Phoenix Education

How Learning New Things Helps Our Brain

Learning something new is not easy and facing challenges regularly can really take a lot of your energy. However, learning new things is good because it benefits your brain. Keep reading to learn more about how learning new things help your brain.

Learning Programs the Brain

First and foremost, according to Psychology Today, learning is the way that your brain gets its programming. Think of it this way, when your computer needs an update, you download new software. This download is the same as learning something new. When you learn new things, your brain updates itself, clears out bugs and becomes better than before. So why wouldn’t you want a brain running on the latest program?

Keeps Dementia Away

Another major thing that learning accomplishes is it keeps your brain running in tip-top shape. When your brain is in tip-top shape, this means, according to Healthline, that you are less likely to suffer from conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Like any muscle in your body, the brain needs to be worked out regularly, and if it is not worked out, it will begin to atrophy. Do not let your brain atrophy and commit to learning new things every day!

You will Be Able to Adjust to Change Better

Change is a hard part of life, but it is something that everyone must learn to deal with at some point or another. The more you learn new things, the easier it will be to accept change. This is because learning helps you become familiar with unfamiliar subjects and get used to stepping outside of your comfort zone. If you are one of those people who struggle with change, you should start by learning something new!

You will Learn Faster

The coolest thing about your brain is that the more frequently you learn new things, the fasted your brain begins to learn! This means that learning new things in your free time can help other aspects of your life. Say you take a pottery class on the weekends; chances are, it will become easier to learn new things you need to do your job. Who does not want to learn faster than they did before?

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Overall, learning new things can be a challenge, but it is a necessary part of life. Learning new things helps program your brain and keeps dementia away as you age. It makes it easier for you to accept change, and you will begin to learn even faster, which will benefit all aspects of your life. So, embrace new things and start making it your goal to learn something every day!

Keep Your Mind Sharp as You Age

As you age, you may start to feel like your brain is aging right along with your body. This is especially true if you find yourself constantly forgetting things. There are several ways you can keep your mind sharp as you age, so keep reading to find out how to keep your brain sharp for years to come.

Do not Stop Learning

A big mistake that people make as they start to age is that they think they do not have to learn anymore. This is never the case. Learning helps to keep the brain fresh, young, and building new pathways. If you want to keep your mind sharp, you should try to learn something new every day. The best and easiest way to do this is by downloading a word of the day or language learning app you actively engage with every morning.

Play Brain Teasers

You have probably seen a commercial or two about how brain teasers can help keep your mind from aging, and the people who created these games might just know what they are talking about. According to Psychology Today, working your mind every day helps keep it active and keep yourself from forgetting things. So, take the time to find a brain teaser game that you enjoy, and aim to spend an hour on it every day. You may just be surprised at the results.

Do not Be Afraid to Use Organization Tools

A Harvard Health article points out that people grow more forgetful as they age but refuse to use the tools provided to keep them organized. You probably have a more complex life with more people in it now than you had a decade ago. It is only reasonable that there is no shame in using a planner (or app) to keep track of all the birthdays and important days you need to remember. Take the time to get organized around your house as well. This way, you will waste less time worrying about things that do not matter (like where your keys are.) This organization allows you to direct your brain power where it counts!

If you want to keep your mind sharp as you age, then make it a point never to stop learning. You could also consider working brain teasers into your everyday life. And if you need to use some tools along the way, do not be ashamed. That is what they are there for—to help keep your mind working at its best!

Read and Be Happy!

Have a great day

Another lovely post from Daily Motivation.

Constantly worrying about saying something that may upset others can keep you from moving forward in your personal development journey.

This fear of upsetting others can make it difficult for you to say no to others, and you may end up sacrificing your own needs in order to please other people.

Strive to increase your ability to tolerate confrontational situations. Practice sitting with your feelings when expressing differences in opinion.

Over time, as you learn to honor your boundaries and let go of trying to control others’ reactions, your fear will lessen.

Remember that no matter how hard you try, you can never control the reaction of other people.

Don’t burden yourself with unrealistic expectations.

My plan for the week

Meditating Your Way To A Happier You

Stress is such a buzz kill. Nothing will bring you down quicker than feeling stressed out. It keeps you from sleeping well, staying productive, and getting in a good mood. It only makes sense than that reducing stress increases happiness. One of the best ways to bring your stress levels down and increase your joy is to mediate.

