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August 18, 2010 1 Comment

Tips for Absentmindedness and Forgetfulness

If you’re like me, on most days you have a great relationship with your mind.  If you want to remember a favorite song from the ’80s, you can conjure up the title, band, and possibly even relive the video within minutes.

Then. There.  Are. THOSE. Days. You know the ones – the days when you can’t remember the song, let alone anything else.  Some people call these slips “senior moments,” but unless you’re over the age of 70, you don’t want to be saddled with this term.  Those of us who aren’t even 50 certainly have no use for such a term.  A better term might be “absentmindedness” because it cuts right to the chase… your mind, at least for this “call to action” is pretty much absent.

I also like the fact that the term implies EXACTLY what it should imply, that the condition is temporary and 9 times out of 10, certainly no big deal.

I hate (to the point of cringing) when people panic over absentmindedness.  Some worry that it’s a sign of a loss of memory, dementia, old age, or even Alzheimer’s disease.  To make it even more bizarre, some of the people who express these concerns haven’t even seen their 40th birthday.  To think these thoughts creates a negative environment and robs the individual of self confidence.  It also creates an air of, “Well, there’s nothing I can do.  May as well fade out…”

See why I cringe?

Everyone, even people with extremely good memories and razor sharp minds, experiences absentmindedness.  My husband (Michael) is the brightest person I’ve ever met.  Sharp as a tack.  Honestly, the way his mind works reminds me of a computer as opposed to a mind. He has a goofy, hilarious, life-of-the-party, good-ol-boy personality and approach to life so you’d never really know just how smart he is until you see the mind in action.

Anyway, it kind of makes me smile when he squares off against absentmindedness.  He’ll take off out the back door and have to come back in for this or that – he used to get so mad at himself, but now he just kind of chuckles (along with the rest of us who nod and think, “Welcome to the human race.”).

I think of absentmindedness as a chipper sign in a shop window “Closed for Lunch. Back in an Hour!”

There are several causes of absentmindedness and, when you think about it, it’s a wonder we don’t have MORE mental lunch breaks.  Consider all that we have going on when birthday number 40 has come and gone:

  • Many baby boomers have aging parents to care for, or to at least keep an eye or two on!
  • Baby boomers have children of all ages. Some of these children are still school-age, some have gone off to college, some have gotten married, and some baby boomers have babies still in diapers.  Irregardless of the age, children require a great deal of thought, worry, time, and care.  Don’t ever think any of this slows down when the child hits 16.  Many say this is when the REAL parenting begins!  As well as the sleepless nights, phone calls, financial help, late night talks, parental advice, wringing of hands…
  • Baby boomers are often at the height of their career. Hard work and expertise has paid off and they are enjoying the fruits of their labor – more clients, more responsibilities, more customers, more headaches, more assignments, and longer to do lists.
  • Many people, now, have several jobs. Some may work odd jobs on the weekend, some may work outside the home while running a home business.
  • Add bills, a mortgage, an irritable economy, depressing news (oil spills, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, war…) – is it any wonder people of all ages often feel that their minds are over taxed?!
  • Something else that many people don’t take into consideration is this: The longer you’ve lived, the more memories you have… the more information you have stored on your hard drive, if you will. A 20 year old will be able to recall and recite the entire roster for a baseball team 2 years ago more easily than a 45 year old could.  It doesn’t have so much to do with age as it does the pure fact that the 50 year old has a lot more baseball seasons under his or her ball cap.  There’s more information to sort through – more names, numbers, and faces.  They say that young minds are like sponges – able to soak up information easily. No, kidding, their sponge is fresh and nearly empty!

So, there you have it.  Now don’t you agree that it’s a wonder we don’t experience absentmindedness more often?!?!   Even people between the ages of 20 and 40 are busier than ever before.  The economy has everyone working at a frantic pace, just trying to keep up – and, Heaven help the ones who actually want to get ahead!

Busy, busy, busy = Absentmindedness.

I know, it doesn’t make it any funner or any less frustrating, but hopefully you’ll be able to keep from panicking the next time it happens.

Fortunately, there are some tips that can help you handle absentmindedness and forgetfulness.  Here they are – write them down… just be sure you remember where you put the list!

