‘The mind is like an elastic band; once stretched by a new idea, it never regains its original dimension.’ Oliver Wendell Holmes
It’s hardly surprising with the great demands on us in modern society sometimes we feel like we are running full tilt just to stand still. Add working long hours, bills and children in to the mix and it’s any wonder we can manage to make it through the day.
So when we consider these chinks in our armour and signs that things aren’t maybe as good as they could be we should look out for the signs, the alarm bells, the intuition saying ‘you in there – I’m talking to you’ and stop what we are doing and pause to regain some calm and clarity.
One positive about our mind giving us these strong signals is this, you can do something about it. Right now, today. The main issue to remember when it comes to your mind, body and spirit is that it is your responsibility to nourish it and look after it, no-one will do it for you and after all you are spending your entire life with yourself, may as well make the very best of it, haven’t you!
Here are some mind strengthening and stretching tips you can do right away.
1. By pausing and taking a deep breath and centering yourself. Your mind will be able to level out and it usually with moments of calmness, happiness and meditative states that your brains best creative work comes out. Do this daily and you will keep in touch with the real you.
2. Ensure you are getting at least 20 minutes of fresh air every day. Not only is it great to be outdoors surveying all of natures beauty but it gives your brain vital oxygen and air that helps it function optimally. It’s good for the whole of your wellbeing as well as your mind.
3. Living your life with passion and purpose. Spend some time with yourself in pondering one of your most important questions in life, what are you here for? Get to grips with that and your mind will pay you dividends for it will happily churn out all the information, ideas, creativity, people and contacts, reminders and so on to keep you on track with living life as you truly deserve.
4. Practice mental strength by saying no when you really want to. You don’t have to do everything everyone asks of you, especially if you don’t want to. So don’t. Also when you make your mind up to do something do it. Don’t procrastinate or let anything else get in the way. Plan to do it, keep your appointments with yourself and be strong. Your mind will thank-you for it and grow stronger every time.
5. Learn something new, do something different. Read books, attend courses or anything that you fancy a go at or trying. Every single time your mind is stretched, that’s it, it can’t go back. So the more you do and learn the bigger and stronger it gets. Don’t worry though there haven’t been any reports on people’s brains getting too big for their heads, our clever brain is too smart for that hiccup.
6. Invest in yourself and do personal development Aim for daily or weekly efforts. At the end of the day you are your greatest asset everything that you could ever need will come from you. So think of yourself as a living breathing walking library of knowledge and the greater the depths of your understanding of yourself, the more adept you will be at handling challenges, overcoming obstacles and keeping yourself at optimal levels of happiness.
Your mind is truly the most amazing tool ever but it needs your nurturing, attention, care and effort to be at it’s best.
I hope you will spend a little time each day in cultivating your own mind and seeing where it can take you. I look forward to hearing your results and new found passion for your little grey matter.