In addition to reducing stress and increasing happiness, meditation is good for your help, helps you practice self-awareness, and it strengthens your concentration. If you are new to meditating, let me give you a quick primer on this ancient technique of clearing the mind.

Meditation is a state of thoughtless awareness. It is reached by practicing meditating, until we can reach that state of mind easily and effortlessly. Along the way meditation will help us concentrate, contemplate, and gives us more control over our mind and our thoughts.

There are all sorts of diverse ways to practice mediation. Some will have you focus on your breathing; some will have you focus on your body. You can practice in complete silence, while listening to white noise or soft music, or you can work through guided meditations.

If you are new to meditating, a simple guided meditation may be your best bet. There are plenty of recordings online, on YouTube, and even on apps. Some of them will be free, while others are paid guided meditations. Listen to a few of them until you find a mediation with which you are comfortable.

If you want to just try this without downloading or buying any guided meditations, give this basic meditation exercise a try. Start by laying down comfortably on your back. Have your hands on the side and relax. Close your eyes, and breathe naturally. Notice how the breath moves your body and try to focus on mind on each exhalation and inhalation. If you mind starts to wander, bring it back to your breath. Aim for a few minutes of meditation to begin with. Do not feel bad if you find yourself nodding off. Meditation can be very relaxing and a wonderful way to help you get to sleep.

With practice you will be able to mediate for longer periods of time. Experiment with techniques and lengths of mediation until you find your own routine that reduces stress, increases happiness and is something you can stick with for the long run. Keep meditating to keep up your happiness levels.

Giving Back Makes Us Happier

When I was a kid, I could not wait for Christmas. It was all about the presents I would get. I would spend days and weeks anticipating and trying to guess what Mom and Dad would get me this year. I would make wish lists and circle things in toy catalogues. It was all about receiving material things.

As I have grown older, that has changed a bit. Do not get me wrong, I still appreciate a thoughtful gift, but to be honest, most the fun at Christmas for me know is giving gifts. I find joy in the process of finding just the right gift, putting it in a pretty wrapper, and then seeing the eyes of the recipient light up when they open their present. And, of course, there is nothing more fun than watching the little ones squeal with delight on Christmas morning as they open the gifts under the tree.

There is an important lesson to be learned here and that is that giving makes us happier. It is not just about physical gifts. Anytime we can give something, be it our time, a kind word, sound advice, or a hug, it makes us feel good to give back. Giving increases our own happiness.

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It only makes sense then to focus on giving back more to help lead happier and more fulfilled lives. Think about the various things you can do to start giving back more. Volunteering is a wonderful place to start and there are so many opportunities to do just that. You can help at your child’s school or at the local church. Homeless shelters and soup kitchens are always grateful for an extra pair of hands. If you are good with animals, help your local humane society to walk dogs and socialize kittens. Reading to patients at the hospital or people in a senior living facility is another wonderful way to give up.

If you are not able to get out of the house much to volunteer, there are still plenty of opportunities to give back. If you are crafty, knit some preemie caps for your local hospital or sew up some pet blanket for a local no-kill shelter. Help organize online events, or offer to virtually tutor kids who need homework help.

Start volunteering and giving back and notice how good it makes you feel. It instils a sense of pride and purpose in you and that in turn will help increase your overall happiness. Giving back to your community and family is a wonderful feeling that I hope you get to experience more.

Think & Communicate In Positive Ways

Some people are great about finding the positive in any situation and telling you about it. They are the types of bosses, co-workers, teachers, and friends who will give you some constructive criticism while pointing out everything you have done right, even if the project or situation turns out to be a total mess. They are the people that build you up and give you the confidence boost you need to go back and fix things or start from scratch.

Then there are people who cannot give a compliment without also pointing out your shortcomings. They tend to focus on the negative in any situation and are quick to share that with you. These people can be hard to live and work with. The big question is what type of person you are and how do you think and communicate about your life and your surroundings.

If increased happiness is your goal, I suggest you work on making sure you think and communicate in a positive way. Why is thinking important? Because it is how we communicate with ourselves. I do not know about you, but I would much rather spend my time becoming my biggest cheerleader, than my worst critic.