  • Keep the items you use the most in a consistent place. Your car keys by the front door, your cellphone on a particular table, your reading glasses beside your favorite chair, and so on.  Searching around for things isn’t any fun and having your daughter call your cellphone, so you can find it, makes her giggle a little too much.
  • Organize everything around you. I cook a great deal (I guess daily counts as a great deal, wouldn’t you say?), so I keep my measuring cups, spoons, rolling pin, blender, mixer, etc. all in appointed spots.  If I need a particular spice or kitchen gadget, I know where it lives and can put it to work within seconds.  My home office should be as organized as my kitchen!
  • Don’t listen to the time management gurus who say that multi-tasking is the be all and end all (although mulit-tasking could be the end of it all!). Give your full attention to what’s at hand – even if it’s watching a ballgame (besides, 2 years down the road, some smarty pants 20 year old may challenge you to name the roster).  Multi-tasking basically says that you’ll devote half of your brain to a particular thing and half of your brain to the other.  Now how is any part of that a good thing?
  • Write notes and to do lists – then use them. I’m one of those people who draws little boxes in front of the to do list so that I can joyfully check it off when I’ve completed the task.  You’ll never find lovelier check marks than mine.  Works of art.
  • Do not procrastinate. Do it the minute you realize it needs to be done.  Procrastination leads to a traffic jam in your mind – the ideal spot for absentmindedness and forgetfulness.
  • Keep a calendar near your work area and one in the kitchen. At the beginning of each month, write in big letters, key dates, assignments, appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
  • Keep a notebook with you at all times. When you lead a busy lifestyle, you’re apt to hear new names, dates, and bits of information. Never trust yourself to recall any of these later – Heaven only knows what’s going to go on between NOW and THEN.  Write it down, even if you’re certain you’ll remember.  What’s the worst that could happen, you got a little extra penmanship practice?

Finally, the best advice (dealing with this subject) I’ve ever read came from author Richard Leviton. His advice was this:  Periodically, throughout the day, repeat this positive affirmation, “I am paying attention.“  Say it firmly, with conviction, and aloud when possible.  This affirmation reminds you to fight off distractions and to pay attention to what’s going on around you.  It keeps you in the moment and sharpens your mental cutlery.

Stay positive, stay focused, and stay in the moment.  And speaking of moments…..

Make each moment count double!
~ Joi

Filed Under: Positive Affirmations Tagged: ,
August 15, 2010 2 Comments

What is Your Mental Attitude?

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing.  Motivation determines what you do.  Attitude determines how well you do it.” - Lou Holtz

The quote above, by one of the greatest football coaches and motivators to ever open their mouth, is one of my favorite all-time quotes.  And for someone who has collected and rejoiced over quotes her whole life, that’s saying something!  What I appreciate so much about this quote by Lou Holtz is the fact that it shows us how VERY much in control we are of our lives.

Our ability may be limited in certain areas, our motivation may wane, but our attitude can carry us home.  You could say that our attitude determines our position at the bird feeder station.   My husband knows what an avid bird (and butterfly) watcher I am.  So he set my computer workstation up near a window in our home.  In my view from the window, he set up a mack-daddy bird feeding station – hummingbird feeder, finch feeder, songbird feeder, water dishes… the whole 9 yards.  I’ve placed beautiful potted plants and flowers around the area, too, so it’s a beautiful relaxing “eye vacation” as work online.

The birds like to “position” for the top perch on the black iron frame.  Mockingbirds, doves, blackbirds, and cardinals desire this perch most of all.  One would think that the blackbirds or the doves (the largest) would win every time.

Not so.

The bird that I see perched at the top more often than not is a tiny little hummingbird, looking around, guarding the red nectar…. something the other birds don’t even want!  The attitude of these tiny birds makes them a gazillion times their actual size.  By the same token, our attitude can make us a gazillion times our actual size.

Have you ever thought about your mental attitude?

Think of Mental Fitness as one of Life’s Majors.  Physical Fitness is another one of life’s majors – as well as relationships, self growth, physical health, etc.

