In this article I will give you 10 tips for Develop your brain And to walk towards the strengthening of your intelligence and mental capacity.
Your mind is only yours: no one can take it away and you can not give it away. Since it will always be yours and will be controlled by you, only you are the architect who You can build and shape it.
Ten years after the scientist Hebb discovered the phenomenon of brain plasticity, different scientists showed that the brain can be Molded using training techniques 3 .
Just as we can tone and exercise our body, so can the brain be strengthened through brain gymnastics.
Brain gymnastics is the method par excellence to achieve this goal. It will help you achieve effective control over your Mental processes through the development of intellectual Problem resolution .
In other words, brain gymnastics will lead you to greater clarity and precision of thought and, indirectly, you will observe how this is done Will translate into greater self-confidence .
As in classical gymnastics, the key to brain gymnastics is to acquire the habit of exercising it. Through the repetition of a series of Exercises and routines, you will get them to become part of your day to day and habitual way of thinking.
Finally you will acquire new skills that will Will allow you to expand and develop your mind using a new way of thinking.
" The only efforts that can arouse all our energies are those that really are worth. Your mind is one of them. "Dr. Robert Jarvik.
9 Tips to Develop Your Brain
1- Exercise of self-awareness
The first step to develop your brain Consists of making yourself aware of what your current thinking, generating opinions and take decisions .
You are not just you: it is you and your circumstances. The way in which you learned to live, think, think and solve problems is due, in large part, to Context in which you live.
Practice
Take a picture of yourself and, looking at it, imagine what it would look like if the life circumstances were totally different.
So, for example, imagine how you would talk, think, think and solve your problems that person you see if: a) had been born in Paris and was Fashion designer, b) had been born in Italy and was director of an art gallery, c) had been born in Dubait and was an architect.
Finally, make the same reflection by seeing your current self in the photo and reflect on your current way of thinking, opining and solving problems in Function of your real circumstances of life.
2- Use it or lose it
The scientists Rosenzweig and Benett carried out in 1996 a review of previous scientific publications to answer the following question:
Which of the following statements is correct?
- Who had, retained.
- Wear it or lose it.
Through a comprehensive analysis of human studies of all ages and animals, they came to the conclusion that the correct statement Is the second.
In this way, they advise Exercise the brain And not stop learning and set new intellectual challenges whatever your age.
3- Memory, a matter of attention
The memory It is nothing more than capacity to remember.
In many occasions we will be surprised remembering always the same about a certain subject, losing details or different information. This does not want Say you have a bad memory, it just means that you use it"like everyone else".
Practice
How to use memory in a more beneficial way?
Our tendency to believe that we already know things prevents us pay attention In the new data. Therefore, when reading something about a family matter, we tend to To remember only what we already knew then, when passing carelessly by the new information, we forget previously unknown information.
In this way, every time you read or hear something, focus your attention on new concepts and ideas and leave in the background attention the information Which you already knew. This is a habit that, while initially challenging your instinct, will help you learn more quickly and effectively.
4- General culture
The general culture is the accumulation of knowledge that a person possesses on varied subjects, without taking into account the specialization in some specific sector of knowledge.
The source of culture is the society in which a person is immersed and, by generality, we make reference to that which is frequent or habitual.
Why is general culture important?
You may be a great scientist or be highly specialized in your area of knowledge because of your vital context. Within this context, it is You may be considered a wise and intelligent person. However, most likely in your overall vital context you are considered considerably less intelligent.
Since our self-perception of intelligence is partly generated through the opinions that others generate of us, and this self-perception is A fundamental tool of motivation to continue developing your intelligence and Mental abilities , It is very important to make others believe That we are not ignorant in what concerns to the general culture or of the day to day.
Practice
Try to spend some time in your life talking to people you consider to be vitally cultured or wise. These people will give you knowledge and forms To think that you can not learn using books.
Another good way to develop your general culture is, even if it sounds stupid, to play some kind of trivial game. It has worked for me personally.
I've always been overwhelmed by people who feel the right to say,"But you, what world do you live in? I considered you a person intelligent". Maybe it's just to ignore who won the football league last year, who has written such or such a book or what it means A certain word.
A good example of a trivial game that will not consume you hours and hours of your life is the application Asked . It is a fast game that will make you discover Things that everyone"should know"in a motivating way, so that, practically without effort, you will learn them.