Here is the good news. How you think and how you communicate can be learned and unlearned. That means if you are a bit of a pessimist right now, you can learn to think, be, and talk in a more positive way. Of course learned behaviours and habits are not always easy to change. Step one is that you must want to change. Step two is to learn to recognize your behaviour as it happens. Listen to the thoughts that are happening in your head and stop and make yourself think before you speak. Step three is to practice the new habit and behaviour. And that is really all there is to it.

Take a few minutes to reflect on how you have been thinking today. Think back on conversations you have had with others and get a feel for how you communicate with yourself and others. Are you as positive as you would like to be, or is there room for improvement. If so, start implementing the simple three step process I shared with you and keep practicing until this more positive way of thinking and communicating has become a strong new habit. It will have a significant impact in your own happiness and that of those around you.

Live In the Moment

One of the fastest way to stop any feeling of happiness in its track is to worry. We worry about things that have not happened yet, and we worry about things in the past that we can do nothing about. It is sad to think about how many happy moments we are missing out on because we are too worried about the past or the future.

One of the solutions to living a happier and more content life is to learn to live in the moment. You do not want to miss all the amazing little things life has in store for you because you are too busy worrying and agonizing about things that are outside of your control. The goal then for a happier life is to learn to live in the moment.

Start by simply paying attention to what is going on around you right now. Enjoy the people you are spending time with. Treasure the conversations and interactions you have with them. Look around you and notice the beauty in your surroundings. Each season brings new natural phenomena that can help you stay in the moment and make you happy. Notice how the light filters through the colourful leaves on a crisp fall day. Treasure the first few green sprouts at the end of winter. Laugh with your kids and play in the first snow of winter. Bask in the sun and look at how the light plays over the water on a sizzling summer day. Each day, each season, and each year has amazing treasures to offer if you take the time to stay in the moment and notice them.

Slow down and do not be afraid to stop and smell the roses. If you find yourself slipping back into your old ways of worrying about things you cannot change, remind yourself to stop and instead focus on something pretty in your surroundings. It does not matter what it is. The idea is to train your mind to live in the moment instead of the past or the future.

Does this mean you have to stop all plotting and planning for the future? Does it mean that you should not look back on the past and learn from it? Of course not. Those are both important parts of life. There are times to plan a vacation, figure out what groceries we need for the week, or plot a move or job change in the future. Those are productive ways to look ahead. Along the same lines, there are times when we should look back on the past. Maybe we can right a wrong, improve on things, or if nothing else learn from them. That is important as well. What is not important or productive is to dwell on the past or future events and worrying about things we cannot change. Whenever that happens stop yourself and focus on the present. It will not take you long to get out of the habit of worrying about things outside of your control. That, in turn, gives you more time and energy to focus on what truly matters.

Learning To Deal With Negative Thoughts and Emotions

Life is not all happiness and sunshine. And that is a good thing. How boring would it be to only have positive experiences? We need the negative, the sadness, and the disappointments to balance the happiness. They are what make the happy times stand out and shine all the brighter.

Negative thoughts, emotions, and the events and people that cause them are part of life. We must learn to deal with them and make the best of sad situations to live a happy and content life. Today I want to look at a few different ideas and strategies that can help us do just that.

Put Them In Perspective

Before you allow yourself to wallow in sadness, try your best to step back and look at the situation from a distinct perspective. Get some sleep, go out for a walk, and come back and look at it again. Try your best to see the positive side of things. Yes, there are undeniably sad and bad situations in our lives, but even so, most of them have a little flicker of something good in them as well. Find that positivity and hang on to it.

There are also a lot of times and situations where we focus too much on the negativity. A little distance, and a little perspective can show us that it is not as bad as we originally thought.

Allowing Yourself To Be Sad At Times

There are also times when life just plain sucks. It is ok to be sad. Do not feel that you must be happy 100% of the time. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to take the time to be sad and grieve. There is a lot of healing and coming to terms with things that can only happen when you let the sadness in. Feel it, so you can start to heal and recover. This will allow you to get back to the happier version of yourself.

Look On The Bright Side And Find Your Way Back To Happiness

To make sure that happens and you do not spiral down into a hole of sadness, despair, and depression, you must look for the right side, or the little flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. Look for it, focus on it, and use it to find your way back to happiness. Maybe that little flicker of hope is simply that you are not feeling quite as sad as you did yesterday. Or maybe it is a call from a friend, or a neighbour dropping off a card. Grab on to it and use anything good and positive in your life to lead you back.