixes the item in your longer-term | | | | |
| memory. | | | | (c) When you open the door, what do you see |
| | | | inside your home? |
| 4. Drink more water | | | | |
| | | | You can visualize. To answer the above |
| Make sure you drink the recommended 8 glasses | | | | questions, you had to. |
| of water per day. | | | | |
| | | | So practice a little visualization every day, |
| It helps the flow of nutrients and oxygen | | | | using a different object each time. |
| travel throughout your body including, of | | | | |
| course, to the brain. | | | | Think of something familiar like your home, |
| | | | car, office building, gym or whatever. |
| (Did you know your brain is actually 85% | | | | |
| water? It's true.) | | | | Use your imagination to picture it from all |
| | | | angles, inside and outside. Imagine yourself |
| 5. Take a different route to work. | | | | walking around it, moving through it. Really |
| | | | notice all the details. Try to 'feel' the |
| You'd be surprised how often you take exactly | | | | surfaces as you move around, and hear any |
| the same route. (And I do mean 'exactly'.) | | | | sounds in the place too. |
| This can lead to living your life on | | | | |
| autopilot and seriously limiting your mental | | | | You know what they say: "All great things |
| potential. | | | | begin in the mind." Improve your mind and |
| | | | who knows what you'll achieve. |