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Mentalrobics®
Mentalrobics®
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You exercise your body to stay physically in shape, so why shouldn't you exercise your brain to stay mentally fit? With these daily exercises you will learn how to flex your mind, improve your creativity and boost your memory. As with any exercise, repetition is necessary for you to see improvement, so pick your favorite exercises from our daily suggestions and repeat them as desired. Try to do some mentalrobics every single day!
Icebreakers are little exercises that help relax tension and loosen up a formal atmosphere in a meeting where you want to have creative ideas and group participation.
For this one, have everyone sit in a circle. One person is picked to start. They turn to their neighbor and say, "If you love me, baby, please smile." They then must try to get their neighbor to laugh or smile, without touching them, by making faces or other actions. If the neighbor smiles, then it is the neighbor's turn to make the next person smile. If the neighbor does not smile, they must say, "I love you baby, but I just can't smile" and the first person must move on to the next neighbor and try again. The game is over once the entire circle has had a chance.
For this one, have everyone sit in a circle. One person is picked to start. They turn to their neighbor and say, "If you love me, baby, please smile." They then must try to get their neighbor to laugh or smile, without touching them, by making faces or other actions. If the neighbor smiles, then it is the neighbor's turn to make the next person smile. If the neighbor does not smile, they must say, "I love you baby, but I just can't smile" and the first person must move on to the next neighbor and try again. The game is over once the entire circle has had a chance.
Our minds thrive on novelty and atrophy when they are under stimulated. Boredom is the negative emotion that results from this under stimulation and lack of interesting things to do. You may have noticed that it is difficult to be creative with a task that you are not interested in doing. This is because boredom is stressful and inhibits our creativity.
The brain quickly adapts to its experiences, which is why you can get bored doing something that previously brought you pleasure. Once something turns into a routine or habit, the mind pays less attention to it. In order to avoid boredom our minds are constantly seeking new experiences.
A new website, called BoredGourd.com, is devoted to helping people find new experiences and avoid boredom. It also helps people have more social interactions by creating communities and conversations around shared interests.
The brain quickly adapts to its experiences, which is why you can get bored doing something that previously brought you pleasure. Once something turns into a routine or habit, the mind pays less attention to it. In order to avoid boredom our minds are constantly seeking new experiences.
A new website, called BoredGourd.com, is devoted to helping people find new experiences and avoid boredom. It also helps people have more social interactions by creating communities and conversations around shared interests.
For each item in the list below, close your eyes and try to get a mental picture of the object. Try to make it as clear as possible. Are there any sounds, smells, or tastes associated with this item? Once you are done, grade yourself on how clear each object appeared in your mind (clear, vague, nothing). The next time you see one of these items, pay special attention to it and try to memorize its features. Then repeat this exercise and see if you've improved. There are some items in the list that you are certain to have never seen before. These are designed to flex your ability to put several memories together into one visualization.
1. A tennis ball
2. Your best friend
3. Superman
4. A human heart
5. A two-headed tiger
1. A tennis ball
2. Your best friend
3. Superman
4. A human heart
5. A two-headed tiger
People tend to classify a situation quickly, which causes us to think and respond to it in predictable ways. A creative thinker will think about situations from different angles.
Try this exercise to think of these situations from the opposite point of view.
1. You just found a $10 bill on the ground. List five reasons why this is unfortunate.
2. You just had a fight with your best friend. List five positive things about this.
3. Your sink is full of dirty dishes. List five reasons why this is good.
4. Your significant other surprises you with a romantic dinner. List five reasons why this is bad.
Try this exercise to think of these situations from the opposite point of view.
1. You just found a $10 bill on the ground. List five reasons why this is unfortunate.
2. You just had a fight with your best friend. List five positive things about this.
3. Your sink is full of dirty dishes. List five reasons why this is good.
4. Your significant other surprises you with a romantic dinner. List five reasons why this is bad.
Criticism is a comment or judgment made to find fault in an idea. This can be bad for creativity, especially when it comes from a boss or a spouse. When someone produces a new idea, it is likely that they are already a little insecure about it. Criticism often feels like a personal attack. As a result, most people become defensive when criticized and will stubbornly defend their idea even if the criticism has merit.
Criticism has no place in a brainstorm, but once you have selected an idea to pursue, it is a valuable tool. Accepting criticism and using it to improve your ideas are critical to producing quality solutions. Remember that the criticism is not about you; it is about the idea. Try to divorce yourself from your idea and pretend that it just fell out of the sky. This will help you look at it objectively and recognize if the criticism is valid.
Avoid being defensive. Instead, ask lots of clarifying questions and find out what changes the critic would make. Be sure to refer back to the goals so that you aren't solving problems that you do not need to solve. Once you fully understand what the critic is trying to say, you can decide if they have any validity.
A supportive environment that gives good criticism and encourages wild ideas will help people become more comfortable with creativity.
Criticism has no place in a brainstorm, but once you have selected an idea to pursue, it is a valuable tool. Accepting criticism and using it to improve your ideas are critical to producing quality solutions. Remember that the criticism is not about you; it is about the idea. Try to divorce yourself from your idea and pretend that it just fell out of the sky. This will help you look at it objectively and recognize if the criticism is valid.
Avoid being defensive. Instead, ask lots of clarifying questions and find out what changes the critic would make. Be sure to refer back to the goals so that you aren't solving problems that you do not need to solve. Once you fully understand what the critic is trying to say, you can decide if they have any validity.
A supportive environment that gives good criticism and encourages wild ideas will help people become more comfortable with creativity.
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