An Analytical Approach to Self Improvement - PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement Readers who’ve been following PickTheBrain for the past few months may have noticed my inability to pick a tagline and stick with it. Each one I chose felt wrong after a couple weeks because the purpose of the site continued to evolve. I started writing without a plan and followed my inspiration. What Pick The Brain Isn’t One of the reasons I took so long to commit to “An Analytical Approach to Self Improvement” is that self improvement has some negative stigmas. 1. Although this website is a business, I don’t have seminars, audio programs, or books to sell. 2. Emotions are temporary. 3. There is no ideal person, and if there was, it wouldn’t be anything like the millionaires and movie stars society worships. 4. There is a lot to be said in favor of positive thinking, but it can’t be denied that life involves a great deal of suffering. Why Self Improvement? I kept coming back to self improvement because I started this site to improve my own life. Site Content and Frequency
Slay the distraction vampires (MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY Summer is always a time for vampire movies -- be it "Twilight" sagas or something more curious involving Abraham Lincoln. But when it comes to things that suck your life energy, movie vampires have nothing on the everyday temptations of the electronic world. You know how it goes. You get an email about something posted on Facebook (FB). You click over, then find a link to another article. You click on that and see some catchy headlines on the sidebar that also look enticing. Humans are prone to distraction. How do you slay the distraction vampires? 1. 2. 3. 4. How do you slay distractions? Photo courtesy of flickr user Enockson © 2012 CBS Interactive Inc.. SleepTiming & Wake up refreshed!
How to Memorize Anything In college, I memorized 7 chapters of my psychology textbook — over 23,000 words. Yes, I could actually recite the entire 7 chapters to anyone willing to listen. Why did I do this? My professor had challenged me with two statements on the first day of class: 1) No student had ever aced his introductory exam; and 2) all the answers could be found in the first 7 chapters of the textbook. Determined to be the first student to ace his test, I memorized all 7 chapters. If you’re looking for a way to increase the capacity of your memory or pass a test, you don’t need to memorize 23,000 words. First, use a pencil or word processor (I prefer the latter because it’s faster) to type, in complete sentences, any fact you think might appear on the test. After a study session, take a quick nap. I eventually became so good at this technique that I could complete all my studying for any information heavy mid-term or final exam in less than 6 hours. Does it Really Work? Apr
Alternative Sleep Cycles: You Don’t Really Need 6-8 Hours! Most people only think that there is one way to sleep: Go to sleep at night for 6-8 hours, wake up in the morning, stay awake for 16-18 hours and then repeat. Actually, that is called a monophasic sleep cycle, which is only 1 of 5 major sleep cycles that have been used successfully throughout history. The other 4 are considered polyphasic sleep cycles due to the multiple number of naps they require each day. How is this possible? How is this healthy? Well the most important of every sleep cycle is the Stage 4 REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which has been shown to provide the benefits of sleep to the brain above all other stages of sleep. This way, you still get the benefits of 8 hours of sleep without wasting all of the time it takes to get to REM cycles, resulting in a much more efficient sleep cycle. Uberman Cycle: 20 to 30 minute naps every 4 hours, resulting in 6 naps each day. Everyman Cycle: One longer “core” nap that is supplemented with several 20-30 minute naps. Dymaxion Cycle:
50 Life Secrets and Tips Memorize something everyday.Not only will this leave your brain sharp and your memory functioning, you will also have a huge library of quotes to bust out at any moment. Poetry, sayings and philosophies are your best options.Constantly try to reduce your attachment to possessions.Those who are heavy-set with material desires will have a lot of trouble when their things are taken away from them or lost. Possessions do end up owning you, not the other way around. Read “Zen and the Art of Happiness” by Chris Prentiss.This book will give you the knowledge and instruction to be happy at all times regardless of the circumstances. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could boldly display 50 life secrets and tips on your wall to serve as a beautiful, daily reminder of how to live a Higher Existence?
120 Ways to Boost Your Brain Power Here are 120 things you can do starting today to help you think faster, improve memory, comprehend information better and unleash your brain’s full potential. Solve puzzles and brainteasers.Cultivate ambidexterity. Use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, comb your hair or use the mouse. Write with both hands simultaneously. Readers’ Contributions Dance! Contribute your own tip! There are many, many ways to keep our brains sharp. The 9 Epiphanies That Shifted My Perspective Forever - Global One TV By David Over the years I’ve learned dozens of little tricks and insights for making life more fulfilling. They’ve added up to a significant improvement in the ease and quality of my day-to-day life. But the major breakthroughs have come from a handful of insights that completely rocked my world and redefined reality forever. The world now seems to be a completely different one than the one I lived in about ten years ago, when I started looking into the mechanics of quality of life. It wasn’t the world (and its people) that changed really, it was how I thought of it. Maybe you’ve had some of the same insights. 1. The first time I heard somebody say that, I didn’t like the sound of it one bit. I see quite clearly now that life is nothing but passing experiences, and my thoughts are just one more category of things I experience. If you can observe your thoughts just like you can observe other objects, who’sdoing the observing? 2. Of course! 3. 4. 5. Yikes. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Top 10 Tips and Tricks to Train, Exercise, and Better Your Brain Take 4 omega 3-6-9 omega 4 fatty acid pills. Then the following days take one pill every hour and half until you have reached ten pills. Then take 3 pills every day. If you drink coffee or alchahol you have to start over. Within a month when the fatty acids have reached potency in your blood you will feel really sane, all the time. Sit in the sun for an hour and a half a day. Meditate on compassion (hugging a starving african child, in you MIND) Have a source for good safe sex that doesn't cause you stress (a challenge) Avoid sex or swapping fluids with anyone until you know their over all health to detect STDs. Do not eat food that has been left out. Do not eat food some one else has prepared. Do not eat boxed products that contain gluten. Minimize consumption of wheat, corn, soy, dairy, or non-organic flesh. Learn to grow your own Chia food. Eat lots of spouts. Eat Broccoli and Plantains. Do everything in this article. Do Yoga. OH YEAH, and get a fixed gear bike and use it.
100 little things that travel has taught me Travel has been one of my most valuable teachers. Rather than sit in a classroom and learn about the world through a someone else’s eyes, I did it through adventures and misadventures, tears and laughter. I know I still have so much to discover, but here are some lessons that sometimes I had to learn the hard way. 1. 21. 28. 43. 60. 80. 95. What are some lessons you have learned from travel? photo credits: katja hentschel: polaroid, laptop, insects, waterfall girl; mrsdkrebs: tattoo map, littlelakes: coconut, fmgbains: flowers, all others: author’s own * post written by Kyra Bramble. Tags: backpacking, beach, camping, clothes, food, fun, inspiration, lessons, links, party, people, personal experiences, shopping, tips, traveling