The challenging thing is we have to major in each of these areas – the wonderful thing is we have our entire lives to complete the courses.

If Mental Fitness is a Major, guess what Mental Fitness 101 is…..  Mental Attitude.  That’s where it all begins, which is why I think this post is way, way, way past due.  What have i been doing? If you say “Watching birds,” I’m just going to be hurt.  Irregardless, if this were a perfect world, this would be the first post on this entire site.

If you desire a stronger mind, an improved memory, sharper reasoning skills, and more confidence, you can’t just jump into brain games and motivational articles and expect big wonders.  That’s putting the cart before the horse, which is worthless – especially if the cart has apples, he’ll just eat them…

Think about your mental attitude.  During the course of a day, which of these “affirmations” do you tell yourself most often?

  • I can figure this out.
  • I’m a complete idiot.
  • My memory is getting so bad.
  • I’m too old to figure that out.
  • I can figure anything out.
  • I don’t have nearly enough schooling for this.
  • I have a lot of confidence in my mental abilities.
  • I’m a ditz.
  • I’m smart.
  • I’m the sharpest knife in this drawer!

Hopefully you don’t spend a great deal of time beating yourself up, but unfortunately many people do.  Sadly, they’re undermining their abilities to live up to their potential.  They’re selling themselves short and standing in their own way of learning more, doing more, and living more.

If you recognize your own mental voice in any of the negative affirmations, I want you to realize something:  The things we say to ourselves over and over again create a worn path in our minds and on our lives.  In the way that the most frequently-traveled path in the woods will be the most worn, the most frequently-used thoughts will create the widest path in our minds.

Can you see how dangerous this could be if the path leads to the wrong place?!?!  Can you see how amazing this could be if the path leads to the right place??!?!

That’s why we have to do all we can to watch which path our thoughts are paving.  They’re more than just pathfinders, they’re pioneers.  Please watch where they’re leading you and take the upper hand if you don’t like where they’re headed.

When it comes to our mental attitude, a lot has to do with our past.  If any of the negative affirmations regularly play out in your own mind, I have great news for you… you can put an end to them!  Simply find their source -  where the negativity originated from.  Below are a few of the main sources.

  1. Bad experiences in school. Many people allow poor grades, discouraging teachers, or bad test scores to set up a poor mental attitude.  First of all, a great percentage of schooling and test success is simply memorization.  The so-called mental aptitude tests aren’t nearly as accurate as their proponents would like you to believe and (thankfully!) you CANNOT judge an individual’s mental powers by any number of math tests.  Besides, when we were in school, few of us gave as much attention to our studies as we did the opposite sex, our clothes, television, music, our cars, our hair, ballgames, pep rallys, and extra-curricular activities.   I’ll be honest, improving my mind and learning were the furthest things from my teen-aged mind.  Clothes, jewelry, my baby blue Ford Granada, and John Cougar Mellencamp were just about as far as my mind cared to go.  Put your school history behind you – along with grades, tests, and dirty looks from the teachers.  Banish them to the past along with the out-dated hairstyles!
  2. Negative words from others. This one has the potential to be the most destructive force in an individual’s life. We all have certain individuals in our lives who’s words carry an incredible amount of weight for us.  Whether they’re parents, spouses, or other family members or friends.  We all have people who we (mistakenly) use as mirrors.  We THINK we are how they SEE us.  For better or worse, that’s just not accurate… not even close!  Even the people who are the closest to us don’t know all that we’re capable of.  Sometimes they overestimate, sometimes they underestimate.  They’re human beings, they aren’t mirrors.  If someone who means the world to you – who’s opinion you hang the moon and stars on – has ever called you stupid, ditzy, air-headed, dumb, or uses you often as the butt of jokes (even if they honestly mean no malice with the jokes), they have the potential to destroy your mental attitude.  Flat out destroy it.

If a parent or other loved one has left scars on your mental attitude with their words, the time has come to heal the wounds. Whether they’re in the room or not, say out loud, “You’re wrong about me!“  Many times, people say things in anger that they honestly don’t mean.  Unfortunately, when adults are mad, they resort to playground tactics and name-calling ensues.