In addition, it will help you develop a predictive ability about general culture events. For example, in what architectural style To sort a cathedral or a picture? You will immediately pick up patterns that will make you look great in your social conversations.
5- The expression: reflection of your ability to think
" You do not really understand something unless you are able to explain it to your grandmother ".- Albert Einstein
You may dominate a subject but, because of a poor capacity for expression, finally give the impression that"you have no idea". This occurs and, Usually, the people you talk to will not tell you because they do not hurt you.
Practice
How can I express an idea so that my interlocutor understands it?
The key is to present the information in a logical way. In many cases, we transmit the information in an incorrect order so that it seems Illogical or contradictory. The handling of the expression happens to be able to transmit the information as if you yourself were ignorant of it.
The more our mind has worked on a series of concepts or ideas, the stronger our tendency to express it illogically. For the So when you express an idea, try to make short, simple and clear statements that answer the most basic questions (who, what, Where, why and when). Only after setting the foundations can you enter into more complex conclusions.
This way you will avoid experiencing the feeling of incomprehension on the part of your interlocutors that will lead you to think that you are a person Contradictory or ignorant.
6- Understanding: How ?
The same principle explained in the previous point, with a small variation, will help you improve your understanding automatically and lasting.
When we set out to learn or understand a new theme, we often begin by exploring concrete details that we do not understand, forgetting the structure
General and basic theme: who, what, where, why and when.
To these five points we must add one more in the case of understanding: the how. When you focus on something you want to understand, you How is the most important question you have to ask yourself because it will help you to understand the information and integrate all the other details in a much More simple.
With a nod to the previous point, how is something we do not normally transmit when we express the information: it would be tedious and uninteresting For the unskilled interlocutor. In addition, it would not be easy to integrate since we would be calling our interlocutor to understand.
7- Challenge your mind
Do you feel that your mind is trapped in the routine?
Many times we have the feeling that we are not developing all our mental potential by the simple fact that we always train our Brain with the same type of activities.
The routine in our learning is the greatest enemy of progress.
Practice
Set yourself a learning challenge: learn a new language, learn to play an instrument, explore a new area of study, etc.
You will notice that you develop learning skills that you can apply to your previous and most habitual learning routines. For something it is said that knowledge does not Takes place.
8- Read, books or the internet?
Reading is considered an activity that encourages learning, concentration And language skills. However, thanks to technology, the Traditional conception of reading has changed.
According to scientist Gary W. Small, most people over 29 continue reading in non-digital format while most people Under 29 years of age, shows a clear preference for digital reading, especially by searching the internet.
A study by Small in 2009 shows that reading active searches on the internet has advantages compared to reading Traditional as it involves the activation of a wider neural network: more brain areas work together.
The difference between both types of reading lies in the reader's activity / passivity. Thus, while in traditional format readers only Observes an activation of the cerebral areas related to the vision and the language, the reading accompanied by active Internet search these and others Areas.
These include frontal areas related to decision making and care. These areas are fundamental in the current definition of Intelligence, measured using IC tests.
Filtering information and finding it actively are skills that we can develop very easily and comfortably using the internet.
In relation to this dichotomy, Small adds that we must choose the method of reading that we like the most. Why? It has been shown that Learning that we are more likely to predict better cognitive performance in the short and long term.
9- Exercises and more exercises
There are many Ways to exercise our mind . We probably do it on a daily basis, barely noticing through tedious work activities and study.
However, what better than using technology to train our brains in a fun way?
Although there are many options, one of the best and proven methods of cognitive training is offered by UnoBrain , Using online games Attractive and for all ages.
These exercises have been designed by the multidisciplinary team of professionals from the university's psychology department Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid .
Through Unobraining you can train in different areas: memory, perceptual skills and speed of information processing, Attention, executive functions and language.
And what other ways to develop the brain do you know?
References
- Savant, M. and Fleischer, L. (2005). Brain GYM. EDAF.
- Savant, M. (2000). Brain gymnastics in action. EDAF.
- Rosenzweig, M.R. And Bennett, E.L. (nineteen ninety six). Psychobiology of plasticity: effects of training and experience in brain and behavior. Behavioral Brain
Research, Vol 78; 57-65.