Fun Ways to Increase Your Mental Ability.

Games have always been a source of entertainment when we’re bored or with the company of others.

Be it video games, card games, drinking games or any other type of game you can think of.

But we overlook an important aspect of games in general.

Sure, games are fun and awesome to play.

But an interesting thing about them is that they also have the ability to increase mental clarity and in a way, make you smarter and sharper.

Different games have varying degrees of mental and logical stimulation though.

Needless to say, those of the highest stimulation tend to elicit the most benefits.

Think about games like chess, sudoku and puzzle games in general.

They all involve a lot more logical stimulation than Flappy Bird or Pokemon Go because they’re mentally tough games.

Not only will they boost your mental clarity over time but they’ll also prevent mental diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia when you age.

One game, in particular, is known for boosting working memory, short-term memory and fluid intelligence.

It’s called ‘Dual N-Back’.

You can download it on your phone’s app store and give it a try.

I won’t spoil the fun by letting you know what it’s all about.

So go ahead and have some guilt-free fun.

Think of it as a long-term investment.

Although their main purpose is entertainment, it’s also a mentally beneficial activity.

You’ll be sharpening your cognitive abilities and ensuring that your brain is functioning at its peak in the long-term.

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How To Make A HUGE Task So Much Easier To Complete.

Simply by doing just a little every day.

We put off things to do and procrastinate because we say things like we’re tired and we’ll start doing it another day.

But one of the biggest reasons that procrastination occurs is because the task just seems too daunting to complete.

Like having to write a thousand word essay by the end of the week.

Or having to come up with a ton of ideas for a project by the end of the week.

Then we push it to the very last minute and unnecessarily stress ourselves out because we didn’t start earlier.

So to make a task easier to complete, break it down and do just a little every day.

Let’s say you have to submit a thousand word essay by next week.
Just write about 150 words every day and you’ll have a thousand by the end of the week.

Or say you have to come up with a ton of ideas for a project by next week.
Just think about 5 ideas every day and you’ll end up with 35 by the end of the week.

Daily small actions build up over time.

And it’s a great way to beat procrastination since you’re not thinking about completing everything all at once.

Think about doing just a little every day.

The task seems a lot less overwhelming that way.

Start early, do a little every day, and let momentum take care of everything else.

3 Common Reasons Why You’re Always Tired.

Having a lack of sleep is probably the most obvious reason.

Couple that together with an irregular sleep schedule and you’ll find yourself nodding off throughout the day, trying to keep yourself awake.

But there are also other factors that could be making you fatigued.

One of them is the amount of physical activity that you’re getting.

And yes, this refers to exercise.

Be it cardio, strength training, pilates, yoga, anything.

How much physical activity are you getting daily?

If you’re not doing much of it, chances are, your body’s becoming sluggish from all that inactivity.

Which then forms the impression of fatigue and laziness.

You actually feel tired when you’re not exercising enough.

Contrary to popular belief, exercise actually makes you more awake and energised.

You don’t hear that often but it’s true.

Some of us seem to hold this belief that exercising when we’re tired makes us more tired.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Exercise energizes.

And it’s probably something that we can all aim to have more of every day.

Now that you’ve got a consistent exercise and sleep schedule in check and you’re still feeling tired all the time, what’s next?

The next suspect is your water intake then.

You’re probably not drinking enough water if you’re still feeling tired after getting enough exercise and sleep.

If you’ve been here for some time, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of drinking a ton of water.

And for good reason too.

Lack of hydration not only makes you tired.

You’re also prone to getting mild headaches, be less focused and more likely to be in a bad mood.

So make sure you’re getting enough sleep, exercise and water.

And expect your productivity, mood and energy levels to boost.

Unnecessary Stress.

Stress isn’t always a bad thing.

Some of it actually serve as good motivation for us to get stuff done and step out of our comfort zones.

Other times, it’s just unnecessary and a result of our own doing.

And unfortunately for us, we actually face a lot more stress from our own doing.

Like allowing yourself to be affected by negative thoughts.
Like procrastinating and leaving things to the very last minute.

These are all stress caused by us.

Imagine if you ignored those negative thoughts and didn’t let them faze you.
Imagine if you didn’t procrastinate and worked on your projects early.

The stress wouldn’t exist.

And depending on how often you’re stressed by negative thoughts or procrastination or anything else.

Eliminating those sources of stress means eliminating a lot of anxiety and inner turmoil.

But it’s easier said than done.

Because it essentially means undoing years of ingrained behaviour.

But it’s about time we stop stressing ourselves out.

Take a deep belly breath and let it all go.

Bring your awareness to the present moment instead of fixating on the negative thoughts in your mind.

Notice how your breath feels as you inhale and exhale.
Notice how your rear feels as you’re seated on a chair.
Notice how your feet feel against the ground.

Whenever you feel overwhelmed by life, just say this to yourself.

“Here and now”.

