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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!
One way to come up with new ideas or improve upon existing ideas is to elaborate on them. In fact, some people believe that all new ideas are elaborations of existing ideas. You should always be striving to improve your ideas and solutions by adding depth or detail. You can use the following nine different principles to help in your elaborations.
Substitution
Can I put something in place of something else?
Combination
Can I combine two ideas into one?
Adapt
How could I make something similar work?
Modify or Magnify
How can I alter or expand the use of this idea?
Put to other use
What other applications is this idea useful for?
Eliminate
What parts of the idea can I get rid of?
Rearrange or Reverse
How can I rearrange the components? What are some opposite ideas?
You can remember the above nine principles by using the acronym SCAMPER.
Substitution
Can I put something in place of something else?
Combination
Can I combine two ideas into one?
Adapt
How could I make something similar work?
Modify or Magnify
How can I alter or expand the use of this idea?
Put to other use
What other applications is this idea useful for?
Eliminate
What parts of the idea can I get rid of?
Rearrange or Reverse
How can I rearrange the components? What are some opposite ideas?
You can remember the above nine principles by using the acronym SCAMPER.
For each of the following statements, come up with at least two plausible reasons why they are true. Now, come up with at least two plausible reasons why they are false. This exercise will help you to see that many issues have different sides to them.
1. Vitamins are good for you.
2. Reading makes you smart.
3. Gold is valuable.
4. Winning the lottery will make you happy.
You can repeat this exercise by using any subjective statement that you can find.
1. Vitamins are good for you.
2. Reading makes you smart.
3. Gold is valuable.
4. Winning the lottery will make you happy.
You can repeat this exercise by using any subjective statement that you can find.
Cognitive dissonance is a mental condition resulting from conflicting ideas. The information that you already know is so important that your mind has a hard time reconciling new information that is contradictory or inconsistent. It is these contradicting thoughts that drive the human mind to invent ideas and beliefs that minimize the amount of dissonance. A creative person must be able to tolerate conflicting ideas and find ways that opposites can be connected in a new point of view. The inability to tolerate opposites is an emotional block that can be overcome with practice.
Motivation is the feeling that causes us to perform actions. Hunger motivates us to eat, boredom motivates us to play and loneliness motivates us to make friends. Without motivation of some sort, we wouldn't accomplish much.
Motivation can be described as either direct or indirect. Direct motivation is like hunger. The action that you perform (eating) directly satisfies the need (hunger). Indirect motivation is a little more complicated because there is something in between the action and the fulfilled need. For example, money may be an indirect motivation to work hard. Money by itself is useless unless you spend it on something, like your rent or mortgage. Having a place to live is the motivation to work hard and money sits in the middle as an indirect motivator.
Motivation can also be described in terms of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is something that you do for no other reason than your own enjoyment. Reading a book or having a hobby are good examples. Extrinsic motivation uses rewards, such as money, to encourage you to do something that you may not want to do on your own. A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can be a powerful force. If you enjoy what you are doing and get rewarded for it, you are certainly going to keep doing it!
Intrinsic motivation and creativity are closely interrelated. If you don't enjoy what you are doing, your mind will not be in the right state to think creatively. Finding ways to turn dull tasks into interesting activities is an important skill to learn if you want to be creative in everything that you do. Our Mentalrobics activities can help you learn how to do this.
Motivation can be described as either direct or indirect. Direct motivation is like hunger. The action that you perform (eating) directly satisfies the need (hunger). Indirect motivation is a little more complicated because there is something in between the action and the fulfilled need. For example, money may be an indirect motivation to work hard. Money by itself is useless unless you spend it on something, like your rent or mortgage. Having a place to live is the motivation to work hard and money sits in the middle as an indirect motivator.
Motivation can also be described in terms of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is something that you do for no other reason than your own enjoyment. Reading a book or having a hobby are good examples. Extrinsic motivation uses rewards, such as money, to encourage you to do something that you may not want to do on your own. A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can be a powerful force. If you enjoy what you are doing and get rewarded for it, you are certainly going to keep doing it!
Intrinsic motivation and creativity are closely interrelated. If you don't enjoy what you are doing, your mind will not be in the right state to think creatively. Finding ways to turn dull tasks into interesting activities is an important skill to learn if you want to be creative in everything that you do. Our Mentalrobics activities can help you learn how to do this.
The brain is made up of a left hemisphere and a right hemisphere, which are connected in the middle by a bundle of nerves called the corpus callosum. Each side of the brain controls the opposite side of your body. When your left hand moves, it's the right side of your brain that is telling it to do so, and vice versa. Each side also processes information in different ways; the left side tends to be the rational side and the right side tends to be more intuitive or artistic. People are often dominant in one side or the other. Since the thinking process is improved when both hemispheres participate, strengthening your less dominant side is a good idea. If you are right-brained, you might try some logic brain teasers and if you are left-brained, you might try some of our Mentalrobics exercises for creativity.
Some additional characteristics of each hemisphere:
Some additional characteristics of each hemisphere:
Left Hemisphere Handles verbal tasks (reading, writing, talking) Solves problems logically Looks at differences Prefers multiple choice tests Likes to plan and structure information Prefers analytical tasks | Right Hemisphere Looks for patterns or similarities Is fluid and spontaneous Acts upon hunches or guesses Handles visual tasks (like drawing) Prefers open-ended questions Synthesizes ideas Handles aesthetic appreciation |
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