12 Oct Happiness and a sharp mind
Achieving happiness is partly about learning from others…asking, for example, how do they achieve happiness and how can you benefit too!
Achieving happiness is also about learning and trying new things…and to do this, and enjoy more happiness, a sharp mind would not go astray.
Enjoy below another interesting article from Health Magazine via Gimundo.com. I hope it helps you find at least a little more happiness.
Five Tips for Sharpening Your Mind
10/11/2007
ê¢__‘–Fess up: When you meet a new person at a conference or a cocktail party, do you forget her name within thirty seconds of shaking her hand? Can you remember your favorite aunt’s birthday? And do you have any idea where you left the car keys?
No matter whether your once-razor sharp mind’s grown dull with age or you’ve had your head in the clouds since childhood, don’t despair: We’ve got a few tricks that should help you keep your fumbling brain on track.
1. Got a long to-do list? Make a game of it. When you’ve got 17 different errands to run before lunch, things start to get a bit hazy, and all of a sudden, you can’t recall whether you were meant to pick up lozenges or lasagna from the grocery store. Before you break down, there’s an easy way: Just visualize everything you have to do. So, if you need to pick up your son from hockey practice and then take him to the dentist, just picture him on the ice with a few teeth missing. (Unless that’s already what he looks like – hockey can be rough.)
2. Roll your eyes. In this case, it isn’t rude – in fact, it will help you to be more polite. Studies show that by moving your eyes back and forth for 30 seconds before you step into a party or other social setting, you’ll be prepared to remember new names and other valuable information.
3. Try something new. Learn Italian, cook coq au vin, or take a yoga class – it doesn’t really matter what you do, but learning any new skill will help expand your mental pathways. Oddly enough, by cramming your mind with new information, you can help build up all the knowledge that’s already stored within your brain.
4. Just breathe. If you tend to drift off during important meetings, there’s an easy way to keep yourself grounded: Start meditating beforehand. Research shows that a regular meditation practice is a great way to increase your attention span – so whether you’re sitting in a law school classroom or your company’s boardroom, when you’re called on to deliver an answer, you’ll know exactly what to say.
5. Smell the roses. A new study compared the smarts of people who were frequently exposed to a particular scent to those who weren’t given anything to sniff. Turns out, the subjects with something to smell did the best on memory-retention exercises. So when you’ve got something important to keep track of, light a scented candle or spritz a bit of perfume on your pillow before you go to bed. You’ll wake up a brainiac, and, as an added bonus, your house will smell great.
Read the whole story. (Health Magazine)