Remember:  Just because someone calls you a name doesn’t mean you have to wear it and just because they give you a label doesn’t mean you have to wear it.

If someone stuck a piece of paper to your back that said STUPID and told you to wear it for a whole day – unless there were $1,000,000 attached to the situation, you’d yank the label off and tell them where they could stick it…. for longer than just a day.  Yet many of us will wear a negative, condescending “verbal” label for a lifetime.  Why?!

Take off any and all labels that are negative and REFUSE to ever put them on again. Create your own labels and wear them instead.  I don’t care if a parent or even a spouse has given you negative labels – I promise you you don’t have to wear them.

Another situation that can undermine a mental attitude is a financially challenged childhood.  It’s my belief that children who are unusually poor tend to carry their share of issues into adulthood. Many of these kids grow up with an attitude of “I have to prove myself to everyone” – and they set off to do just that.  These determined little guys and gals often grow into workaholics and, if they don’t ever feel “satisfied” that they’ve outgrown their childhood circumstances, they’ll often push themselves too hard and they’ll one day deal with stress problems, anxiety, and a host of other health problems.

Children who live through poverty often feel that they aren’t quite as smart as other kids.  I know that’s outrageous. You know that’s outrageous.  But children are very sensitive to feeling different – and the feelings that we have, even as very young children, tend to follow us all of our lives.

Adults who have had their mental attitude “bruised” by these sorts of lingering insecurities can, figuratively, set their child self down and have a good talk with them!  When you realize how far you’ve come, the things you’ve accomplished (things that, at 7 years old no one would have given you a shot to be able to do), you’ll be able to see that your childhood didn’t weaken you at all – it gave you strength that you might not have had otherwise.

No matter what has caused your mental attitude to be less than best, take heart that it doesn’t have to stay like this. You can turn things around, starting today.  This very premise is the foundation that this website (The Mental Fitness Center) and this blog (Out of Bounds) were built upon.

From Brain Builders by Richard Leviton:

Your brain, or what scientists like to call the 3-pound universe is the next frontier in human development.  Your brain contains an estimated 100 billion neurons, or nerve cells, and is capable of outstanding feats of computation and information processing.  Despite this wealth of potential brain power, most people use no more than about 4 – 10 percent of their possible brain capacity.  The good news is that this is easily changed.

The truth of the mater is, you can increase your brain power… but you can’t put the cart before the horse.  On this site, we talk at length about foods for brain health, overcoming anxiety, mental fitness, brain games, and a  host of other self growth topics.  I want you to realize, however, that none of these will benefit you until you have a healthy mental attitude.

You have to KNOW that you are capable of learning and capable of growing.  You have to KNOW that you are worth it.  Rip off the labels and never allow anyone or anything to ever “label” you again. If you allow negative labels to “stick” to you, it’ll be nearly impossible to grow out of their shadow.

Take them off. Bury them in the yard. Take that, name-callers and circumstances.

I have countless articles, exercises, and resources planned for Out of Bounds and The Mental Fitness Center, and I’m excited about the site’s growth.

Needless to say, I’m even more excited about our growth.  So, what do you say? Let’s grow!

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi

Filed Under: Mental Fitness Tagged: , ,
April 15, 2010 13 Comments

4 Ways to Improve Your Memory and Strengthen Your Mind

How can you strengthen your mind?
How do you improve your memory?
How do you prevent mental decline?
How do you guard against supposed “age-related” memory problems?

If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your mind, improve your memory, and enhance your brain’s fitness – look no further  than the mirror.

More specifically, look at four simple promises you have to MAKE, then KEEP. Obviously, just making them isn’t going to do a bit of good. :)

Promise # 1:  Keep Your Mind Engaged

Experts tell us again and again and again (think they’re trying to drive their point home?!) that we need to keep mentally active if we want to keep mentally fit.  We have to keep our minds occupied.  If we fill our mind, our time, and our days with nothing but fluff – our minds aren’t going to be stimulated enough to stretch or grow.  In fact, the mind will regress and weaken.  Think about lifting weights.  Which will produce better-defined, more attractive, and stronger arms – working out with a 10 pound weight in each hand or a jumbo marshmallow in each?  You have to challenge something to bring out its best.

