3 Simple Brain Workouts
We hesitate for a second when someone asks us what 5 plus 5 is. We know that 10 is the answer, but why does our sluggish brain wavers for a second or two? We are used to it, is’nt it?
Our brain is not used to being active unless required.
For instance, what if you want to know who the murderer is in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express? Putting your wit to action is a matter of life and death, so you can help Hercule Poirot find the murderer. It is more important than finding the solution to your 5-year-old’s math problem, yeah?
Let me give you some simple practices I do to exercise my brian (I mean, brain. Typo!!).
Everything Personalised
Why does it feel easier to lie rather than post truths on Instagram?
For instance, no one posts about our mom’s boringly white idly looking like a rock from the Sahara. None prefer to share photos of our torn underwear under the fake Armani. This happens more often than it’s supposed to. Captions from your Indian friend’s blog are much more attractive than the ones you came up with. People will giggle at Chandler’s joke rather than the cringy one your mind crafted.
The point is, try to accept that posting about your true life is fine. It may be hard at first, and you probably cringe to hit the post button, but that is life. Try posting stuff that you are embarrassed about. Captions that you write can be more personalized. Express what you feel. Author captions that mirror you. For once in your life, try not to care about your guise.
This is some kind of self-care I am talking about. Not caring about judgments is kinda fun.
Journaling Thoughts
This is kinda similar to the section you read above. But instead of just thinking about ideas, you pen them down. It is a good habit to keep a thought journal. I have one. It sounds like I’m a lonely guy. I am. But penning my thoughts down actually helped me with my sanity.
But remember, a thought journal is completely different from a journal. Journalling contains facts behind the experience you have. It can be of a particular date or a month. While journaling, you mainly focus on what happened and the feeling of it. Kinda like a daily log.
Thought journal is to confront your thoughts — Good or Bad, it doesn’t matter. You just sit down and write it down to deal with it. It can involve accepting these thoughts even though you do not like that you came up with them. It helps you discover more about yourself. Trust me, you’ll be amazed to realize more about yourself than you already know.
Questioning Things
Asking the question ‘Why?’ to every do’s, and don’ts is something you can start with. Ask questions. Begin asking questions whenever you’re asked to do something or not do something.
Remember when your Christian mother dragged you to church even though she knew you vigorously despised going there? Before deciding whether to go to church, invite yourself to the discussion on why you want to worship Jesus and not Shiva. They both are gods, they say. Both religions with vast but rather different principles. You can always go to the Mosque on Friday and then to Church on Sunday. Moreover, ask yourself why you have to pray to a God that you cannot see or feel (physically, I mean).
What about the relationships you have in your life? There should be reasons you stick on to some people longer than others. I’m sure you would have seen children leaving behind their parents in a housing facility even though they could take care of them. Why are you not leaving your own mother behind? Is it because you love your parents and some don’t? And, why are you even friends with someone who is a chain-smoker and has a full bottle of drink every night? Because she has an attractive personality?
Similarly, you may have reasons to do stuff, and stick with some people no matter what. Questioning relationships is healthy. Whenever a problem arises, find excuses for sticking other than ghosting them. It is good for you.
Conclusion
So, these are the three things you can do to improve your agility.
