Our whole body is an absolutely engineering marvel. The brain which occupies a very critical place in our head, neatly protected by the strength of our skull, is one of the most brilliant creations one can think of, a gift from the Almighty.
Our brain is made up of millions of neurons which are all interconnected with each other which govern many vital organs of our body. The brain also is also a powerhouse which regulates our thought processes, our feelings, our thoughts and what we can achieve in our lives over a period of time right from our infancy, childhood, adolescence and our professional journey which could last anything between three to five decades and finally when we age and leave this world.
Keeping the brain active and buoyant across all your growing and ageing process in our lives is a very important aspect and this is what is being dealt with in this article which you might get benefitted.
Our emotions ranging from anxiety, sadness, enthusiasm, the rush of adrenaline as we undertake some incredible initiatives in our lives, happiness, grief, ecstasy, loss, defeat, disappointment, attachment, separation, fear, surprise, disgust and many more all are processed by our brain and get amplified at times as we face various situations in our lives.
For eg., Happiness and feeling joyous is the most beautiful expressed emotion in the world irrespective of whatever may be the situation…birth of a child in the family, a marriage between two souls, buying a new property or a sophisticated SUV or getting promoted or going for a picnic in a cruise liner to even travelling to a nice resort with your loved ones. Spreading joy, being joyous and remaining in this emotional state of mind can be infectious and very positive. At the same time, emotions like fear, depression, disgust and anxiety are not unknown to anyone. All these four emotions are equally strong and have a place in our lives which sometimes overcome our thought process, behaviours, social acceptance and actions which emanate out of these emotions. These emotions, unfortunately can impact and take over the sensibilities of any person who is vulnerable to these emotions, sparing no one, regardless of age, gender, geography or health. More importantly, the viewer of these emotions (your immediate family member, your friend, your colleague in office) has to respond accordingly to the person who is experiencing these emotions utilizing the power of the neurons of the brain which processes the emotions in his or own way in order to respond to the situation and the affected person. None of these 4 emotions are easy to manage. Our brain cells continue to get challenged in such situations.
Our human brain, as I had mentioned is a very interesting creation much like an advanced computer where your skills, you have acquired over the years on a particular subject matter which you studied in high school or your graduation along with your indulgence in multiple co-curricular activities in your school all come into play along with your passion to excel in a given assignment which you are currently working on. It is therefore not surprising that individuals who excel in their chosen field – business, sports, music, accountancy, acting, painting, a fighter pilot, a Bharatanatyam or a ballet dancer all are able to achieve stupendous success only due to the way they process the opportunity in front of them with the neurons in their brains working overtime to help you achieve the goal.
Our brain also has the unique ability to adjust, adapt, analyze, process, learn and unlearn as we grow up and age. This is a powerful phenomenon called neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. It is the exceptional capability of the neural networks (neurons) of our brain to change through reorganization, planning and growth which in some languages is also known as Brain Rewiring to do things very differently than how you were previously functioning. For you to experience this kind of a positive change, you have to consistently and periodically engage yourselves in training or in a physical activity akin to training.
Let me give you an example, if a top performing athlete of his / her country is participating in an international level sports like the Olympics for sprint or running, the individual has to train his / her brain to think like as if he / she has won the race by thinking like a true winner. The individual has to rewire his / her brain in terms of investing heavily on the strenuous training schedules, be disciplined in terms of the recommended diet so that he / she has enough proteinaceous diet and does not increase his / her weight which can derail the athlete from the mission of running the race in a global arena. The individual has to cut on all triggers which can distract him / her from the mission of winning a medal for the country… like watching TV, looking at the mobile phone, watching the favourite movie on his / her tablet, going with friends for a party etc. which can derail his / her mission from the mission and objective of winning a medal in the race. So when you are in the process of rewiring your brain, your brain automatically gives your mind and body signals to direct you to do things which will help you be mentally and physically fit enough to not only participate in the race but also having a winning mindset to be the No. 1 sprinter to win the race and also win a medal for your country.
Let me share with you some ideas which can potentially help you to train your brain and face all challenges and issues associated with these challenges. May be some of these ideas and inputs could be beneficial to you and your brain.
1. Indulge in creative games: Training of your brain usually goes just beyond exercise or burning fat by running or jogging. Indulge in activities which are creative in nature like painting, gardening, singing or even joining some classes where you can learn playing a new instrument like flute, violin, sitar, tabla or the keyboards. You can even join some cookery classes, public speaking classes or get involved in poetry writing, expressive writing or even learning a new language like Chinese, Spanish, German etc. This can tremendously improve your cognitive functions of your brain.
2. Include brain health rich food in your diet: Include a substantial quantum of leafy or green vegetables like spinach or broccoli in your diet help slow cognitive decline. It is a known fact that food containing high fat content alters the brain and encourages brain degradation. Therefore, as you increase the consumption of green vegetables in your diet, simultaneously cut down or minimize saturated fat containing food like cheese, biscuits, cake, ghee and butter.
3. Learn a new skill: It is important to engage multiple areas of your brain as you age and learning a new skill enhances your cognitive, motor and memory skill associations. For eg., reading a book on philosophy Inner Engineering by Sadhguru or Atomic Habits by James Clear, cooking a new dish with all together new ingredients or participating in a pottery class or trying to solve the Rubik cube, challenges your brain and helps spark new thoughts and ways to help you resolve the problems you face in your daily life. When we are learning something new, our neurons in the different compartments of the brain start communicating with each other to form connections which allows them to transmit messages more accurately, easily and with less difficulty. This would in turn help you to be nimbler and swift in addressing some of the challenges in your life which you felt you could not resolve.
4. Undertake some simple changes in your life: It is important to keep your brain and mind smart, sharp and agile as you age. So keep challenging your brain to think and stay young. Some ways to do it…join a class of aerobics or yoga which are generally having young participants, may be start combing your hair with your left hand, tying your shoe laces with your right hand in your back, listening to a podcast and trying to appreciate the way the speaker is trying to connect with you.
5. Meet different people: Try if you can meet, greet and speak to 1 new person daily: This is not easy as it requires self-confidence, a positive attitude and inclination to invest yourselves in a conversation with an absolute new person. It could be your apartment security guard, the neighbourhood pharmacist, the roadside cobbler etc. It is not a difficult thing to do actually. These new interactions will help you realise the value these persons bring to the society and in turn your brain remains active while you are conversing with them trying to learn something new and different about these individuals who also contribute to the well-being of the society you live in.
6. Incorporate some new and different reading and viewing: Watch a horror movie in Netflix or read an auto biography or try reading a classic by Shakespeare or a book written by Simon Sinek or Indra Nooyi on leadership. All these readings and viewing will help you broaden your horizons, your brain’s thinking capabilities as well as to assimilate varied perspectives on how these individuals have attempted to conduct themselves in their chosen line of profession. It is also a great mental workout for you to connect the dots with different personalities, perspectives, cultures and time periods.
So try out these varied ideas and try to incorporate it gradually in your daily routine to see a magical impact on your brain.
@sreekumar68
I love life & the challenges it has thrown at me. I have experienced a lot of failures along with some modest successes by embracing positivity.
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