Age-Proofing Your Brain – Plasticity, 4

Tips to enhance brain plasticity.

• .   When exposed to the opinions of others, notice ways in which their opinions have impacted their lives, rather than focusing exclusively on how their opinions differ from yours. If their lives have been impacted for the better, avoid dismissing their opinions just because they are new to you or you disagree. You may be able to use part of what you hear or apply it in a new way.

•  .   Slow down and avoid rushing to disagree (or agree) with another’s viewpoint. It’s only their brain’s opinion and may have nothing to do with yours. However, the more ideas and ways of looking at the same thing to which your brain is exposed the more.

 More tomorrow.

Age-Proofing Your Brain – Plasticity, 3

Tips to enhance Brain Plasticity

     Realize that every brain is unique—yours included. All each brain has is its own opinion based on its own structure, function, and perception (education, life experiences, expectations, brainwashing, etc.). Some think their opinion is “the only correct one,” and it may be in reality, but it’s still their brain’s opinion.

      Avoid foolish controversy and meaningless argument. When people argue, at least one of the brains usually ‘thinks it  ‘really knows’ and believes that if it speaks louder and longer, adds some pejoratives, or applies coercion, ‘maybe, just maybe that other brain will get it.’ Think again!

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Age-Proofing Your Brain – Plasticity, 2

Lack of flexibility frequently triggers reactions rather than thoughtful solution-based responses. This type of unattractive (and usually unhelpful) rigidity may be seen in a variety of oppressive regimes—countries, organizations, and even family systems. Be very clear that the ability to be flexible by no means implies that you are a wishy-washy person without your own opinions, beliefs, standards, or boundaries. In today’s world, with its fast-changing pace and ever-increasing types of technologies, flexibility is essential for your own welfare. It’s critical for the overall welfare of humanity and the planet, as well. 

Thanks to brain plasticity, mental flexibility allows you to:

·        Adapt to change fairly easily and not be thrown off

·        Brainstorm solutions to problems

·        See multiple perspectives

·        Tolerate some uncertainty and ambiguity

·        Take calculated risks

·        Think practically as well as innovatively

More Tomorrow.

Age-Proofing Your Brain, Plasticity, 1

Brain plasticity can be explained as the brain’s innate ability to be flexible and adaptable and learn new things. It can create new software programs, much as on your computer, and can even rewire itself or its software programs if it or part of the body is injured.” According to Chuck Gallozzi, author of over 200 articles on personal development and national champion of a Toastmasters International Speech Contest, flexibility is a very desirable quality. He points out: “To be flexible, we must be willing to break from tradition, custom, and habit. We must be willing to question everything. Keep an open mind, but remember gullibility enslaves you to the opinions of others, while skepticism frees you to discover the value or uselessness inherent in the ideas of others . . . Blessed are the mentally flexible for they shall not get bent out of shape.” More tomorrow

Age-Proofing Your Brain – Spirituality, 2

Emerging data point to a connection between spirituality—the spirit with which you live life—and energy. In her best-selling book Anatomy of the Spirit, Dr. Carolyn Myss pointed out: “Our bodies thrive when our spirits thrive . . . One’s spiritual thoughts and activities are inseparable from other aspects of life . . . From an energy point of view, every choice that enhances our spirits strengthens our energy field.” M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled believed that those who are seeking for but unable to find a desired spiritual life, may substitute an addictive behavior for the spiritual connection they crave but cannot develop.  Spirituality and gratitude may be linked. In his book Thanks! Robert Emmons points out that people who practice grateful thinking reap many emotional, physical, and interpersonal benefits. They tend to take better care of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like physical and mental exercise, healthy eating, and regular physical examinations.

Age-Proofing Your Brain, Spirituality, 1

Hone your spirituality—the spirit in which you live life. Avoid allowing an unchangeable past or an uncertain future to ruin the splendid gift of today.

 Defining spirituality can be a bit challenging. Some have explained it as the sense of awe you experience when overwhelmed with the beauty of nature, music, architecture, religious rites, meditation, or a connection with a Higher Power as you perceive it, or when in the grip of deep compassion, empathy, or gratitude. The triggers for awe in your brain and the choices you make related to spirituality are impacted by a myriad of factors. Some are based on information, education, and expectations, while others involve past experiences, innate giftedness, role-modeling, or personal desire. Some advocate identifying what evokes a sense of awe in your brain and regularly engaging in those experiences. Actor Martin Sheen had an interesting perspective, “The direction of the universe can and will be determined by the presence of individual spirituality or the lack of it. If you would change the world, change yourself and it is done.”  More tomorrow.

Age-proofing with Optimism, 2

How does optimism link with better health and better recovery if you suffer a stroke? Researchers found that people who are optimistic tended to have lower levels of inflammation in their body (as shown by levels or interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein). Chronic inflammation Chronic inflammation tends to harm the brain and impairs the body’s ability to recover. The more optimistic people were, the lower their levels of these inflammatory markers. How do you become more positive? Here are a few suggestions:

• 1.   Choose to be grateful. First thing in the morning think of something for which you are grateful. Do that throughout the day, as well, and the last thing before falling asleep at night.
• 2.   Do whatever you can to create a positive environment around you. Listening to (or playing an instrument) your favorite music has shown to have many benefits for both brain and body. It can be “healing.”
• 3.   Picture in your mind’s eye your “best possible self.” You may not be there—“look” at that picture often. Make it a a goal. You’ll get farther that way.
• 4.   Imagine life in the future and “see” everything that can go well, going well, as if it is already happening. That will give your brain something to aim for. Studies have shown that “imagining” in the brain can be nearly as powerful as an actual occurrence.