Thursday, 19 November 2015

CHARACTER BUILDING: Exercising for Strength (mentally)

Welcome back Viphilus*


Thursday Nov 19 ... continuation of Tuesday's post.

Back on August 17 I wrote about the concept of breakdown-breakthrough: breakdowns sometimes furnish the breakthrough in our thinking so that true change becomes possible. The way muscles grow to provide increased strength also comes from a breakdown-breakthrough; the muscle fibres actually breakdown, opening the door for the body’s repair-mode machinery to do its thing, with the result being bigger stronger muscles.


Exercising for Mental Strength
The mind strengthens the same way. Correction: the brain strengthens the same way. The old expression, “use it or lose it,” is quite appropriate for the brain because like a muscle, it will atrophy through lack of use.

If you are a good parent you will know that kids grow through challenge. Mother birds are good parents … they let the hatchlings break out of their own shells and they kick them out of the nests when it is time for them to fly. The fly-or-die model seems harsh but what is actually more cruel is a parent who removes all challenge from their child’s environment, removing every obstacle and making every decision. The result is a child who grows up to be a weak adult, having no capacity for making good rational judgments and who has no problem-solving skills. Good parents know that an environment of mental challenges is essential for their kids to grow mentally strong.

How can you challenge or exercise your own brain (mind)? By tackling problem-solving challenges and then not giving up. The “not giving up” part is a choice, but the funny thing is that making that choice actually strengthens the mind for similar future endeavours because everything we do (for better or worse) creates new neural pathways. With enough time reinforcing those pathways (see my “jungle paths” post) things like persistence and stick-to-it-iveness become mental habits that help us immensely. And as we strive to solve problems … every-day-kinda-problems … our brains get stronger.

What Are Good Exercises?
Internet mind-strengthening games that promise “your path to a stronger mind?” NO! Enough already with the mind games (pun completely intended).  Quit playing games in the hopes that this will make your brain stronger. They just are another way of justifying an excuse to be lazy and avoid real-life. They don’t actually help you. Give yourself something real and useful to do, such as these:

Stronger knowledge – read books that have a technical side to them (or watch videos if you really aren’t a reader … but TRY HARDER to be a reader). And don’t just read for 5 minutes at a time … devote some serious time (as in occasional marathon sessions) because this provides a way for the mind to absorb information that reading-sprints just won’t do.
Stronger memory skills – task yourself with memorizing something. Make lists (again, of something useful) and memorize them. Memorize small portions of classic literature (Bible – favourite fiction – technical material – speeches). For this one you need to be aware of your learning style (for example, I memorize best when I hear vs when I read). Unlike reading, long periods of memorization are NOT the way to do it. Interval training is best for this … spending 5 minutes each day for 7 days will get something into your memory far better than 35 minutes in one sitting.
Stronger problem-solving skills – want to get better at solving problems? Then start solving problems. You get better at anything that you intentionally practice, specifically when you have specific performance goals in mind. Tackle problems individually or as a team … both are excellent. And just don’t give up so quickly. Real life doesn’t provide instant answers or cheat codes (which is why playing problem-solving games often fail to deliver a better brain … because the challenge can be bypassed or you can purchase a “booster pack” to crush the current level).
Stronger concentration skills – same as problem solving. Want to get better at concentrating … then start practicing concentrating. If you want to get better at music, or sports, or public speaking, or …. Well, anything … you practice the thing you want to get better at. And in the case of the brain, intentional practice is the exercising that brings strength.
Stronger visioning and planning skills – if you struggle thinking forward in time because you are a NOW kinda person, then begin in a simple way with the following 4-step process. This may seem juvenile but it really is the process. With time your thinking will slip automatically into this mode as your become a stronger planner and you will naturally apply it to more and more things.

  1. Think of a simple goal or objective that you would like to accomplish and then imagine how you will feel when you achieve it. 
  2. Make a list of all the things that you need to do to accomplish it.
  3. Make a list of all the obstacles to prevent you from accomplishing it.
  4. Finally, map out the order of things from 2 and 3 above into one big list (with dates/times) and systematically work your way through the list until you have accomplished the goal.  

About the breakdown part. For each of the things that I mentioned above … if your practicing stops before you start to fail or fatigue, you likely won’t get the full benefit. It appears as though the “stress until breakdown” is a key even to mental strengthening. And of course, as I discussed when we looked at the importance of rest/recovery earlier in November, the break between periods of practice is just as important. Interval training isn’t just for the body … it strengthens the mind as well.

Come back tomorrow as we look at exercising for emotional strength.


Blessings Viphilus,

Your friend, Omega Man



* Viphilus means, "lover of life"

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