But here’s the thing I think most people miss:  You have to keep on challenging anew.  You can’t get to a point and rest thinking, “I’ve arrived. I’ll rest.”  The person who does that will soon learn just how wrong they were.

Anyone who has embarked on an exercise regime to lose weight knows the importance of adding distance or time to their workouts.  If you don’t keep challenging your body, the weight will simply stop coming off.  If you start out walking a nice, comfortable pace everyday for a month, you’ll lose weight.  How much depends upon your eating habits.  However, after a period of time, your body isn’t impressed by this distance or challenged by your pace.  It refuses to budge any more. Hello, plateau.

This is why fitness trainers preach the importance of changing your routine up, adding distance, and incorporating interval training into your workout – it keeps the body challenged.  It keeps the body improving.  It keeps the body engaged.

How do we keep our mind engaged?  If you’re reading these words, you already have a keen interest in mental fitness and brain health. You’re already ahead of the game.  You probably read each day, love brain games, and are probably a Crossword Puzzle working machine.  But here’s the thing:  Are you reading the same things each day?  Are you working the same types of puzzles each day?  Do you visit the same types of websites?  Do you watch the same types of television shows?

Are you working out with jumbo marshmallows?

It’s not enough to just read educational blogs, websites, magazines, books, and so on.  You have to make sure you aren’t reading the same subjects over and over and over again.  Many so-called experts who are cemented in particular subjects aren’t giving their minds the workout they think they are.  They aren’t stretching their minds at all, actually.  The mind gets accustomed to and comfortable with all of the articles about the same thing.

How much growth do you think occurs between accustomed to and comfortable with? Virtually none.

Here’s what I like to do.  I take a different subject area every couple of weeks and try to learn as much about that subject as possible.  I’m the biggest animal lover in the world, so I use animals often as subjects.  I recently chose one of my favorites – the great white shark.  Fascinating guy!

I also love history, so I’ll often choose a period of time, a war, or an individual and learn all I can.   Flowers, herbs, plants, natural remedies, baseball – they’re all personal favorite directions to take off and explore.  There’s something mentally stimulating for the mind to immerse itself in, say, sharks one week (or month) and Andrew Jackson the next. Personally, I’m fonder of the shark.

Challenge your mind and, whatever you do, KEEP YOUR MIND ENGAGED.

Promise # 2:  Keep Your Body Moving

Experts also tell us that staying physically active is as important for our minds as it is for our bodies.  Try to get more activity each day in any way you can. Below are various ideas to do just that.

  1. Walk everyday for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Garden!  Planting flowers, herbs, veggies, and plants – then tending to them calls for a lot of activity and burns a lot of calories. You get fresh air, sunshine, and physical fitness. If you engage your mind by reading about many new, fascinating plants, you’ll be overachieving!
  3. If the weather is too cool to walk outdoors, consider buying  a treadmill.  I wouldn’t take anything for mine.
  4. Clean house like you mean it!
  5. Wash your car yourself instead of taking it through a car wash.
  6. When shopping, take the long route to everything on your list.
  7. Make it a habit to park as far as possible from your destination.
  8. Put the laundry up one item at a time.

You get the idea – find more ways to move your body more often.  Pedometers are outstanding.  They let you know how many steps you’ve gotten that day – so you can try to stay on pace or push yourself beyond pace.  Always fun.  Just KEEP YOUR BODY MOVING.

Promise # 3:  Keep Your Lungs Clear

Smoking isn’t just unhealthy for your lungs and body – it’s a nightmare for your brain. If you are a smoker who wants to improve your memory and strengthen your mind – you simply must quit smoking.   What’s more, if you’re around smokers – even if you don’t smoke – your lungs aren’t as clear as they’d like to be.  Avoid second hand smoke whenever possible.  It’s horrible for every part of your body and mind.

If you’re after optimum physical and mental health- KEEP YOUR LUNGS CLEAR.

