Lifelong learning – taking care of your most important asset – your brain.

 

If there is one organ we need to really take care of, it has to be our brain. You can not function and work or learn optimally if you have not taken care of a few basics when it comes to your brain.

1)      You have to eat to feed your grey matter – you are what you eat. This means the basics – fresh fruit, vegetables, staying hydrated, the correct amount of healthy oils. It is really the most important thing that you can do for your brain – you have to eat healthily. Ensure that you can get the best possible nutrients for your brain. If you are low on B vitamins, you are going to have cognitive issues. Have your health care provider do a bloodwork test if you are unsure. A lot of people do not realize that something as basic as good proper eating habits can stifle their learning and working abilities.

2)      Exercise – it goes without saying you have to exercise to keep your brain healthy. It will assist you to destress and will keep you, fitter.

3)      Kill the ANT’s – Automatic Negative Thoughts have to be killed. If you simply allow negative thoughts to be rampant in your brain it can and will influence how your brain operates. ANT’s can also influence decisions, strain work and personal relationships. How do you kill ANT’s? 1) Become aware of them. 2) Challenge them – is it true? It is absolutely true? WHO will I be if I did not have these ANT’s in my life? (Check out the brilliant work by Byron Katie) 3) replace it with môre positive and affirming thoughts.

4)      You are with whom you spend your most time with – your peer group at work and in your personal life absolutely influences your brain’s capacity to learn and grow, and function properly. (Read up about the work from Masaru Emoto on how words can influence water, now imagine what your peer groups words can do to you!)

5)      Proper and good quality sleep – in order for your brain to function properly you have to have quality sleep.

6)      Your environment can influence your brain – clean air, water, living conditions, all can influence the way how your brain functions. But it goes further than that – the right environment can also influence how you view the world. Spend time to ensure your environment and environment stimulation is healthy – what doe this mean? Things like over stimulating the brain with to much TV, or internet surfing absolutely influences your brain. The key is to find the right balance that is right for you.

7)      Learn and explore new things – the way the brain operates is that it builds new connections when we learn and explore new things. But the cheat here is that we need to start with an inquisitive mindset. Go ahead and listen to music that you would have never listened to, or maybe pick up a podcast on a topic that you might not know anything about. Challenge yourself, it doesn’t have to be grandiose and massive learning. The key is to simply learn new things.

8)      Manage your stress levels – stress can be both healthy and totally debilitating on your brain. It is imperative that you learn the life skills to manage your stress. (Read up about the work from Dr. Melanie Greenberg – the stress-proof brain for some really great insight).