For better concentration, practice identifying “mind” irritations. Anything that’s going on just below the surface is sapping your ability to concentrate. Become aware of these things, and you can put them on a list or otherwise dismiss them. More formal meditation practices can help with this, but simple mindfulness exercises may be enough to let your natural powers of concentration function.
Simple brain exercises to strengthen your memory can be the repetitive use of any memory techniques. For example, mentally placing a list of items to be remembered at predetermined locations in your house, and seeing them there in an unusual way (think cucumbers dancing in the microwave), is one such technique. Just imagining where you’ll see a person next, and calling to them by name in your imagination is a good way to remember names.
Get a little wild to develop your creativity. See things and imagine something absurd, like flying lights. For more than just an exercise in imagination, though, you have to create some sense of the image. For this example, I’m thinking there might be a market for little lights on helium balloons. With a more or less neutral buoyancy for the balloons, a party could be full of colorful, floating, moving lights.
Recent research makes it clear that exercising your brain makes it work better. A more active brain has even been shown to postpone or reduce the incidence of age-related decline of mental function. So why not start today with some simple brain exercises?
By Steve Gillman, who has been studying brainpower and related topics for years. For more on How to Increase Brain Power, and to get the Brain Power Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: IncreaseBrainPower.com.