Promise # 4:  Keep Your Appointment with Your ZZZZZZs

One of the surest signs that you aren’t getting enough sleep is mental fogginess.  Forgetting names, misplacing things, and simply not feeling on top of your game are all signs of a lack of rest.  You may think you’re getting all the sleep you need, but that may not be the case.  Try to add a few more ZZZs and see if you feel more like your old self.

Sleep is required for our bodies and minds to repair themselves from all they do during the day.  If you rob yourself of the sleep your body and mind crave, you’re running on empty – and that never ends well.

Even if you’re keeping your mind engaged, keeping your body moving, and keeping your lungs clear… you won’t achieve all that’s yours to achieve if you don’t KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR ZZZZZZZZs.

Make each promise and make each promise stick!
~ Joi

Filed Under: Brain Games, Mental Fitness, Motivational, Must Reads Tagged: , ,
April 13, 2010 4 Comments

Go Deep! A Mental Exercise to Keep You Mentally Sharp

The individual who wants to give their brain the sort of workout that it craves has endless options each day to do just that.  Of course we know about the wonderful brain games that are online and offline – these are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful ways to stimulate your mind, improve your memory, and keep your mental faculties sharp and ready!

There are also other little “tricks” we can do to stay sharp and improve our memory:

  • Periodically, challenge yourself to spell a word that you hear forward AND backward.
  • When you have a mathematical problem to solve, try it first without the calculator (or even pen and paper).  Then, move to pen and paper to see if you got it right, mentally.  THEN, the final test – check yourself with a calculator.  If you erred somewhere along the way, go back and see where you messed up.
  • Listen to 80′s music  (and/or 50′s, 60′s, 70′s, 90′s – depending upon your generation).  The music, itself, won’t perk up sleeping brain cells but this will:  See how fast you can identify the title of each song, the artist, and the year the song came out.  When it comes to the year, give yourself a 2 year leeway – if you’re within 2 years, you did exceptionally well.  If you can’t come up with the artist (or year) while the song’s playing – think about it for the rest of the day.  Believe me, your brain loves this sort of workout!  Try to picture a music video, the artist singing the song, or the album cover.  Resort to Google only as a last result – when you feel as though your head may explode. Tip: Searching for the song title and/or part of  the lyrics can lead you to the artist.
  • Take different routes to the store, to work, or just to ride around town. Be sure you have gas, though – and allow plenty of time for wrong turns.
  • Brush your teeth with the hand you never use for the task.  Eat with your opposing hand as well.  The brain loves it when you mix things up and catch it off guard.
  • Eat a healthy diet.  What’s good for your heart and body is also good for your mind. Read through the articles here on Out of Bounds to find food that experts recommend for a healthy mind (blueberries, fish, spinach, walnuts….).

In addition to these brain games and mentally stimulating tricks, there’s something else you can do to sharpen your mind:  Become a DEEPER thinker.  Don’t let your thoughts just skim the surface – make them go much deeper.

If you want to be a deep thinker you have to get in the habit of asking deep questions. Ask them about everything. But how can we say if one question is “deeper” than another? A couple examples will help make that clear.

Deep thinking looks beyond (deeper) than the obvious and searches for reasons, explanations, answers, and true meaning.   Here’s an example.  My husband and I were recently checking out at a favorite grocery store.  The young girl working the cash register was so completely off of her game that I wanted to just hug her… then send her home.  Sadly, it wasn’t my place to do the first and I didn’t have the power to do the second, so  my husband and I both just smiled at her and hoped that our combined thoughts of “It’ll get better, sweetie..“  reached her.

99 percent of people would have gotten extremely annoyed at the girl, herself.  Most would have stormed off grumbling things about her, personally.  However, as we walked away my husband’s beef was with the “higher ups.”  He pointed out how unfair it was to put a young girl (or anyone, for that matter) into a situation they hadn’t been properly trained for.  He wondered why someone wasn’t near her, helping answer her questions and showing her what needed to be done – rather than just abandoning her in her misery and confusion.

That’s an example of “DEEP thinking” – looking past the surface… past the so-called obvious that everyone can see.

Start digging deeper with your thoughts.  Look for meanings behind situations, reasons “why,” and solutions to problems -whether they’re your own problems or someone else’s.

