A good mind fitness is an important part in our strive for feeling good. Mind development is something we should practice every day. In that way we can build a strong mind.
The picture of a human as a holistic entity is breaking through today. More and more people recognize that we are more than our body, that we consist of several parts which are all equally important. There are mainly three parts that we focus on, body, mind and soul.
It ´s also common knowledge today that all three of these parts need stimulation for us to feel as good as possible. Body exercise is training the body and the muscles, while soul exercise is for example meditation. What this article is about is mind exercise, how we can increase our mind fitness.
Although this is about mind fitness it also relates to the other parts of a human. Maybe that is the best way to practice, to use exercises with a holistic effect and which develop all parts of the individual.
These practices I have noticed working for me.
1. Reading
One of the first things one think of when talking about stimulating the mind is reading. It doesn ´t necessarily have to be books, but reading on the whole is stimulating the mind. It also develop ones feeling for language, and developing the language makes one grow as a human. One can assimilate broader and deeper texts. This of course requires that we read texts that gives us something. We all have a level of reading ability and understanding, and to develop our reading and our mind we need to deepen this ability and understanding.
2. Go for walks or be in stillness
Personally I recognize that walking is something that stimulates my mind and my thinking. To be outside gives fresh air and gives a chance to experience nature or whatever is in the surrounding. It increases the intake of oxygen and makes the brain more alert and clear. Even different forms of stillness where we give our mind a chance to relax is to our advantage. Our mind need time to rest to be able to work properly. Mental burnout is probably more common than physical burnout today.
3. Solving crosswords, playing chess and similar things
This is things we do where we have to use your brain to figure out solutions. Solving crosswords is one example, playing chess another. There are a lot of things we can do to stimulate our mind in this way, sudoku, mathematical challenges and so on. I have myself been coaching in football (soccer) and figuring out practices and tactics for sports is another example of this.
4. Colors stimulate
Colors is also something that stimulates the mind. If you want to get attention from the mind you can use strong colors. We can see this in advertising on the internet where the advertisers emphasizes the most important words by using strong colors. Many people become happy in a more colorful environment and thus easier achieve what they want. Just a bouquet of flowers may make a difference.
5. Think before reacting
We are always facing different situations in life. Mostly we react automatically to these situations. If it is something that may lead to a change our immediate reaction is resistance, a no. This is an instinctive reaction, but as humans we also have the ability to think before we decide. Stop for a moment and reflect on what is happening. What is my motive to say no to this? Can this even bring about something good? We should not underestimate the instinct, but by combining it with a reflection we can get better results. By making it a habit to reflect before we react we develop our mind.
What do you do to increase your mind fitness?