Friday, November 12, 2010

9 mental exercises


Mental exercises to make your mind keener and more flexible. These exercises are meant to pull you out of your usual habits, give your a different perspective, and put you in situations that will demand resourcefulness and creative problem-solving. Only by testing and stretching yourself can you develop mental strength. One thing is clear: novelty and challenge bring happiness. People who stray from their routines, try new things, explore, and experiment tend to be happier than those who don’t. Of course, novelty and challenge can also bring frustration, anxiety, confusion, and annoyance along the way; it’s the process of facing those challenges that brings the “atmosphere of growth” so important to happiness.
1. Spend an hour each day without saying anything except in answer to direct questions, in the midst of the usual group, without creating the impression that you’re sulking or ill. Be as ordinary as possible. But do not volunteer remarks or try to draw out information.
2. Think for 30 minutes a day about one subject exclusively. Start with five minutes.
3. Talk for 15 minutes a day without using I, me, my, mine.
4. Pause on the threshold of any crowded room and size it up.
5. Keep a new acquaintance talking about himself or herself without allowing him to become conscious of it. Turn back any courteous reciprocal questions in a way that your auditor doesn’t feel rebuffed.
6. Talk exclusively about yourself and your interests without complaining, boasting, or boring your companions.
7. Plan two hours of a day and stick to the plan.
8. Set yourself twelve tasks at random: e.g., go twenty miles from home using ordinary conveyance; go 12 hours without food; go eat a meal in the unlikeliest place you can find; say nothing all day except in answer to questions; stay up all night and work.
9. From time to time, give yourself a day when you answer “yes” to any reasonable request.

Doing this kind of exercise can seem artificial, but it can also be a fun way to put a little challenge into your ordinary routine. Have you tried any useful exercises along these lines?

29 comments:

  1. Yay I am going to try to do this once a day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In fact I already know execise 1 and 3, but the remainding 7 are great.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice suggestions, I'll have to try some of em

    ReplyDelete
  4. disturbing info, bra

    ReplyDelete
  5. awesome
    thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  6. Interesting challenges. I'm gonna take the don't talk except answering questions.

    ReplyDelete
  7. cool post...good work

    ReplyDelete
  8. Seems like some good exercises for the mind

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting post; thanks for tips to train my brain :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Seems like a pretty neat challenge. I know mental exercises are sometimes JUST AS important as physical exercising as you get older.

    ReplyDelete
  11. interesting post!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This isn't even true! Just kidding, I do this all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous2:23 PM

    Number 5 soudns like a difficult exercise. Is the purpose to become a better listener?

    ReplyDelete
  14. great post ! I really like it

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous3:01 PM

    I need to do something new everyday! So I will try these exercises out :D

    ReplyDelete
  16. wow, thanks for sharing this

    ReplyDelete
  17. Or you can just play a bunch of different board games and stuff and get the same results >=D

    ReplyDelete
  18. this is a good follow up to your last post

    ReplyDelete
  19. this is quite interesting

    ReplyDelete
  20. nice, I'm looking forward to the next one

    ReplyDelete
  21. wow cool thanks for the advice :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. cool thanks ima try some of em , very cool....esp the 2 hour planning thing

    ReplyDelete
  23. Most of these steps I already do, I just didn't realize why.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Nice exercises! I think I might go workout! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hmm interesting. I do many of those anyways, without thinking about it. But I will try to be more conscious of it in the future :D

    ReplyDelete