Below are some of my favorite subjects and situations to wrap my mind around.  Not only can they stimulate deeper thinking, they’re great conversation bait as well.

  • Why are reality shows so popular?
  • Why did John McCain choose Sarah Palin as his running mate?
  • Did the choice of Mrs. Palin lead to John McCain’s loss?
  • How serious IS global warming?
  • What could other organizations learn from PETA – things that could lead to THEIR organizations becoming household names as well.
  • What could a small business learn from Survivor?
  • Will “Race” ever be a non-issue?
  • Should the Bible be allowed in school rooms and in the school curriculum?
  • Should prayer be allowed and even encouraged in school?
  • What are the pros and cons of the new Health Care Reform?
  • Should the government pay for college?
  • Why is Twitter so popular?
  • Are texting, twitter, facebook, and MySpace affecting our young people positively or negatively?  How?
  • How could adults keep technology from being a negative influence in their children’s lives?
  • Do you believe in ESP?
  • Why are some people afraid of clowns?
  • Is the term “cougars” a bad thing, good thing, or somewhere in between?
  • If the government had proof of life on another planet, do you think they’d divulge the information?
  • Has American Idol ran its course?

Here’s something that’s worth extra points:  If you stand, firmly, on one side of a situation or controversy – force yourself over to the other side and, literally, defend it!  More likely than not, you’ll return to the side you started out on – but you’ll do so a more rounded, informed, and educated individual.  You’ll also be a deeper thinker.

I’d love for you to share your opinions about deep thinking in the comments, below.  Let us know how you try to practice deep thinking in your own life.  Also, feel free to tackle any of the questions above. I’d love to see deep conversations develop  and brain cells stimulated!

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi

Filed Under: Brain Games, Mental Fitness, Must Reads Tagged: , , , , ,
January 17, 2010 5 Comments

Why Your Brain Loves and Responds to Brain Games

I’m pretty sure I’m beginning to sound like a broken record when it comes to brain games, but it can’t be helped! I know the importance of brain games for brain fitness and intend to nag everyone until they’re up to their gray matter in brain games!

Just why is it that brain games are so incredible for the fitness and health of your brain? These helpful, healthy, and fun exercises for the mind activate several different neurological functions and stimulate them, which in turn helps with thought processes across the board, including memory.

Remember in my last post (Brain Puzzles and Mental Fitness, Fun Birds of a Feather), I said that I planned on ordering the 365 Brain Puzzles? Well, I headed to Amazon and did just that as soon as I published the post.

Get this: It came the very next day!

It’s everything I’d hoped it’d be and more. In fact, there was information on the first page of this interactive desk calendar that told me how to get another desk calendar free. I like freebies. I love freebies.

I’ve been sharing these brain games with the rest of my family and we all are getting a huge kick out of the challenging puzzles.

Below are other ways to play Brain Games and stimulate your mind throughout the day:

  • In your newspaper, work the Crossword Puzzle, Sudoku, and Jumble puzzles.  Don’t give up halfway through the crossword puzzles ever again.  Research and find the answers!  You’ll feel so great after you’ve filled in every box and you’ll literally feel the stimulation in your brain.
  • Look in the book’s section of your favorite store – there are lots of outstanding Brain Games on the market.  Some of these are large books, while others are small workb00ks for just a few dollars.  I recently bought a very small “Brain Teasers for Dummies” in the bargain section at Target.  I liked what they wrote on the back of the booklet, “Flex your memory muscle with a variety of puzzles in varying degrees of difficulty.  Studies have shown that puzzles like Sudoku, crosswords, cryptograms, and other “mental aerobics” can help reduce memory loss due to normal aging and minimize the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases.”  This Pocket Edition Brain Teasers for Dummies is available in many stores as well as on Amazon (Brain Games on Amazon).
  • Learn 3 new things each day and recite them to your cat each night.  At the end of the week, try to tell her all 21 things you learned that week!  When searching out the 3 new things, one place you might want to check is Dummies.com.  Not only do they make amazing books, they have videos and phone apps.  You could learn something new each day on their site alone.
  • Pay more attention to words around you and play brain games with them.  You can even do this while riding down the road.  Below are a few word games:
  1. Take the letters of the word and rearrange them to make new words.  For example, if you see the word McDonald’s, think:  mad, sand, scald…
  2. When the word is out of site, try spelling it backwards – trickier than it seems!
  3. When you spot a word, think of a different word you could create by changing just one letter. For example, if you see the word SPEED, you could create a new word by changing the second E to an N – SPEND.
  4. “Collect” 6 different words and make a coherent sentence with the words.
  5. “Collect” 10 words and, in order, try to remember them at the end of your trip.