Get out of your head and bring awareness to the present.

There’s nothing else that’s free of worry, judgement and anxiety than the present moment.

Why It’s Time To Stop Running Away.

Whenever we’re faced with difficult situations, our natural instinct is to run away from them.

That sounds like a good idea.

And from an evolutionary point of view, it makes sense.

Animals run when they sense predators to avoid getting eaten.

Our cavemen ancestors ran when they sensed danger to ensure the survival of the human race.

But it’s time to go against that. 

The ‘dangers’ we face now aren’t the same.

Our ‘fight or flight’ response gets triggered even though most of the situations we face now aren’t life-threatening.

They’re simply tough situations that we don’t want to face.

And constantly running away from them actually creates more problems for us.

We don’t learn how to be good at dealing with tough situations.

We learn how to be good at running away from everything.

And that’s bad.

Like having to work on a tough assignment.
Or asking a seemingly silly question in class or at work for fear of being judged.
Or telling a crush that you like them.

It’s easy to run away and not have to deal with the possible pain, hurt, rejection or embarrassment.

But you gain nothing from running away.

Absolutely nothing.

That ‘comfort bubble’ you’re in continues to be the same size as it was.

Never expanding, never growing.

And this small bubble of yours will stay that way for as long as you’re running away from everything.

This is why some people don’t seem to mature as they get older.
This is why some people go through life struggling instead of thriving.
This is why some people seem to find that everything is against them.

They’re just not well-equipped to deal with life’s tough times.

And it’s time to stop that.

It’s time to stop running away.

Getting The Most Bang For Your Time.

You’ve probably heard the term ‘getting the most bang for your buck’.

It’s about getting the most value from a certain amount of money you have.

Although its origin of use was for the concept of money, that’s not the only area we can apply it for.

We can also use it for the betterment of our lives.

But the true currency for our lives isn’t money.

It’s time.

And it’s an extremely limited resource.

The best part is, everyone’s given the same amount of time.

So it’s a level playing field.

As much as we want to spend our time on meaningful activities, there are three that will ‘bring the most bang for your time’.

Meditation.
Exercise.
Drinking water.

Invest a significant amount of time into just these three activities and you’ll be ensuring that your emotional, mental and physical health will always be at peak condition.

Your mind is razor sharp.
Your confidence is sky high.
Your body is constantly active and ready to go.

Then everything else in life falls into place.

Social interactions, productivity at work, energy and motivation levels, business meetings, sports, activities, anything.

You’ll be making the most of every situation you’re in because you’re always in peak condition, emotionally, mentally and physically.

Top form. All the time.

Sometimes, all it takes is to strip the unnecessary so that the necessary can work.

How To Wake Up Early Without Feeling Like A Zombie.

We all know how waking up early is good for us.

Self-made millionaires and CEOs do it all the time.

They get up early to get a head start on their day.

And it’s arguably the most productive time anyone can have if done right.

But it’s tough.

You know how hard it can get to fight the snooze monster when your alarm rings.

You want to get up at 5 am but at the same time, you don’t want to get up from your comfy bed.

What do you do then?

Well, fear not for all hope is not lost.

Waking up at a certain time is all about building the habit of waking up at a certain time.

If you’ve never woken up at 5 am before, your body is going to give you hell when that alarm rings at 5 am.

Your body’s in shock that you’re telling it to wake up at 5 am.

“I’ve always been asleep at 5 am and now you want me to get up at 5 am?!”

Is probably what your body is saying when your alarm goes off.

And it’s not a good feeling either.

A strategy that has worked for a lot of people is to gradually set the alarm earlier every week.

This strategy increases your chances of actually waking up at 5 am, compared to just jumping in cold turkey like what I did.

So if you usually wake up at 8 am, set the alarm to 7 am for the entirety of the week.

AND TURN OFF THE SNOOZE FUNCTION.

That’s right.

No more snooze from now on.

Snoozing is perhaps one of the biggest contributors of a term I call ‘waking up procrastination’.

The alarm goes off at 5 am, you hit snooze and sleep on for 10 minutes.

Then when the alarm rings, you hit snooze again. 
And again. 
And again.

Before you know it, it’s 8 am and you’ve just been a victim of ‘waking up procrastination’.

Turn off the snooze function and set your alarm an hour earlier than usual.

Which means you’ll also need to sleep an hour earlier than your usual bedtime.

That goes without saying.

You need to have adequate sleep for this to work, by the way.

Or maybe even more during this adjustment period so you won’t feel so groggy when the alarm goes off.

Another thing you have to do is to drink water before going to bed and after waking up.

Not so much before going to bed because you don’t want to interrupt your sleep and have to use the toilet.

But right after waking up is the perfect time to load up on water.

Your body’s just gone through hours without water during sleep.

So part of the sluggishness you experience when waking up is also due to mild dehydration.

Turn off that snooze and start rising early.