Not exercising your brain is the same as not exercising your muscles – over time you will be able to do less and less with it. You need to maintain and grow your intellectual capability – your memory, your knowledge, your ability to learn new things faster. You also need to get rid of things that have the opposite effect on your mind – like watching, reading and listening to mindless TV programs, books, movies and people that flood your mind with negative and non-constructive input. Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with watching TV or movies, for example, but are you doing it so much that, instead of recharging you, it consumes valuable time that could be used more constructively? Or even worse, is it just negative input that is slowly, but surely, programming immorality, fear, depression and the like into your mind?

You should regularly spend time on activities that will stimulate your mind positively and increase its capacity:

• Read more. This can be fiction, non-fiction, books, web sites, newspapers, magazines, etc. Reading grows your knowledge, develops your language skills and makes you think. Personally, I like to do reading that will help me to develop personally or that broadens my general knowledge. You can also augment your reading by watching educational or motivational videos or listening to such recordings while driving to work.

• Continue learning. There is always something new you still have to learn. Learn by reading or attending courses. They say the best way to learn is to teach others and do yourself what you are teaching others to do. Apply what you have learnt.

• Meditation or quiet time. Discover who you really are. When outside pressure does not dictate to you.

Let the Spirit change your way of thinking.

Ephesians 4:23 CEV

• Review things you want to remember. It exercises your memory and helps you learn.

• Always try things that are a bit outside your comfort zone. Break the routine sometimes and do a particular task differently. 

• Use your imagination more. Be a bit more creative. Apply it to everything you do – your work, your relationships, your holidays.

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.

Albert Einstein

• Try learning another language. It is excellent brain training and is extremely useful in a country like ours. Practice talking the language with a mother-tongue speaker of the language. I am trying my best to learn Xhosa.

• Learn to play a musical instrument. It exercises many parts of your brain and can also be very satisfying. My guitar-playing is getting along slowly but surely.

Remember to put a little bit of time aside in your busy life to spend on growing intellectually, on becoming smarter.

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.

Albert Einstein