Surround yourself with brain games and brain puzzles – keep one in each of the rooms of your house that you spend the most time in…. along with a pen or pencil, of course.  Your brain will be very grateful… and will reward you handsomely.

    Filed Under: Books and Reviews, Brain Games, Mental Fitness Tagged: , , ,
    January 14, 2009 Leave a Comment

    Improving Your Memory is A Lot Easier Than You Think

    ronwhitesmemoryinamonthAs I’ve said before, I’ve got it bad, bad, bad for books and magazines.  My husband doesn’t complain, he just buys me more shelves.

    One of the magazines I most look forward to the most each month is SUCCESS. February’s issue has one of the most respected men in the world on the cover, Mr. Colin Powell.

    A favorite magazine and a favorite person together in one place? When this issue came in the mail, it was like, “Out of my way, I’m going to disappear for about two hours of glorious reading.” And then I did.

    One of my favorite articles was about Memory (Memory Marvel) – specifically about ways to improve and nurture our memory. The article is actually an interview with Ron White, author of Ron White’s Memory in a Month. In addition to writing three books, Ron White has also recorded eight audio programs and delivered workshops for General Motors, Microsoft, Toyota, Honda, American Airlines, Cisco Systems, the Boy Scouts of America, Lexus, Coldwell Banker, Pfizer, and Century 21.

    Apparently there’s a great deal of respect attached to Ron White’s name!

    The audio cd pictured above is Ron White’s Memory in a Month. You can find it on Amazon by clicking the link.

    From Amazon:
    Ron White’s Memory in a Month A Unique Memory Skills Designed to Accelerate Your Goals Learn to : Give speeches without notes, Memorize chapters of books, Inprove study skills and grades, Recall product knowledge, Retain information from classes or seminars, Recall names and faces, Memorize notes, Increase your efficiency by retaining more information, Recall phone numbers or product codes, Much,much more. 6 Audio CD’s & Workbook.

    In the interview in February’s SUCCESS magazine, Ron White talks about the potential we all have within us – a potential for greater brain power than we even realize we have. We complain about not being able to remember things, yet there are simple actions we can take to greatly improve our memory. It’s like complaining about not having enough money while sitting on gold mine. Break out the tools!

    Below is an excerpt from the interview. Do yourself a huge favor and buy the issue as well as Ron White’s audio cd and workbook.

    The human brain has the ability to memorize a Shakespearean play word for word or memorize the stats of every baseball player for the last 100 years. And the human memory is capable of recalling every single name after meeting 100 people in 20 minutes!…… The potential for a trained memory is not simply memorizing long strings of numbers. it is building your confidence in public speaking; building relationships and your business by recalling names and faces; and memorizing product knowledge, information from business or success books, knowledge from workshops and more.

    He goes on to talk about memory training, using your memory to enhance your success at work, and even gives some of his favorite tips for recalling names.

    Where in the world was Ron White when I was in school? I could have used an edge when it came to remembering all those dates in history. The mind’s a complex and amazing thing, I can still remember every word to every single John Mellencamp, Prince, Joan Jett, and Madonna song – but World War II dates? Not so much. (Note to self: Buy a few WW II books)

    Make each moment count double!
    ~ Joi

    Filed Under: Brain Games, Mental Fitness, Motivational, Tough Love! Tagged: , , , , ,
    November 27, 2008 Leave a Comment

    A Few Mentally Fit Links For You

    Below are a few articles your mind will appreciate…

    Five Ways to Keep Alzheimer’s Away

    How Stretching Your Mind Stretches Your World

    Daily Steps to Improve Self Confidence

    8 Breakthrough Ways to Improve Memory

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