Mind Control

How would you rate your level of mental fitness ?

1. High - My mental performance is exceptional. Just call me Leonardo.
2. Medium - I occasionally think of new things and sometimes challenge my thinking muscles.
3. Low - My mind is like a bowl of tapioca pudding. I'm in real need of a mental workout.

No matter which category you selected, remember that mental fitness - your ability to concentrate, to reason, to visualize, to imagine, to make decisions, to solve problems, and to think clearly and creatively - depends greatly on how well and how often you excercise your mind. If you feel that you are mentally out of shape, then cheer up; you can improve simply by taking the time to work out your mental muscles.

Why are some people's minds sharp, energetic, and overflowing with creative ideas and other people's intellects less than dazzling ?

There are two main reasons: the demands made by circumstances and the pull of mental habits.

A stonemason dosen't need to go to the gym to built up his arms. In the course of his work of mixing mortar and hauling bricks, his arms are naturally strengthened. Similarly, an accountant dosen't need to go to school to lighten up his arithmetic skills. Because he is constantly dealing with numbers, his mathematics muscles are kept trim. If your circumstances don't challenge your thinking muscles, you don't get the stimulation you need to keep fit.

Your mental life - what you notice, how much you pay attention, how well you learn, how you approach and deal with problems, what you remember, what you worry about, what you enjoy, what you think about all day long - is also largely guided by habits.

The key to mental fitness is to develop a good set of habits that help you get to where you want to go. Mentally fit people can exert themselves whenever they want to. They also know how to change habits through conscious, deliberate action and can form effective tendencies, such as the habit to daydream less, or to weigh decisions more carefully, or to take more risks. Together, these good habits encourage the mind to become more responsive and ultimately to develop the most important habit of all: the habit to develop good habits.

" Sow a thought, and you reap an act.

Sow an act, and you reap a habit.

Sow a habit, and you reap a character.

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny."

What makes a good Mental Exercise ?

Solving a crossword puzzle - Preparing for an exam- Conducting a television interview - Improvising on stage - Studying a difficult text - Cooking a gourmet dinner - Making up a chewing gum jingle - Visualizing a friend's face - Recalling the last time you had ice cream - Reciting the national anthem backwards - Naming your elementary school teachers - Continuing the sequence: 2,4,8,16, as long as you can - Learning a new language - Telling a convincing lie - Programming a computer - Changing a bad mood into a good mood - Recalling an important conversation you had last month - Asking your boss for a raise - Explaining why the sky is blue to a four-year old - Negotiating a contract - Playing a video gam - Searching for truth.