Increase Your Brain Power

I’m a big believer that intelligence isn’t predetermined at birth — it’s something you can actively cultivate. Whether that’s true or not is up for debate — but believing it certainly doesn’t hurt. So, how do you beef up the noggin?

Mind Power News is running an article claiming 70 ways to increase your brain power. I like a lot of the tips, but these are the ones that stand out:

• Breathe deep. More air in means more oxygen in the blood and therefore in the brain. Breath through your nose and you’ll notice that you use your diaphragm more, drawing air deeper into your lungs. Several deep breaths can also help to relax you, which is conducive to clearer thinking.
• Meditate. A simple meditation you can do right now is just closing your eyes and paying attention to your breath. Tensing up your muscles and then relaxing them to start may help. When your mind wanders, just bring your attention back to your breath. Five or ten minutes of this will usually relax you, clear your mind, and leave you more ready for any mental task.
• Use dead time. This is time that is otherwise wasted or just under-utilized. Driving time, time spent in waiting rooms, or even time spent raking your yard can be included in this. With a tape player and a trip to a public library, you can start to use this time to listen to books-on-tape. You may spend 200 hours a year in your car. What could you learn in that time?
• Write. Writing is good for your mind in a number of ways. It is a way to tell your memory what is important, so you’ll recall things more easily in the future. It is a way to clarify your thinking. It is a way to exercise your creativity and analytical ability. Diaries, idea-journals, poetry, note-taking and story-writing are all ways to use writing to boost your brain power.
• Imaginary friends. Talking to and getting advice from characters in your mind can be a great way to access the information in your subconscious mind. Imagine a conversation with a person who has a lot of knowledge in the area you want advice in.

The imaginary friends idea sounds a bit crazy — but I remember reading the same thing in Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich. He would imagine a roundtable of people who he considered very wise, and get their advice. What would Abraham Lincoln, or Thomas Edison, or Henry Ford advise doing?

The only thing I don’t like about the article is the amount of supplements recommended — do I really need to take 50 pills a day to increase my brain power?